After 48-1/2 Years of Doctor Who There Are Bound to Be a Few Catchphrases

I 1st discovered the Doctor when PBS began running episodes of the 4th Doctor. Later the available episodes from the 1st 3 Doctors ran & as the other doctors came along, their episodes were aired as well.

Every Doctor Who fan has a favorite Doctor(s). My all time top is the 2nd played by Patrick Troughton. It is hard to put into words other than to say that there was something about his personalaity that really resonated with me.

Each Doctor had his own unique personalaity while sharing certain traits in common, after all he was THE DOCTOR no matter his outward appearance. The ability of the Doctor to change while still being the Doctor is what has enabled the show to survive for as long as it has. Good stories & some interesting (if at times in cheesy costumes) villians & monsters helped as well.

November of 2013 will mark the 50th Anniversary of the debut of the Doctor. It would be nice if the BBC could come up with an episode along that of The Three Doctors, The Five Doctors or The Two Doctors. Since both actors who played the 1st Doctor (William Hartnell & Richard Hurndall for the most part in The Five Doctors episode) as well as those who played the 2nd & 3rd Toughton & Jon Pertwee) are dead, they would have to find some way to work them in using old film like they did in part with Hartnell (&Tom Baker for that matter) in The Five Doctors episode. The same with some of the other actors who played huge roles like Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith) & Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart) that have passed on.

‘Doctor Who’: Ten of the Doctor’s Most Memorable Catchphrases

By Fraser McAlpine

First Doctor: “Mm? What’s that, my boy?” A trick often used by wily senior citizens when they need a second to gather their thoughts, or just to ignore the fooling thing someone has just said. The First Doctor never skimped on being brash or rude when he could help it, so possibly he really was a little hard of hearing, or slow to work out what to do. Either way, his need to slow a conversation down, or obfuscate an awkward line of inquiry, stood him in good stead, and served to reinforce the misleading idea that he was just a doddering old gipper, before he delivered the coup de grace.

Second Doctor: “When I say run, run. (pause) RUN!”
Never the most confrontational or macho of Doctors, unless faced with interior decor that was not to his liking, the Second Doctor had a knack for skipping out the way of trouble, and ensuring his companions were safe as he did so. It’s a tactic which all of the Doctors have utilized over the years, but never quite as flamboyantly.
Third Doctor: “Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow.”
This isn’t just a catchphrase for the Third Doctor, but became an in-joke for the show itself, between the script-writers and the audience. Ironically, it was only spoken by the Third Doctor twice, once during his ‘lifetime’ and once again during The Five Doctors, with a certain amount of pregnant giggling. However, it also speaks volumes about the Third Doctor’s loftiness that he would have a sentence of scientific psychobabble ready to go, just to confuse and impress anyone within earshot.
Fourth Doctor: “Would you care for a jelly baby?”
You may be able to detect a theme developing now. Each of these catchphrases is used by their respective Doctors to keep people at arm’s length (literally, in the case of the Second Doctor) while they try to figure out what to do next. And there’s nothing wrong with confusing people with irrelevance and charm while you work out what’s going on. It’s the Doctor’s primary weapon in the battle against the obvious, and if you remember the Fish Custard episode, you’ll realize it’s one he uses all the time.
Fifth Doctor: “Brave heart, Tegan.”
Being an altogether more human sort of Time Lord than any of his previous selves, the Fifth Doctor is not overly weighed down with memorable catchphrases. Behavioral tics, yes: the celery on his lapel, the glasses he doesn’t need, the fetish for cricket – but not catchphrases. This, however, is a nice thing he says to Tegan to keep her spirits up, because he’s a nice man.
Sixth Doctor: “Mmm I wonder…Aha!”
And there we have the Sixth Doctor in a nutshell. Curious, engaged, and keen to show off his superior knowledge to anyone who will listen. And I’m only including this because the catchphrase of everyone who ever laid eyes on him ever (“OW MY POOR INJURED FASHION SENSE!”) was only ever said internally.
Seventh Doctor: “Somewhere there’s danger, somewhere there’s injustice, somewhere else, the tea’s getting cold.”
The Seventh Doctor would routinely answer any query as to his health with a biffed back claim to be “fine,” which might count as a catchphrase were it not what most British people do at all times, even when dying. Of more interest (although only said once) is this handy mission statement. High drama, inflamed passions, and everyday nonsense all rolled into one. How very Doctorian.
PAUSE FOR EIGHTH DOCTOR, WHO BARELY HAS TIME TO SAY ANYTHING, MUCH LESS DEVELOP A CATCHPHRASE
PAUSE ENDS
Ninth Doctor: “Fantastic!”
Never far from the lips of the hardest-bitten Doctor, the one who carried the traumas of his recent past on his face, and tried really hard not to. Although if you had to pick one single line which defines the Ninth Doctor’s surly brand of positivity it would be his protest at Rose’s impudent question as to how he is a spaceman if he talks like he is from the north of England: “lots of planets have a north!”
See that? Not ALL planets, just lots of them. There speaks the voice of experience.
Tenth Doctor: “|’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Look, I wanted “allons-y” as much as everyone else, and it would’ve definitely won if this was just about memorable phrases that stick in the mind. But there’s something about the way the Tenth Doctor delivered his trademark bad news line. Every time it was as freshly-minted as if it was the first time he’d ever said it, and every time you realized that he must have said it hundreds upon of hundreds of times before.
Eleventh Doctor: “Bow ties are cool.”
Always delivered with a certain wounded pride, usually to a skeptical audience of either River or Amy. It was occasionally stretched to include fezzes, but basically this is the catchphrase of a man who knows his own mind, but worries slightly that he’s out of step with everyone else. Then decides that’s the way things ought to be after all. A moment of characteristic pretend-doubt from one of the more rock-solid Doctors

Why "Brain Dead" Should NOT Be Used to Determine a Person Is Really Dead

The young man pictured above is Stephen Thorpe. The 21 year old is studying accounting at a local university in the Leichester England area. 4 years ago he  was in a medically-induced coma following a multi-car pileup that had already taken the life of his friend Matthew, who was driving the vehicle.

As The Daily Mail describes it "The schoolboy was traveling in a Rover with two friends in February 2008 when a stray horse ran into the path of the car in front of them. His friend Matthew Jones, 18, was killed in the accident. Steven suffered serious injuries to his face, head and arm, and was declared brain dead two days later."

It was a team of four physicians who insisted that his son was “brain-dead” following the wreck, His parents, John & Janet Thorpe, rejected their advice to switch off his life support machine.   They enlisted the help of a general practitioner & a neurologist who found faint signs of brain activity. Two weeks later, Steven woke from his coma. Within seven weeks, he had left hospital.

Unfortunately, Thorpe isn't an exception, he is turning out to be the rule when it comes to wanting to use "brain dead" to declare people dead. The links below contain many more examples.

But why the rush to declare these people dead? Sadly, it is very utilitarian & the "culture of death" trying to hide behind the claim of compassion.

The term “brain death” was invented in 1968. It came about to accommodate the need to acquire vital organs in their “freshest” state from a donor who some argue is still very much alive.

Death had previously been defined as lack of respiration & heart activity, & “brain death” was judged as compatible with an otherwise living patient. “Brain death” has never been rigorously defined, nor are there are no standardized tests to determine if the condition exists.

