I Guess Worshipping Obama as the Messiah Doesn't Violate "Seperation of Church & State"

No, this is not a joke mocking Obama for his messianic complex. The picture above was taken inside a North Carolina state government office. The person has set up an actual shrine to worship Obama. Can you imagine the screaming about seperation of Church & State if the bureauweenie had put up a shrine to honor a saint or worship Christ instead of worshipping Obama?

What is hugely blasphemous is the fact that the body of Obama with the green cloak is from a statue of St. Jude, patron saint of hopeless cases.

But what is even worse is how this person has chosen to make Obama into a false idol. Well, in a sense, he is only doing what Obama & his minions have done since before the 2008 election, painting Obama as the long awaited messiah, the chosen one. In short, this is how Obama sees himself. He is both the state & the church & there is room for no other.

So, the next time you hear Obama omit mention of the creator when quoting the Declaration of Independence about rights, or any other time he omits it or defending the HHS mandate attacking religious freedom, or demanding Christian symbols be covered up when he speaks at a place like Georgetown, etc, you now know why. He is heading our country down the same way the Roman emperors ran things, demanding that we offer sacrifice & worship him as god. He is creating a thoecracy with himself as the god that rules it.

Another huge reason why we must see that he doesn't get reelected in November. If he does get releceted, the time of God holding back his hand in judgment for the sins of America will be very, very short. I honestly think we are still in the time of God's mercy, but just like with ancient Israel & Judah, we must repent & change direction before it is too late. Something we are perilously close to, if not already there.

Source: A Bureaucrat’s Shrine

Adult Stem Cells Score A Big Win Against AIDS

I have been regularly reporting on the breakthroughs in the use of adult stem cells to help find treatments & cures. I have also regularly pointed out how embryonic stem cells have only offered pie-in-the-sky promises at best & more problems, like tumors, at worst.

But the latest news to come out about adult stem cell research is the potential cure of AIDS using adult stem cell therapy. Last Thursday at the AIDS 2012 Conference in Washington, DC, researchers announced that two HIV-positive men have been found to be HIV-free following bone marrow transplants. The researchers believe that giving bone marrow transplants, which by nature involve the use of adult stem cells, to patients undergoing anti-retroviral therapy could potentially cure the AIDS-causing virus.

According to one of the researchers studying the two men, Dr. Timothy Henrich, “We expected HIV to vanish from the patients’ plasma, but it is surprising that we can’t find any traces of HIV in their cells. It suggests that under the cover of anti-retroviral therapy, the cells that repopulated the patient’s immune system appear to be protected from becoming re-infected with HIV.” Naturally, time will tell how successful this treatment is.

The results have similarities to the case of Timothy Ray Brown, known as “the Berlin patient,” who claims he continues to be cured of HIV after receiving a transplant of cells found to have a genetic mutations making them HIV-resistant.

As I said, time will tell, but it does look very promising. & it is just more proof that adult stem cells offer real hope, not just empty promises. In this case it is real hope for those who have AIDS, from children born with it to adults.

Source: Two Men HIV-Free After New Adult Stem Cell Breakthrough

Billy Graham - Calling America to Repent of Its Sins, Especially Abortion

Here is a portion of a prayer letter that the Rev. Billy Graham recently sent out:

Some years ago, my wife, Ruth, was reading the draft of a book I was writing. When she finished a section describing the terrible downward spiral of our nation’s moral standards and the idolatry of worshiping false gods such as technology and sex, she startled me by exclaiming, “If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”

She was probably thinking of a passage in Ezekiel where God tells why He brought those cities to ruin. “Now this was the sin of ... Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen” (Ezekiel 16:49–50, NIV).

I wonder what Ruth would think of America if she were alive today. In the years since she made that remark, millions of babies have been aborted and our nation seems largely unconcerned. Self-centered indulgence, pride, and a lack of shame over sin are now emblems of the American lifestyle.

Just a few weeks ago in a prominent city in the South, Christian chaplains who serve the police department were ordered to no longer mention the Name of Jesus in prayer. It was reported that during a recent police-sponsored event, the only person allowed to pray was someone who addressed “the being in the room.” Similar scenarios are now commonplace in towns across America. Our society strives to avoid any possibility of offending anyone—except God.

Yet the farther we get from God, the more the world spirals out of control.