Dr. John Shea, points out that patients diagnosed as “brain dead” often continue to exhibit brain functions. In his book, “Organ Donation: The Inconvenient Truth”, he points out that the criteria for “brain death” only “test for the absence of some specific brain reflexes. Functions of the brain that are not considered are temperature control, blood pressure, cardiac rate & salt & water balance. When a patient is declared brain dead, these functions are not only still present, but also frequently active.” In short the person is probably still alive.

But by using "brain death" as the standard, it enabled harvesting organs from otherwise living people to use in transplants.As pro-life bioethicist Wesley J. Smith explains:

"But why redefine death? The point of this reckless advocacy — although they don’t put it this bluntly — is that there are thousands of perfectly good organs being used by people who really don’t need them anymore, by which they mean patients with profound cognitive impairments who will remain unconscious or minimally aware for the rest of their lives. Why not harvest such patients, this thinking goes, for the benefit of people who could return to normal lives?

The problem is that would break the “dead donor rule,” the legal and moral pact organ transplant medicine made with society promising that vital organs would only be harvested from patients who are truly dead. Hence, if the definition of death were loosened to include, say, a diagnosis of persistent vegetative state, more organs could be obtained — and the dead donor rule could still appear to be honored, deemed essential for transplant medicine to retain the trust of society.

Of course, that would be fiction, and the redefinition actually a betrayal. What these “ethicists” really propose is killing for organs, a view now being promoted in some of the world’s most prestigious medical, science, and bioethical journals. For example, Nature recently editorialized in favor of liberalizing the rules governing brain death.

Currently, brain death requires the irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain and each of its constituent parts. Nature’s editorial claimed — without proof — that doctors obey “the spirit but not the letter, of this law. And many are feeling uncomfortable about it.”

Like I said, we are seeing another good example of how the "culture of death" is presenting its agenda in a way to make it appear like they are an angel of light, not the angel of death.

Organ donation is a good thing. But taking them before a person is truly dead is tantamount to murder. It is on the same level as using embryos to harvest stem cells. It is saying some lives are more valuable than others rather than seeing each life as it truly is, a gift from God.

Sources:Dad rescues ‘brain dead’ son from doctors wishing to harvest his organs – boy recovers completely

“Brain Dead” Man Recovers Before Doctors Can Take His Organs

Sibelius - Showing Ignorance of Constitution She Has Sworn to Uphold

Sibelius doesn't come off too well in the questioning she faced from  Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) on the topic of religious liberty. Even worse, she makes it clear that she didn't do all she could to  “balance” religious liberty protections with preventive services in making the decision about the contraceptive mandate (which includes drugs that can cause abortions). She claims that she relied on the expertise of HHS General Counsel. OK, I can buy that. But why didn't they bring up the most significant cases related to religious liberty that have been decided by the Supreme Court? Clearly, that is what they are supposed to have done to ensure she was fully informed. But she claims she was unaware of them. So, either they failed to do their job, or she is lying. Since there is no memo, as there also should have been, we may never know.

But even without the specific knowledge, she should have known more than she claims. After all, she was Governor of Kansas.

What is clear to me is that the only thing she sought to balance was the bottom line of the abortion industry, especially her buddies at Planned Parenthood.



Source: Sebelius Admits She’s Unaware of Top Religious Liberty Cases

Is Another Live Action Expose of Planned Parenthood by Live Action In the Works?

It looks like it may be.

At least that is what Planned Parenthood is claiming. PP told the Huffington Post on Monday that a "string of suspicious incidents at Planned Parenthood clinics across the country has given the organization reason to believe that anti-abortion activists are targeting it in a new organized sting operation."

HufPo's Laura Bassett said that "According to Planned Parenthood spokesperson Chloe Cooney, clinics in at least 11 states have reported two dozen or more "hoax visits" over the past several weeks, in which a woman walks into a clinic, claims to be pregnant and asks a particular pattern of provocative questions about sex-selective abortions, such as how soon she can find out the gender of the fetus, by what means and whether she can schedule an abortion if she's having a girl." Cooney said Planned Parenthood suspects that the most likely group behind the campaign is anti-abortion activist group Live Action.

Naturally the article is filled with half truths & lies, like claiming that Live Action has only released "heavily edited the videos they gathered" & ignoring the fact that Live Action has released the unedited videos to back up their claims.

When asked, Kate Bryan, a spokesperson for Live Action, told Bassett she would not confirm whether the group was behind the newest Planned Parenthood sting. "As you can understand, Live Action does not comment on any investigations until after public release."

While Live Action doesn't comment on an ongoing investingation, which Bryan's comment would seem to imply, others who are familiar with Planned Parenthood & how it operates have. One of those is Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood employee. She told LifeSiteNews.com that concern over sex-selective abortion would be justified. “When sex selection abortions occur, we see more female babies aborted than males. This fact is ironic considering that Planned Parenthood claims to be ‘pro-woman,’. Even though some abortion advocates might be against this type of abortion, they will never go against the Planned Parenthood abortion machine and speak out.”

IMHO, the HufPo piece is a part of a preemptive strike to start the PR spin before the ugky truth gets out.

& they are using their usual tactics of claiming that what really happenned is totally different than what the tapes will show. The problem with that is, it has been proven time after time that PP has lied, not Live Action. Planned Parenthood has been caught lying about providing mammograms. Another investigation resulted in Planned Parenthood firing several employees despite earlier claims the videos were not accurate.

Then of course they are bringing out the "this is an attack on women's health" cannard as well.

In a column that appeared  on RH Reality Check as well as Planned Parenthood’s website Monday, two leaders, Leslie KantorMPH, vice president of education for Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) & Dr. Carolyn Westhoff, senior medical advisor for PPFA  complained that the “secret, nationwide hoax campaign” was simply an attempt to “undermine women’s access to services.”

They went on to make another claim that has been disproved time & time again. "Without Planned Parenthood, many women would have nowhere else to turn for breast and cervical cancer screening, well woman exams, birth control, STD testing and treatment, sex education, and pregnancy options."

They also claimed that PP “finds the concept of sex selection [abortions] deeply unsettling,” and added that the group does not offer sex determination services on unborn children. “Planned Parenthood condemns sex selection motivated by gender bias, and urges leaders to challenge the underlying conditions that lead to these beliefs and practices.” While claiming that PP does not provide sex determination services Kantor & Westhoff did not say that the group refused to perform such procedures. In fact PP is on the record  as strongly opposed legislation to ban abortions based on sex selection. So, their protesting suggests this is simply more PR spin.

Should Live Action (or some other group) have  just such an investigation in the works, it is clear that what will come out will not look good for Planned Parenthood. & that it will prove the very things they are trying to deny. This will make it even harder for Planned Parenthood to keep up their façade, despite having the Obama Administration at their beck & call.

The light of truth is being shone on Planned Parenthood. & like cockroaches, they are trying to scurry back into the dark. But it just isn't working any more, especially with the new media that can get the truth out.

Sources: Is Planned Parenthood Arranging Sex-Selection Abortions?
Planned Parenthood in red alert over undercover sex-selection abortion exposé

So Much for Another of Planned Parenthood's Claims (Lies)

In this case, I am refering to the arguement they pull out every time a legislature tries to impose even basic regulations that would apply to any other medical proceedure: “abortion should be between a woman and her doctor.” They claim that these laws would "deny women access to the health care they need & deserve.”

Well the fact that that is just a smoke screen is being exposed by what is going on in California. Planned Parenthood has come out in  support of legislation (SB 1338)that would allow non-doctors to perform an early-term abortion procedure. Their reason, another of their old canards I already mentioned the law needs to be changed in order to, as they claim, “guarantee women access to the health care we need and deserve.”

I thought they already had access to that through Planned Parenthood's abortion mills?

But in their attempts to increase profits at the expense of real health care & concerns for the women what they are doing is trying to redefine surgical abortion as something different than what it really is. SB 1338 would change the definition of abortion to void the terms of “surgical” & “nonsurgical” abortion. Currently aspiration abortion is considered surgery in every state. That means that midwives, nurse practitioners, & physician assistants can't do them because they are not licensed or trained to perform surgical procedures.

I hate to say it, but here we go again. This is what happenned in the 60s when they redefined conception to mean implantation, not the actual joining of the egg & sperm to cover up that the pill can be an abortafacient.

This isn't about women's health any more than Planned Parenthood's opposition to even basic regulation is. Planned Parenthood has made it clear it doesn'r care about women's health or safety. Their long track record of covering up rape & incest, of aiding in white slavery, lying about providing mammograms, as well as their promoting of telemed abortions shows that it is the bottom line, not women they care about.

The biggest obstical to the law being passed is, interestingly enough, 1 of their usual allies, the California Nurses Association (CNA). It has nothing to do with a change of heart on abortion. But it does have to do with concerns about the proceedure. The CNA wants to wait until a study by the UC San Francisco is complete. CNA governmental relations director Bonnie Castillo said that her organization believes the study will find that allowing the professionals covered by the bill to perform the procedure is safe. But until it is done, the change in law is “premature at best.”

The fact that Planned Parenthood doesn't want to wait is just more proof of the real motives for their supporting this change.As I said, profits, not women's health. Once again we see how far they are willing to go to spread their lies in doing so.

Source: Planned Parenthood Runs Ads for Non-Doctors to Do Abortions

"MASS"ive Battle Against Denver Planned Parenthood Abortion Mill

For the closing of this Spring's 40 Days of Prayer in Denver, the Catholic Church brought out all the biggest weapons it could. A March 31st closing rally kicked off with a Spanish Mass, followed by a rosary led by Bishop James Conley, apostolic administrator for the Denver Archdiocese. This was followed by a 2nd Mass was celebrated by Fr. Joseph Hearty FSSP, Assistant Pastor at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in nearby Littleton. Fr Hearty originated the idea because he felt that it was time to “pull out the big guns.” He added“If we can pray the rosary, why not offer the Mass, why not use the Mass and the Eucharist as a means of fighting this tragedy. Why not use the most powerful means that we have?” As a member of the traditional Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, Fr. Hearty celebrated the traditional Latin Mass, known as the Tridentine Mass.

The empty parking lot is right across the street from the Planned Parenthood & isowned by a pro-life couple.

Also, 6 different Masses offered in the parking lot during the 40 Days campaign in English & Spanish. All six Masses were well attended, averaging between fifty & a hundred persons.

Organizers are hoping to build on the momentum. They hope establish a regular schedule of Masses in front of the clinic, continuing to wage spiritual warfare against the nation’s largest abortion provider.

“Our fight is not against the world, it’s against principalities and darkness, it’s against evil, it is against the devil,” says Fr. Hearty. “Why not make a few demons quake?”

Why not indeed? 

Source: Denver priest ‘pulls out the big guns’ on Planned Parenthood: says Mass on the street outside clinic

Chuck Colson - RIP

Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Ministry Fellowships & a principal writer of the Manhattan Declaration passed away Saturday from complications resulting from a brain hemorrhage. For people of my generation he will be most remembered for his part in the Nixon administration as a hatchetman involved in the Watergate coverup as well as the break-in to the Ellsberg's psychiatrist office. He was also responsible for the Nixon's Enemies List. As he was facing arrest, his close friend, Raytheon Company chairman of the board Thomas L. Phillips, gave Colson a copy of C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. After reading it, Colson  became an evangelical Christian. Colson then joined a prayer group led by Douglas Coe. 1 of the members was former Iowa governor & then Democratic US Senator Harold Hughes. Colson eventually pled guilty to obstruction of justice. He later shared the story of his conversion & experience in prison in his book Born Again. The book was later made into a movie with Dean Jones playing Colson & Gov. Hughes playing himself.

In the 90s he was co-writer of Evangelicals and Catholics Together, with Fr. Richard John Neuhaus.  In recent years he helped lead the charge in battling the "culture of death" through his involvement in the Manhatten Declaration as well.

I had the privledge of meeting Chuck Colson in the late 70s when he spoke here in Iowa. Yes, I did get my paperback copy of Born Again autographed by both him & Governor Hughes. While many were still doubting the sincerity of his conversion back then, it was clear to me that he had changed. I say that because I was definitely NOT a fan of Nixon or what he & his staff had done. Gov. Hughes' support of him was also a huge factor in my willingness to give Colson the benefit of the doubt.

His leadership in the efforts to defend the sanctity of human life, traditional marriage & religious freedom will be sorely missed.

See also: Pro-Life Leaders Remember Christian Activist Chuck Colson
Chuck Colson, evangelical giant against ‘culture of death,’ dies at 80

A Day Late, But Felice Compleanno Mother Angelica!

Yesterday was Mother Angelica's 89th Birthday:

« Tanti auguri a te,

tanti auguri a te,

tanti auguri a Madre Angelica,

tanti auguri a te! »

(Mille Grazie to Matt @ The Badger Catholic for reminding me)

Thought for the Day - 21 April 2012

Iowa House Vote Makes My Home State the Latest to Try & Defund Planned Parenthood

On Wednesday, 18 April 2012, the Iowa House voted to amend the HHS Appropriation bill, SF 2336, to deny taxpayer funds for abortions (except to save the life of the mother) & deny family planning funds to abortion providing health clinics. 

& while I disagree with the continued myth that abortion is sometimes needed to save the life of the mother being made a part of the amendment, the amendment will take away any funds Planned Parenthood currently gets. The amendment also removes current exceptions for rape & incest, as well as, fetal abnormalities in terms of when taxpayer dollars can be used to fund abortions in Iowa. So, while not perfect. It is a step in the right direction.

The key part of the amendment as far as Planned Parenthood goes, reads as follows: "A department shall not distribute state or federal family planning funds under this section to any entity that performs abortions or that maintains or operates a facility where abortions are performed.”

According to Iowa pro-life blogger Shane Vander Hart:“In addition all state departments that distribute state and federal family planning money are required to report to the Governor and the General Assembly who received state or federal family planning funds. If they do distribute state or federal family planning funds to an entity that doesn’t provide primary health services they have to explain why it was necessary to prevent severe limitation or elimination to family planning services to that region of the state.”

The problem now is the Iowa Senate which is controlled by the Pro-abort, pro-Planned Parenthood Democrats. SF 2336 will now goes back to the Senate to be approved as amended. Iowa Right to Life is urging pro-life groups to contact legislators there to urge support for it. The bill will probably be considered by the Senate early next week.

It will be interesting to see how it plays out. But you can be sure the Dems will do all they can to derail it. I suspect the bill will end up in a joint committee. Hopefully the House will have to courage to stand up & force it to be kept in.

Stay tuned for further developments.

Sources: Iowa House Votes to Stop Funding Abortion, Planned Parenthood

Must Resist Obvious Pun Titles for This Post

The news just came out that Jonathan Frid, the original actor to play Barnabas Collins in the late 60s ABC gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, passed away last Friday, the 13th of April.