My heart aches for America and its deceived people. The wonderful news is that our Lord is a God of mercy, and He responds to repentance. In Jonah’s day, Nineveh was the lone world superpower—wealthy, unconcerned, and self-centered. When the Prophet Jonah finally traveled to Nineveh and proclaimed God’s warning, people heard and repented.

I believe the same thing can happen once again, this time in our nation.

Margaret Sanger, The Most Influencial Promoter of Evil in the History of the USA

Time Magazine recently came out with its list of The 20 Most Influential Americans of All Time. it describes the list as "The trailblazers, visionaries and cultural ambassadors who defined a nation." While you would expect that list to include people like George Washington, Albert Einstein & Martin Luther King Jr., some people may be surprized to see Margaret Sanger included on this list. After all, she was a promoter of racism & eugenics as well as starting the organization that is the leading cause of death for preborn children.  But when you think about it, it should come as no surprize she is on that list.

Let us remember that our current president & his administration are huge promoters of the "culture of death" that she is one of the architects of. She is also lionized by those in the Main Stream Media who are the propagandists for this culture, including Time Magazine. So by what type of culture they are promoting, she clearly fits into their definition of trailblazer, visionary & cultural ambassador.

The article by (no surprize here either) Gloria Steinem is subtitled with the phrase, "freedom fighter".

The short article is a paean to Sanger that makes her sound like she was a saint that walked on water & did no wrong. But given the fact that the "culture of death" sees abortion as a sacrament, by their definition she is.

The article applauds her "brave and joyous life", saying that it "included fulfilling work, three children, two husbands, many lovers and a large network of friends and colleagues." What it fails to mention is how she was a racist who wanted to get rid of blacks (see Maafa 21 & The Truth About MARGRET SANGER for more). Among the others she wanted to get rid of were Southern Europeans including Italians, like my maternal side of the family. She was also a big fan of eugenics & forced sterilization, despite claims in the article "lived as if she and everyone else had the right to control her or his own life." Forced sterilization isn't exactly allowing a person the right to control his or her body. She also supported compulsory segregation for the severly retarded. I suspect she would be applauding the fact that 90% of Down syndrome children are being aborted these days as that helps keep the white race pure by her standards. Sanger also spoke to a  women's auxiliary of the Ku Klux Klan in Silver Lake, New Jersey that was well received & resulted in more invites to speak elsewhere.

Additionally she was a self-admitted socialist. She was also opposed to all forms of welfare to the poor because they were part of the problem she saw with impuritites in the white race. She wanted them to die out so their genes would be taken out of the mix.

Of course none of this fits into the picture that the people promoting this evil want to present. So they hide the truth about her.

The Steinem piece ends by saying "By word and deed, she pioneered the most radical, humane and transforming political movement of the 20th and 21st centuries." While what she did has radically transformed the culuture, is has been anything but for the better. As for humane, well, all anyone has to do is look at the facts about how Planned Parenthood & other abortion providers actually operate to see that they are anything but humane.

In a sane culture we would be condemning her agenda, not putting it in to action. & above all, we would be listing her with people like Nero, Stalin & Hitler, not Washington & Martin Luther King Jr.

Source: Margaret Sanger Named One of 20 Most Influential Americans Ever

Why Chick-fil-A's CEO, Dan Cathy, Is Right - It All Adds Up!

H/T: Robert @ Sorry,all the clever names are taken.  (Goose Egg. )

34 Years of Perpetual Adoration In Dubuque

Today marks the 34th Anniversary of continuous Perpetual Adoration* of the Blessed Sacrament in the city of Dubuque, IA.  The chapel where this takes place is operated by the Power of Prayer Inc.
On 25 July 1978, Archbishop James J. Byrne blessed the chapel & Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was begun the following day, 26 July, the feast of St. Joachim & Ann. The first chapel was in the former Chancery of the Archdiocese of Dubuque & the then home of the Archbishop. It was located at the corner of 11th & Bluff St. With the retirement of Archbishop Byrne & the sale of the Archbishop's reseidence in 1983,  the chapel moved to the corner of 17th & Heeb St. where it remained until 2011. The location served its purpose. However the age & condition of the building made it imperative that a new location be found. The new location is at 1860 St. Ambrose St. on the campus of St. Anthony's Catholic Church on the 1st floor of the former convent building.  After renovations, on 8 September 2011 (the Blessed Mother's Birthday) the chapel was moved to its present location. (Note: to ensure there was no break, there was a short period of time where adoration continued at the old location while starting at the new location.)