For those of you who may not remember the show, Barnabas Collins was a vampire. He started out on the show as a villian, but the character become so popular they kept him for the rest of the series. Barnabas had been cursed by a witch in 1795 & many of the story lines revolved arround his trying to be set free of the curse & live a normal life.

I will admit, that like many a youngster of my time, I was hooked on the show & watched it as often as possible. The show was a soap opera. But the twist was the gothic horror & supernatural goings on. Looking back, the show still holds up despite the poor special effects etc that were common in filming soap operas at that time. Of course, I veiw the role the supernatural plays in a whole different way these days.

While Jonathan Frid was best known for his role as Barnabas in the series & a movie spin off, what was not so well known is that he was a classicly trained stage actor as well.  Among his roles he played Thomas Becket in Murder in the Cathedral. He also played  Jonathan Brewster in the Broadway revival of Arsenic and Old Lace.

His last appearance will be a cameo with several of his Dark Shadows castmates in the upcoming Tim Burton film version of  Dark Shadows* out in May.

Unlike Barnabas, I pray that he has found rest & peace with God.

________________
*Reserving judgment on the film as I am not too impressed withw hat I have seen from the previews.

A Very Special Golden Anniversary

Tonite marks the 50th Anniversary of my 1st Holy Communion.

It was at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Oelwein during the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper @ 7:30 pm. In those days, those of us in 1st grade who went to the parocial school received it on Holy Thursday. There was a low Mass earlier which was allowed then under the TLM rules. Otherwise, things would have been over crowded.

As I said, I was in 1st grade. Our book we used for religion was based on the Baltimore Catechism. Part of the preperation was for 1st Confession. Another part was on how to properly receive Communion. For that we were marched over to Church & we ran through the whole thing. We sat in the pews where we would be for Mass that night. We were shown how to go up to the Communion rail properly. We were shown how to kneel & fold our hands as well as how to actually receive Communion. For that part they used oyster crackers. I suspect that this was to make sure we developed a proper understanding of the purpose of the hosts, they are to only be used at Mass. It was also to prevent us from seeing the Consecrated Hosts as merely bread as well.

I don't know of other places that followed a similar tradition of tying in Holy Thirsday & 1st Holy Communion. From all I have gathered, it seems to have been somewhat unique to my parish.

IMHO this is something I would like to see brought back & not only at my parish. I can't think of a better day for a child to receive 1st Holy Communion. I can here some of the argue ments about the extra work. So what? Also, given the lower attendance these days at the Holy Thursday Mass, having it on that day might have a similar effect as it did on me, the importance of all the Easter Triduum liturgies, esp that they are done right.

I have to admit that it took a long time for me to fully appreciate the Real Presence in the Eucharist. No, I have never doubted it. But in those days, I felt that Jesus was far & distant while in the tabernacle. The 1 time outside of Communion I felt close to Jesus in the Eucharist was when I was serving for Eucharistic Benediction after The Way of the Cross on Lenten Sunday afternoons & the Eucharist was exposed in the Monstrance.  I eventually came to understand that Jesus in the tabernacle meant he was close, not far away.

PS: This is the style of Monstrance we had back then. I know it is a personal preference, but it is also the style I like the best.



Let the Clean-Up Begin

Back in 2008 the Vatican finally said "BASTA!!!!!!" to the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) & their promotion of heresy over authentic Catholic teaching. Today, the  Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) released their  doctrinal assessment of what is going on with the LCWR. As expected, it strongly criticized positions espoused at LCWR annual assemblies & in its literature as well as the absence of support from LCWR for Church teaching on pro-life issues, women’s ordination & homosexuality.

The assessment said that the documentation “reveals that, while there has been a great deal of work on the part of LCWR promoting issues of social justice in harmony with the Church’s social doctrine, it is silent on the right to life from conception to natural death, a question that is part of the lively public debate about abortion and euthanasia in the United States.”

The CDF report went on to say, “issues of crucial importance in the life of the Church and society, such as the Church’s Biblical view of family life and human sexuality, are not part of the LCWR agenda in a way that promotes Church teaching. Moreover, occasional public statements by the LCWR that disagree with or challenge positions taken by the Bishops, who are the Church’s authentic teachers of faith and morals, are not compatible with its purpose.”

The CDF also said, “The Assessment reveals serious doctrinal problems which affect many in Consecrated life,” calling it a crisis “characterized by a diminution of the fundamental Christological center and focus of religious consecration.”

According to the USCCB news release, the CDF said Pope Benedict XVI approved CDF’s taking action January 14, 2011, two days after a regular session of the CDF decided that “the current doctrinal and pastoral situation of LCWR is grave and a matter of serious concern, also given the influence the LCWR exercises on religious Congregations in other parts of the world.” CDF also recommend that after the Apostolic Visitation of Religious Communities of Women in the United States, the final report of which was submitted to the Holy See in December 2011, “The Holy See should intervene, with the prudent steps necessary to effect reform of the LCWR.” It also said CDF would “examine the various forms of canonical intervention for the resolution of the problematic aspects present in the LCWR.”

In a statement, the Prefect of the CDF Cardinal William Levada pointed out that that the assessment is “aimed at fostering a patient and collaborative renewal of this conference of major superiors in order to provide a stronger doctrinal foundation for its many laudable initiatives and activities.” To work towards implimenting this initiative to clean things up, the Vatican announced that it has appointed Archbishop Peter Sartain of Seattle as its Archbishop Delegate. Also, Bishop Leonard Blair of Toledo & Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of Springfield were named to assist in this effort.

The mandate for the Delegate includes: Revision of LCWR statutes, Review of LCWR plans and programs, including its General Assemblies, Creation of programs for LCWR member congregations in initial and on-going formation, Review LCWR’s application of liturgical norms and texts, & Review of LCWR affiliation with Network and the Resources Center for Religious Life.

FYI, In November 2011 Archbishop Sartain was elected Secretary of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). He begins his three-year term in November 2012. His position also makes him chairman of the USCCB Committee on Priorities & Plans. Recently Archbishop Sartain issued a letter mobilizing parishes in the fight to repeal Washington's marriage equality law. Unfortunately he has met with resistance from several parishes.

Last year Bishop Blair banned parishes and parochial schools from raising funds for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. He also banned a New Ways Ministry workshop on gay & lesbian ministry at the Sisters of St. Francis campus in Tiffin. New Ways does not support Catholic teaching on homosexuality.

Bishop Paprocki  condemned Blagojevich's executive order in 2005 requiring all pharmacists in the state to dispense prescription contraceptives in  his presence, saying, "I am dismayed that our secular society has reached the point that individuals are being required by law to violate their personal religious beliefs in order to accommodate the selfish demands of special interest groups." In November 2008, Paprocki spoke out against the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). He said "It could mean discontinuing obstetrics in our hospitals, and we may need to consider taking the drastic step of closing our Catholic hospitals entirely. It would not be sufficient to withdraw our sponsorship or to sell them to someone who would perform abortions. That would be a morally unacceptable cooperation in evil."

Overall, it looks like the Vatican has made some pretty good choices to head this effort to clean things up.

Archbishop Sartain had the following to say about his new role, “I am honored that the CDF has entrusted this important and sensitive work to me, because the ministry of religious sisters, especially here in the United States, is deeply respected and paramount to the mission of the Church. Just as the LCWR can be a vital resource in many ways for its members, I hope to be of service to them and to the Holy See as we face areas of concern to all.”