While many people have either stopped in for an occasional visit or committed to an hour, the new location has been a real blessing as it has made the chapel much more visible as it is near a main arterial road. The result has been an upswing in people stopping in & spending time in prayer before the Eucharistic Presence of Jesus.

Besides Eucharistic Adorationally, for many years now there has had a Mass for Life & the end of abortion on Wednesday afternoons  in a seperate chapel (Heeb St & current location). When Planned Parenthood opened its original location in DBQ, the chapel looks down from the bluff above. I am sure that those Masses are part of the reason that Planned Parenthood has not been the big success it thought it would be. The result was to go from 40 to 17 hours a week. & even in its new location, about 2 miles down the road from the chapel, the effects of the prayers are still being seen. The hours or "clients" have not increased. Someday soon, all those prayers (in front of the clinic, at teh chapel & elsewhere) will bear fruit in the permanant closing of any Planned Parenthood facility in DBQ.#

That is only 1 small example of the fruit that has been born by having this chapel in DBQ. 1 thing that will never be known until the Last Judgment is all the fruit that has been born by having this chapel in DBQ. But I can assure you it is far beyond what any of us can imagine.

I have to add that is hard for me to believe that the Adoration Chapel has been arround DBQ as long as it has. I can remember when it 1st opened up downtown & occasionally stopping in for a visit. It has been a real blessing to have it there & at the subsequent locations. My hope & prayer is that it will continue to remain in existance until the end of time.^

__________________

* Under the rules & regulations of the Catholic Church found in Eucharistiae Sacramentum (Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass), par 82-100, Adoration is not allowed during the Easter Triduum. The reason behind the regulation has to do with the events being litugically commemorated during those 3 days. So, for those days Perpetual Adoration is merely suspended, not ended.

# For more on the importance of Perpetual Adoration as a spiritual weapon in the battle against abortion I recommend you read Perpetual Adoration as a Necessary Antidote to Abortion by Servant of God Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.

^As I have also mentioned before, we are now blessed with 2 Perpetual Adoration chapels in the DBQ area. 1 on each side of the Mississippi. The other chapel is St. Joseph Guardian of the Redeemer Perpetual Adoration Chapel at 190 Montgomery Ave. E DBQ. With the presence of 2 chapels you can be sure the fruit of Eucharistic Adoration in the Tri-state area will be exponentially multiplied.

Humanae Vitae 44 Years Later

Today marks the 44th Anniversary of the release of the encyclical Humanae Vitae by Pope Paul VI. Sadly it was rejected from the 1st by many within the Catholic Church who wanted the Church to change its teaching on artificial birth control, something the Church cannot do. It was a follow up & reaffirmation of what  Pope Pius XI wrote the 1930 encyclical Casti connubii (On Christian Marriage). What most people are unaware of with Humanae Vitae is the part that then Archbishop Karol Wojtyła (later Pope John Paul II) played. In 1960 he wrote  Love and Responsibility that defended, from a philosophical point of view, the Church's teaching. His position was  reflected in the final draft of the encyclical. Pope John Paul later expanded on what was found in his writings & these 2 encyclicals in a series of audience talks that has been labeled the Theology of the Body.

While it has been labelled as the anti-birth control encyclical, it contains so much more than that. Like Casti connubi, it reaffirmed the Catholic Church's traditional view of marriage & marital relations. & both also made it clear that sexual intercourse was only for a man & woman joined in marriage. The conjugal act between a man & woman had a distinct dignity & it was unitave & was as procreative purposes. Both encyclicals also condemned abortion. Additionally Casti connubi condemned eugenics laws in force in many places (including the USA) at the time.*

What has been ignored by those inside & out of the Church opposing the Catholic Church's teaching on birth control is how prophetic Humanae Vitae was when it came out. In writing the encyclical it is clear the Holy Spirit gave him insight into what would lie ahead should artificial birth control gain the popularity it has.

In section 17 he said "Let them first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards." How accurate that has been is self evident. Look at the entertainment industry & what it puts out in movies, television, etc. Marital infidelity is lauded. Madonna & Lady Gaga are held up as role models instead of their actions being described as that of a putana (whore) or slut. I could go on, but you get the (pornographic sorry to say) picture.