Given the negative reaction by those who support the LCWR's promotion of dissidence & heresy, it looks like the Vatican has made a good choice in Archbishop Sartain.  Sr. Joan Chittister, a prime example of what is wrong in the LCWR, said that she was deeply distraught at news of Sartain’s appointment & the order for LCWR to revise itself. She went on to defend all that she & the LCWR are doing that is clearly wrong & that the Vatican has rightly criticized. Probably her most laughable statement was here claim that women religious have been trying since Vatican II “to help the church avoid that kind of darkness and control … they have been a gift to the church in their leadership [1 Cor 11:5] and their love and their continuing fidelity." (emphasis mine) Fidelity, is she serious. The LCWR fought the visitation & the investigation from the get go because they knew it would uncover their lack of fidelity as well as their bringing darkness & confusion into the Church to cover up the light of God's truth that the Catholic Church has upheld for 2000 years.

& of course, the official dissident paper of record, the NonCatholic Reporter, has had its anything but charitable say about the news. The article opens with "The Vatican investigation into U.S. women religious, which began in 2009, is finally bearing its first toxic fruit." Well, in a sense they are right, the fruit of the investigation is toxic, to what the NonCR & LCWR among others have done for the past 50 years in trying to destroy the Catholic Church. But the fruit is life giving for those searching for the truth.

Then the NonCR makes this statement. "Their greatest concern about LCWR's programming? You guessed it: They're not explicitly anti-gay and anti-women's ordination." What gets me is they follow up with the complete list of concerns from the CDF statement that undermines the NonCR's claim this is their greatest concern. It also shows how the NonCR has twisted the statement since nowhere in the CDF statment  are the terms gay or women's ordination used. It just says the LCWR fails to promote Catholic Church teaching. In addition, there are a whole long list of things the statement mentions, like abortion & euthanasia, that the NonCR fails to point out are primary concerns.

As of this writing, the LCWR have yet to release a statement. When they do, you can be sure it won't be filled with warmth & sincerity. They will have to make it look like they are willing to make an effort to dialog while making it clear they don't see any real concerns.

Some of thiese dissident orders are of "Pontifical right". That means that, except for getting permission from the local Bishop to open a convent, they are directly supervised & obedient to the Holy See in general & the Pope in particular. (emphasis mine). The others are of "Diocesan right". That means they answer primarily to their order, but also to the bishop of the diocese in which they operate. Either way, they have to be obedient to the authority over them. Up to recently they have been too often allowed to get away with this diobedience. But it looks like it is now time to pay the piper.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. There will be those who support the ongoing dissent of the LCWR. But it is also clear that the Vatican is not going to allow them to continue claiming to be Catholic if they won't clean their act up & reform. I suspect that a good number will refuse to go along. & when they are told to vacate the premisies of their convents, you can be sure they will fight it, especially in the courts. 1 of those battles will likely be across the river at Sinsinawa Mound, home of the infamous abortion clinic escort, Sr. Donna & her fellow dissident Dominicans. They were founded by Venerable Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli OP, who has got to be turning in his grave at how they have betrayed the Catholic Church & what he stood for as well. Hopefully, the bad will be removed, & some good Dominicans brought in to keep the place going as Fr. Mazzuchelli wanted it to.

Sources: In hard-hitting document Vatican launches clean-up of feminist nuns in United States
NCFishwrap reacts to the LCWR’s news
Vatican Names Archbishop Sartain To Lead Renewal Of LCWR

Dick Clark, The World's Oldest Teenager - RIP

For me, 1 of the constants growing up was watching American Bandstand Saturdays on KCRG-TV 9. Regardless what some of those people out there today may think, none of them even come close to the class that Dick Clark had or the effect on music that he had.

Bandstand was the start, but it was only 1 part of the huge entertainment legacy he left us. Through his Dick Clark Productions hebrought movies, game & music shows, beauty contests & much more to TV. Among his credits: "The $25,000 Pyramid," ''TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes" (with Ed McMahon) & the American Music Awards.

He passed away this morning at age 82 of a heart attack.
So in his honor here is the openning from the American Bandstand 50th Anniversary special:

The Real Story of Paul Revere's Ride

What the history books never told you about his horse:

Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria - Obama Following Path of Hitler & Stalin

Daniel Jenky is the Bishop of the Diocese of Peoria. This is the diocese that Archbishop Sheen was born in & ordained a priest for. Archbishop Sheen has got to definitely be smiling in Heaven about this homily. The homily was given during the 14 April Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral in Peoria at the "A Call to Catholic Men of Faith" event.

A podcast audio version of the homily is available at The Bishop's Podcasts.
For a story on the annual march and Mass click here.

There is only one basic reason why Christianity exists and that is the fact that Jesus Christ truly rose from the grave.

The disciples never expected the resurrection. The unanimous testimony of all four Gospels is that the terrible death of Jesus on the cross entirely dashed all their hopes about Jesus and about his message. He was dead, and that was the end of it. They looked for nothing more, and they expected nothing more.

So as much as they had loved him, in their eyes Jesus was a failed messiah. His dying seemed to entirely rob both his teaching and even his miracles of any lasting significance.

And they were clearly terrified that his awful fate, at the hands of the Sanhedrin and the Romans, could easily become their awful fate. So they hid, trembling with terror, behind shuttered windows and locked doors.

When the Risen Christ suddenly appeared in their midst, their reaction was shocked incredulity. They simply could not believe their own eyes.

Reality only very slowly began to penetrate their consciousness when Jesus offers proof of his resurrection. He shows them the wounds on his hands, his feet, and his side. Jesus even allowed them to touch him. He breaks bread with them and eats with them. And only then could they admit to themselves what had seemed absolutely impossible – the one who had truly died had truly risen! The Crucified now stood before them as their Risen, glorious, triumphant Lord.

His rising from the grave was every bit as real as his dying on the cross. The resurrection was the manifest proof of the invincible power of Almighty God. The inescapable fact of the resurrection confirmed every word Jesus had ever spoken and every work Jesus had ever done.

The Gospel was the truth. Jesus was the Christ, the promised Messiah of Israel. Jesus was the Savior of the world. Jesus was the very Son of God.

There is no other explanation for Christianity. It should have died out and entirely disappeared when Christ died and was buried, except for the fact that Christ was truly risen, and that during the 40 days before his Ascension, he interacted with his Apostles and disciples, and on one occasion even with hundreds of his followers.

Today’s appointed Gospel reading for this Saturday in the Octave of Easter is taken from the 16th Chapter of Mark. It concludes with a command from the lips of Jesus, given to his disciples, given to the whole Church, given to you and me assembled here today: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”

We heard in today’s Second Reading from the Acts of the Apostles that the same Sanhedrin that had condemned Jesus was amazed at the boldness of Peter and John. Perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men, they recognized them as companions of Jesus. They warned them never again to teach, or speak to anyone, in the name of Jesus.

But the elders and the scribes might as well have tried to turn back the tide, or hold back an avalanche. Peter and John had seen the Risen Christ with their own eyes. Peter and John were filled with the Holy Spirit. They asked whether it is right “in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God. It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.”

And Peter and John and all the Apostles, starting first in Jerusalem in Judea and Galilee and then to the very ends of the earth, announced the Resurrection and the Good News to everyone they encountered.

According to the clear testimony of the Scriptures, these Apostles had once been rather ordinary men – like you and me. Their faith hadn’t always been strong. They made mistakes. They committed sins. They were often afraid and confused.

But meeting the Risen Lord had changed everything about these first disciples, and knowing the Risen Lord should also change everything about us.

You know, it has never been easy to be a Christian and it’s not supposed to be easy! The world, the flesh, and the devil will always love their own, and will always hate us. As Jesus once predicted, they hated me, they will certainly hate you.

But our Faith, when it is fully lived, is a fighting faith and a fearless faith. Grounded in the power of the resurrection, there is nothing in this world, and nothing in hell, that can ultimately defeat God’s one, true, holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

For 2,000 years the enemies of Christ have certainly tried their best. But think about it. The Church survived and even flourished during centuries of terrible persecution, during the days of the Roman Empire.

The Church survived barbarian invasions. The Church survived wave after wave of Jihads. The Church survived the age of revolution. The Church survived Nazism and Communism.

And in the power of the resurrection, the Church will survive the hatred of Hollywood, the malice of the media, and the mendacious wickedness of the abortion industry.

The Church will survive the entrenched corruption and sheer incompetence of our Illinois state government, and even the calculated disdain of the President of the United States, his appointed bureaucrats in HHS, and of the current majority of the federal Senate.

May God have mercy on the souls of those politicians who pretend to be Catholic in church, but in their public lives, rather like Judas Iscariot, betray Jesus Christ by how they vote and how they willingly cooperate with intrinsic evil.

As Christians we must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, but as Christians we must also stand up for what we believe and always be ready to fight for the Faith. The days in which we live now require heroic Catholicism, not casual Catholicism. We can no longer be Catholics by accident, but instead be Catholics by conviction.

In our own families, in our parishes, where we live and where we work – like that very first apostolic generation – we must be bold witnesses to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We must be a fearless army of Catholic men, ready to give everything we have for the Lord, who gave everything for our salvation.

Remember that in past history other governments have tried to force Christians to huddle and hide only within the confines of their churches like the first disciples locked up in the Upper Room.

In the late 19th century, Bismark waged his “Kultur Kamp,” a Culture War, against the Roman Catholic Church, closing down every Catholic school and hospital, convent and monastery in Imperial Germany.

Clemenceau, nicknamed “the priest eater,” tried the same thing in France in the first decade of the 20th Century.

Hitler and Stalin, at their better moments, would just barely tolerate some churches remaining open, but would not tolerate any competition with the state in education, social services, and health care.

In clear violation of our First Amendment rights, Barack Obama – with his radical, pro abortion and extreme secularist agenda, now seems intent on following a similar path.

Now things have come to such a pass in America that this is a battle that we could lose, but before the awesome judgement seat of Almighty God this is not a war where any believing Catholic may remain neutral.

This fall, every practicing Catholic must vote, and must vote their Catholic consciences, or by the following fall our Catholic schools, our Catholic hospitals, our Catholic Newman Centers, all our public ministries -- only excepting our church buildings – could easily be shut down. Because no Catholic institution, under any circumstance, can ever cooperate with the instrinsic evil of killing innocent human life in the womb.

No Catholic ministry – and yes, Mr. President, for Catholics our schools and hospitals are ministries – can remain faithful to the Lordship of the Risen Christ and to his glorious Gospel of Life if they are forced to pay for abortions.

Now remember what was the life-changing experience that utterly transformed those fearful and quaking disciples into fearless, heroic apostles. They encountered the Risen Christ. They reverenced his sacred wounds. They ate and drank with him.

Is that not what we do here together, this morning at this annual men’s march Mass?

This is the Saturday of the Octave of Easter, a solemnity so great and central to our Catholic faith that Easter Day is celebrated for eight full days, and the Easter season is joyously observed as the Great 50 Days of Easter. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ – risen from the grave – is in our midst. His Holy Word teaches us the truth. His Sacred Body and Blood becomes our food and drink.

The Risen Christ is our Eternal Lord; the Head of his Body, the Church; our High Priest; our Teacher; our Captain in the well-fought fight.

We have nothing to fear, but we have a world to win for him. We have nothing to fear, for we have an eternal destiny in heaven. We have nothing to fear, though the earth may quake, kingdoms may rise and fall, demons may rage, but St. Michael the Archangel, and all the hosts of heaven, fight on our behalf.

No matter what happens in this passing moment, at the end of time and history, our God is God and Jesus is Lord, forever and ever.

Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat!

Christ wins! Christ reigns! Christ commands!

Source: LifeSiteNews (Obama taking ‘similar path’ as Hitler and Stalin: Illinois bishop)



October Baby - The Review

 

Last Friday, I put up a post on the movie October Baby, that was opening in DBQ.  I described the movie, based on the trailer & what I read as "the movie NARAL, Planned Parenthood & the rest of the pro-abort gang wishes hadn't been made & is being attacked by their minions in the media because it promotes a message they don't want gotten out there." I saw the movie this afternoon. & I stand behind that statment every stronger than I did then.

This movie is a powerful story of a woman's search for the truth about her birth after she finds out she was not only adopted, but an abortion survivor. & I do mean powerful. It has been a little over an hour & 1/2 since I saw it. & I am still working through all the emotions as a result.

The movie starts with Hannah, played by Rachel Hendrix, is starring in her 1st stage production in college. Things start out fine, until she collapses. After undegoing a series of tests Hannah finds out parents, Jacob & Grace (John Schneider & Jennifer Price), had adopted her shortly after she was born. But that is only the start of the revelations.  She then finds out that she was adopted. Naturally, she is angry at her parents for not telling her. Her father, fights telling her anything. But her mother digs out the birth certificate with the name of the hospital in Mobile AL where she was born after the failed adoption. She shares what happenned with her childhood friend, Jason (Jason Burkey). He is about to leave on a road trip with some friends to go to New Orleans. He invites her along & arranges to stop in Mobile along the way.

Naturally, her parents are opposed, but she goes anyway. On the way she gets put down by Jason's current girlfriend, so she sets out on her own. Jason rents a car, finds her & takes her to Mobile. There she eventually finds the nurse from the abortion clinic who took her birth mother to the hospital after the botched abortion. Jasmine guy plays the nurse, Mary. Mary is able to direct her to her birth mother (Shari Rigby). But before she does, Mary shares what happenned during & after the abortion attempt. I won't give away the secrets. But I will say that Jasmine Guy gives a powerful performance. We find out that up to the time of Hannah's birth, Mary had worked at the abortion clinic as a nurse & counciled a large number of women. Up to that point, Mary had bought the lie that the unborn baby was just tissue. After the events arround Hannah's birth she never went back to the clinic.

Hannah eventually meets her birth mother & goes home to work things out with her parents. In sharing about the events leading up to the adoption of Hannah, we find out that Grace had been working at a crisis pregnancy center in Birmingham, AL. The mother, although a Baptist, had been going into the nearby Cathederal of St. Paul to pray. Hannah decides to go there herself where she meets a priest (Rodney Clark) who is about to lock things up for the night. He listens to her story. She shares her hurt, her pain & her struggles to forgive, especially herself. Then the priest shares the following "Because we have been forgiven by God, we should forgive each other. In Jesus Christ, you are forgiven, and, because you are forgiven, you have the power to forgive, to choose to forgive. Let it go. Hatred is a burden you no longer need to carry. Only in forgiveness can you be free, Hannah—forgiveness that is well beyond your grasp, or mine, a forgiveness that you can’t find on a trip or even in this cathedral. But, if the Son shall set you free, you will be free indeed."