Pope Paul also said "Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection." We have seen that time & time again. All women are is sex objects. I have to add that women have also done a good job of treating men that way as well. With the ease of obtaining an abortion, men have used pressure to make women get one so they don't have to take any responsibility for their actions.

The last warning he gave seems especially prescient of the situation we find ourselves currently in here in the USA. "Finally, careful consideration should be given to the danger of this power passing into the hands of those public authorities who care little for the precepts of the moral law. Who will blame a government which in its attempt to resolve the problems affecting an entire country resorts to the same measures as are regarded as lawful by married people in the solution of a particular family difficulty? Who will prevent public authorities from favoring those contraceptive methods which they consider more effective? Should they regard this as necessary, they may even impose their use on everyone. It could well happen, therefore, that when people, either individually or in family or social life, experience the inherent difficulties of the divine law and are determined to avoid them, they may give into the hands of public authorities the power to intervene in the most personal and intimate responsibility of husband and wife." (emphasis mine)

Doesn't this sound exactly what the Obama administration is trying to do in its implimentation of ObamaCare? Just look at the HHS mandate forcing Catholics & others who own a business to violate their consciences & pay for contracetion through the insurance coverage they have. & how about how Catholic institutions are facing the same threat? Time & time again we have seen what Obama thinks of the moral law with his promotion of artificial birth control, abortion, gay marriage, etc.

For 2000 years the Catholic Church has been a "sign of contradiction" (Luke 2:34) just like Jesus. Pope Paul said it was the "duty imposed on her of proclaiming humbly but firmly the entire moral law, both natural and evangelical.

Since the Church did not make either of these laws, she cannot be their arbiter—only their guardian and interpreter. It could never be right for her to declare lawful what is in fact unlawful, since that, by its very nature, is always opposed to the true good of man."

In the 44 years since the encyclical came out neither the moral law, or the Church's duty to humbly proclaim the truth of it has changed. & for good reason. Unlike what the 'culture of death" is doing, as Pope Paul said, "In preserving intact the whole moral law of marriage, the Church is convinced that she is contributing to the creation of a truly human civilization."  & when you compare what the Church has taught & upheld with what the "culture of death" has done when allowed to destroy moral law you will see how it has been the Catholic Church that has been the one to contribute "to the creation of a truly human civilization."

Note: On 24 July 2012, the Catholic World Report put up an article Contraception in the United States: A Short History, that looks at the early history of contraception & abortion advocacy in America, & especially its deepest objectives. It is well worth the read to understand how the movement sprang up in the USA as well as why most protestant churches have embraced artificial birth control.

__________________

* It should come as no surprize that in 1932 Margaret Sanger came out & condemned Casti connubi. In an article she wrote she said the encyclical was was an obstacle to general approval of the birth-control movement. She went on to say that it is “not in accord with science and definitely against social welfare and race improvement”  (race improvement is another term for eugenics). It is not surprizing she acted this way. What is also interesting is that many of the attacks she made on the Pope & the Catholic Church have since become standard talking points within the "culture of death" to try & undermine the Church's teachings on abortion, birth control & feminist issues as well.

Thought for the Day - 24 July 2012

Now Why Didn't This LifeSiteNews Headline Surprize ME/

Catholic bishops helped to fund Alinsky training for Barack Obama, according to documents

Anger me?, yes, disgust me?, yes, surprize me?, NO!!!!!

What happenned was that in 1986, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ “Campaign for Human Development” paid a young Barack Obama’s airfaire to a training program on community organizing given by the Industrial Areas Foundation, an organization founded by leftist radical Saul Alinsky. This is according to a new book released today, No Higher Power. The book was written by conservative activist & Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly along with journalist George Neumayr & was released today.

The book focuses in on Obama’s “war on religious freedom.” The book looks at the war Obama has declared, but it also how Catholics & Protestants are helping him in this war. In addition to the above the authors highlight other problematic funding & allegiances between the Catholic & other Churches & ultra-liberal causes.

In Chapter 6 the book the authors state:"In the 1980s, the Catholic archdiocese of Chicago contributed to the training of Obama in the very Alinskyite radicalism that would culminate in such anti-religious measures as the HHS mandate. In fact, in the course of writing this book, we met a source who once had access to copies of documents from the archives of the Chicago archdiocese. This source supplied us with never-before-published copies of invoices, checks, and letters that confirm the Church’s support for the man who would one day seek to destroy its religious freedom.