I won't go into any more details as to do so would ruin the additional revelations & surprizes.

What I will say is that the movie shows the damage abortion can do to all involved, from the birth parents to those working at the clinic. As, I have already pointed out, it also has a powerful message of the importance of forgiveness, including one's self. 

I felt all of the performances by the main actors was excellent.  But a couple especially stand out. I already mentioned Jasmine Guy's. Another was Shari Rigby as Hannah's birth mother Cindy.  Cindy is faced with coming to grips with the abortion & the damage it did to her. Part of the reason why Shari Rigby did such a great job is explained in an an interview w/ her shared during the closing credits.

As I said at the start, it is very easy to understand why those who are hardline supporters of abortion have such a dislike for the movie. It lays bare all the lies about how abortion is good, that the unborn child is only a piece of tissue, that women who have abortions don't suffer emotional damage, etc, they are pushing.  & all of the usual attacks in response to the truth are coming out as well. They know this film pulls back the covers of those lies.

In this day & age it is good to see a simple film that doesn't depend on sex or violence to sell it. Additionally, this film presents faith in a very positive light, especially the Catholic faith.

This is 1 movie that should not be missed by those who want the truth about abortion to get out there as well as those who love a good old fashioned love story with a message of the importance of friends, family & faith.

10% of the profits for this film are going to the Every Life is Beautiful Fund. So in going to see this film, you are not only supporting the type of move we need to see more of, you are supporting an orginization that supports crisis pregnancy centers, adoption agencies & orphanages.

Blessed Margaret of Castello - Patron of Unwanted Children

Today is the feast of Blessed Margaret of Castello. She was born in 1287, blind, lame, deformed, hunchbacked & a dwarf, Parisio & Emilia were of the nobility & lived in the castle of Metola, near Firenze, IT.  For the 1st 14 years of her life, her family kept her hidden because of the shame they felt. They felt that if people knew about her it would bring disgraze upon the family. At the age of 6 she was walled up in a small cell besides a chapel where she could attend Mass & receive communion through a small window. The only person allowed to talk to her was the priest.

At age 14 her parents  took her to the tomb of a holy man named Fra Giacomo at Citta di Castello. They had heard that miracles were being wrought there, & went to pray for a cure for her birth defects.When she wasn't cured they abandoned her & went home.

Eventually she ended up a Third Order Dominican  in Castello. Despite her miseries, which included rejection & criticism, Margaret was serene, cheerful, & courageous. She kept her focus on Jesus & never became bitter, never complained, never reproached others or lost heart.  She helped to care for the poor, the sick & visited prisoners. She died at age 33 on 13 April 1320. By that time, she had become so beloved by the townspeople that they demanded she be allowed a tomb inside the Church. The priest refused until a crippled girl was miraculously cured at the funeral. On 19 October 1609 she was beatified by Pope Paul V.

Over the years devotion to her has spread, especially among those who defend life. She shows us that every life has value. She also is seen as a special patron to the unwanted. & that is especially important in these days when pre-natal testing is resulting in so many babies with birth defects being aborted rather than welcomed.

Prayer in Honor of Blessed Margaret of Castello:

Father,
Your care extends to every human person,
No matter what afflictions they suffer,
And you uphold the dignity of every human life,
Regardless of the false ways that the world may calculate its value.
You gave us Blessed Margaret of Castello as a sign and a challenge.
You permitted your glory to shine through her human weakness,
And called those around her to love her
Despite her physical limitations.
Forgive us when we fail to defend the least among us.
Through the intercession of Blessed Margaret,
Give us grace to speak up for the outcast
and to welcome those who are rejected.
When this brief life is over,
Grant that we who have welcomed all our brothers and sisters,
May be welcomed by you into the life that never ends.
We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Coming to Dubuque Today,

the movie NARAL*, Planned Parenthood & the rest of the pro-abort gang wishes hadn't been made & is being attacked by their minions in the media# because it promotes a message they don't want gotten out there.

October Baby is the story of Hannah. At the start of the movie, Hannah steps onto the stage for her theatrical debut in college. Suddenly, she collapses in front of the stunned audience. The results of the  medical tests point to one underlying factor: Hannah's difficult birth. Then she learns from her parents that she was actually adopted … after a failed abortion attempt. She then begins the journey to find her past, as well as her future. The movie stars newcomer Rachel Hendrix as Hannah. It features John Schneider (Smallville, The Dukes of Hazzard) & Jasmine Guy (A Different World), along with Jason Burkey & American Idol finalist Chris Sligh in his feature film debut.
The film won the Grand Jury Prize as the Best Fiction Feature at the 2011 Red Rock Film Festival. Rachel Hendrix won the Special Achievement Award for Acting.
The movie is based on the true story of Gianna Jessen.  Her story is 1 of those the pro-aborts don't want to hear, she is a survivor of a saline abortion. She is also a reminder of what Obama voted against while state senator in Illinois, protecting those who may survive an abortion. Jessen is one of those he believes should be allowed to die, even if born alive after an abortion.

The movie will be arriving in DBQ today & I plan on going to see it over the weekend. & while I plan to write a review, please don't wait to go see it if you have the chance.
In the meantime here is the trailer & an excerpt from the movie featuring Jasmine Guy:

The producers of October Baby are doing more than simply telling a story They have assigned 10% of the profits of the movie to the Every Life is Beautiful Fund. The fund "will distribute funds to frontline organizations helping women facing crisis pregnancies, life-affirming adoption agencies, and those caring for orphans."  So not only will you have an opportunity to see a movie with a positive message, you will be helping to fund alternatives for those women who are considering an abortion. This is something that the pro-abort side absolutely hates, a real choice.

________________________

* 'October Baby' worries Naral UPDATED

Film Inspired by ‘Abortion Survivor’ Is Quiet Hit

# What October Baby Gets Wrong About Modern Womanhood

October Baby: Film Review

October Baby
(Note: The movie has gotten some positive reviews. I included these examples because of their clearly biased statements that show they are attacking it more because it is pro-life than because it is a bad movie.)

^ Another survivor is Melissa Ohden. She is from Sioux City, IA & will be the speaker at this year's 20th annual L.I.F.E. Dinner for DBQ Co Right to Life.  The event will be held on 4 May 2012 @ the Grand River Center. You can contact DCRTL @ 563.556.5960 or dcrtl@dcrtl.org for more info.

Black Conservatives on 14th Amendment & Anchor Babies

H/T: Robert @ Immigration Reform (Black Conservatives on 14th Amenedment. )

Cardinal Burke - Thou Shalt Not Provide Contraceptive Coverage In Your Health Insurance

On Monday, 9 April, Catholic Action for Faith and Family announced that they would be airing a 30 minute interview filmed at the Vatican with Cardinal Raymond Burke this week on EWTN. The program, Catholic Action Insight, is hosted by Catholic Action founder & president, Thomas McKenna. According to  the announcement Cardinal Burke will talk about critical matters of faith, religious liberty, & culpability in relation to the threatened government mandate for employers to provide free contraception, sterilization services, & abortion inducing drugs. It will air on EWTN on Wednesday, 11 April at 2:30pm EDT & on Friday, 13 April at 9:00pm EDT. After it airs on EWTN,  Catholic Action will make it available on their website.

From the excerpt (below) they included in the announcement as well as what I know of Cardinal Burke's past comments, you can be sure that what he will say will not sit to will with some of those, like Catholic Heath Association head honcho Sr. Carol Keehan, who have been more than willing to compromise their faith.

As Cardinal Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura you can be sure that Cardinal Burke carefully chose his words. So that when he says "It is not only a matter of what we call “material cooperation” in the sense that the employer by giving this insurance benefit is materially providing for the contraception but it is also “formal cooperation” because he is knowingly and deliberately doing this, making this available to people." he is making it absolutely clear that no one can play word games to justify an employer providing it, either directly or through the little shell game Obama set up that makes it seem like the insurance company is paying for it. The words "formal cooperation" leave absolutely NO wiggle room. Catholic teaching makes it clear that "formal cooperation" in evil is always illicit & that the desire or consent to the other's sin is itself a sin with a twofold malice.  (For more on this see the EWTN article: MORALITY OF COOPERATION IN EVIL)

As Catholic Action says in their announcement "This comment by one of the highest ranked American Cardinals is the clearest explanation to date on the issue of an employer’s culpability when providing contraception, sterilization, and abortion inducing drug options in the insurance plans for employees. Cardinal Burke has illuminated with piercing clarity the controversial issue which has seen dissent from Church teaching on this matter among Catholic institutions and universities here in the United States. Cardinal Burke’s profound statements come at a critical time in this divisive debate over the legality and morality of forcing anyone to act against his own conscience."

I predict that all the usual "Catholyc" suspects will try to find wiggle room by attacking Cardinal Burke & twisting what he said to make it sound like he isn't closing the doors to their excuses. But he clearly is. & they know it. He has left them no room to muddy the waters no matter how hard they try.

Bravo to Cardinal Burke for providing the leadership needed in this attack on the Catholic faith by the Obama administration & the Catholyc dissidents in his administration. Now it is up to the US Bishops to do their part. Issuing the statements by the USCCB & individuals is a start. The individual Bishops now have the responsibility to not only speak, but act when people attempt to undermine the Church's teachings.

Here is the excerpt I refered to earlier:

Thomas McKenna: “It is beautiful to see how the Faithful has rallied behind the Hierarchy… How does your Eminence comment on the union of solidarity of our bishops?”

Cardinal Burke: “Yes, I have received emails and other communications from lay Faithful who say that they are supporting their bishops 100% and they have communicated to their bishops their gratitude and assured them that they want them to continue to be courageous and not to be deceived by any kind of false accommodations which in fact continue this same kind of agenda which sadly we have witnessed for too long in our country which is totally secular and therefore is anti-life and anti-family.I admire very much the courage of the bishops. At the same time I believe they would say it along with me that they are doing no more than their duty. A bishop has to protect his flock and when any individual or government attempts to force the flock to act against conscience in one of its most fundamental precepts then the bishops have to come to defend those who are entrusted to their pastoral care. So I am deeply grateful to all of the bishops who have spoken about this and who are encouraging the members of their flock to also speak up because our government needs to understand that what is being done with this mandate is contrary first of all to the fundamental human right, the right to the free exercise of one’s conscience and at the same time contrary to the very foundation of our nation.”

Thomas McKenna: “So a Catholic Employer, really getting down to it, he does not, or she does not provide this because that way they would be,in a sense, cooperating with the sin… the sin of contraception or the sin of providing a contraceptive that would abort a child, is this correct?”

Cardinal Burke: “This is correct. It is not only a matter of what we call “material cooperation” in the sense that the employer by giving this insurance benefit is materially providing for the contraception but it is also “formal cooperation”because he is knowingly and deliberately doing this, making this available to people. There is no way to justify it. It is simply wrong.”

Sources: Employers Providing Contraceptives “Materially and Formally” Cooperating with Sin
Vatican Cardinal: If Catholic employers provide contraceptive coverage they cooperate in sin

Why The Iowa Senate Needs To Be In Pro-Life Hands & Why That Would Be Planned Parenthood-Heartland's Worst Nightmare

As the article rightly points out at the end, there is 1 reason why this likely won't happen this year, the Iowa Senate is in the control of the pro-abortion, pro-Planned Parenthood Democrats. Given his past track record, you can be sure that this gentleman will ensure that everything is done to ensure that Iowa continues to give Planned Parenthood $6 million of our tax dollars that could be put to better use elsewhere:

This gentleman is Michael E. Gronstal, Majority leader of the Senate who has done all he can in the past to ensure that Planned Parenthood & other abortionists can continue to murder unborn babies unhindered by even the slightest controls. last year he used his control of the Senate to ensure that late term abortionist Carhart could still come into Iowa while making it look like he was trying to keep him out to the voters in Council Bluffs (Not That I Am Happy, But I Was Right About What Happenned in the Iowa Senate Last Week ) & that is only a small part of his track record.

Planned Parenthood's PAC has donated regularly to his campaign fund. For this year's contest they donated $2500.  In the 2010 cycle when he wasn't up for reelection, they gave him $1600. In 2008 he got $1500. & you can be sure Planned parenthood has encouraged their supporters to give to his campaign as well.

This election cycle is important in so many ways. Most of the focus so far has been on the Republican Presidential Primaries, & the presidential election in November. Yes, that is important. But so are the other elections, from the US House, to state & even local elections like county officials. On all these levels, strong Pro-life candidates MUST be elected. Then their feet must be held to the fire.

& please, do not buy the arguement that all we need is a Republican majority. It isn't that simple.  Take the US Senate for example. You can have 51 Republicans, but if a couple of them are pro-abort, like Olympia Snowe & Susan Collins, you still won't get any bills passed.  You need strong Pro-life people in there. & the message needs to be made clear to the Republicans that they can't simply take us for granted like they have in the past.

I'm sick & tired of this claim that we have to settle for the 2 parties that are out there. Why? Just because they have been the 2 main parties for a long time, doesn't mean they deserve to continue to exist if they won't stand up for what the people want. & what we clearly want is an end to abortion.

Iowa Pro-Life Lawmakers Look to De-Fund Planned Parenthood

Iowa could become the next state to see a fight to de-fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business, which has last taxpayer funding in states ranging from Texas to Indiana to New Hampshire.

Republican lawmakers in the Iowa House are working on plans to push for new limits on state taxpayer funding going to the biggest abortion giant in the nation. Chuck Hurley of the Family Leader told Radio Iowa that, while Planned Parenthood doesn’t get funding for abortions, it receives $6 million in state tax dollars as reimbursement for providing birth control and family planning for women that can be obtained elsewhere without supporting an abortion business.

“This amendment would move that money away from people like Planned Parenthood and to comprehensive, full-service health care providers,” Hurley says. “It would not cut any funds. It would redirect them to those that can provide more and better services to needy women.”

“We are urging Iowans who care about using tax dollars wisely to contact their House members right away,” Hurley says.

Radio Iowa provides more about the upcoming battle, which sees Republicans taking the pro-life position while Democrats are expected to battle to keep tax dollars flowing the organization that does more than 25 percent of all abortions in the United States.

This policy debate is likely to occur when the House considers a massive bill that outlines spending for the Iowa Department of Human Services. Back in the 2010 campaign, when Terry Branstad was seeking a fifth term as governor, Branstad mentioned during a debate that he supported a policy that would “defund” Planned Parenthood.

“Unfortunately, it did not happen in 2011. It’s overdue,” Hurley says. “Now, nine other states — at least — have done something similar and it’s Iowa’s turn.”

While the proposal is likely to pass the Iowa House where Republicans outnumber Democrats 60 to 40, it’s unlikely to survive the Democratically-led Iowa Senate.