In a series of appendices, we have reproduced the check and invoice showing that the archdiocese of Chicago paid for Obama’s plane trip to a conference in Los Angeles run by the Industrial Areas Foundation, the community organizing group founded by Alinsky." Those documents can be seen at the LifeSiteNews story (here) or The Blaze story (here).

In short, the Catholic Bishops have to take a huge part of the responsibility for the mess we are in today. They failed to reign in the Leadership Council of Catholic Women years ago, & now the Vatican has had to step in. Many of them failed to correct dissident Catholic politicians like Mario Cuomo, Joe Biden or Nancy Pelosi. Some like Sibelius' in Kansas did. Unfortunately rather than humbly accept it, they opted to continue to rebel. With few exceptions, like Bishop Brustkewitz, they failed to go after dissenting groups like Call to Action. They let most Catholic colleges become Catholic in name only. & that is only a part of the list.

Now they are reaping what they sowed. Unfortunately, they haven't yet learned from their mistakes. While some efforts at clean-up have begun, the scandals continue.  It recently came out that Catholic Relief Services (CRS), “the official overseas relief and development agency of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops” has recently given millions to CARE. The are an organization that doles out contraceptives, including abortifacient ‘emergency contraception.’ Some months ago I got a fundraising letter from them. (I have since gotten a couple more.) The organization claims it  exists to fight poverty When I got it I looked over the brochure they emphasised how the especially work with women. & how they promoted "reproductive health care" & providing "family planning" resources for them. Anyone who knows anything about the "culture of death" agenda knows those are code words for abortion & artificial birth control. If I could figure that out from just reading their brochure, surely CRS could have figured it out as well. The only answer is that they intentionally ignored those facts & went right ahead giving them the money. While CRS can claim the funds went other purposes, the claim doesn't stand up. In doing so, CRS enabled CARE to free up other funds to promote birth control & abortion. As I have pointed out before, in organizations like this, money is fungable.

Another clue should have been the connection between CARE & the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that actively promotes birth control & abortion. I recently posted on this fact here. The relationship goes back to at least 1999 (here) when it was still the William H. Gates Foundation. The relationship was cemented in 2005 when the CARE Board Named Dr. Helene Gayle As New President/CEO. At the time she was a senior executive with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

While I applaud the recent actions by the USCCB to defend religious freedom, there is much more they need to do. They need to stand up & take responsibility for their failures in doing what they were called to do, shepherd the Catholic Church & protect it from the wolves getting it. They also need to start taking major action to clean up these messes. If not, even if  those fighting this current battle against the Obama administration for religious freedom win, they will continue to be aiiding & abetting the enemy in not only the battle against the "culture of death", but the battle for the very souls of the people whom they are called to protect. & I wouldn't want to be in their shoes when they stand before God to answer for that. 

Why the "Culture of Death" Doesn't Want the Truth Told About Abortion

Over the past few days the news has been covering the shootings in Aurora Colorado last Friday morning. There is only 1 word to describe what happenned, EVIL. Pure, unadultarated evil is what was behind the destruction of those lives. People are right to have the horrific reaction to it that they are. They see it for the evil it is & reject it as something totally unacceptable.

As I was thinking & praying about it this morning, it crossed my mind that that event showcases the reason why the "culture of death" doesn't want the truth to get out about abortion, or the rest of their agenda for that matter.Those who are promoting that culture know that if peoplesee it for the truly demonic evil that it is, they will be as quick to reject it as they do any other mass murder or holocaust like what happenned under Stalin, Hitler or the Khmer Rouge. That is why the demonic "culture of death" is doing all it can to keep the light of truth from shining on the evil deads they prefer to keep people in the dark about.

This attack is multi-pronged. It is done so they can do their best to keep even the slightest gliimer of the light of truth from being seen. & where it is being shone, to put that light out. Most of us are familar with the various attacks being used. But, how often do we see them as a part of an overall strategy? I'd like to take a look at some of those strategies & then look at some of what we can do to combat them.

The 1st one I want to talk about is how the abortion industry opposes the use of ultrasound/sonograms before an abortion. The industry knows that if a woman sees the child in the womb, that over 80% of them will not go ahead with the abortion. The abortion industry tries to say that the unborn child is just a blob of tissue. The sonogram shows that just the opposite is true. This is a living human being. (Read more here)

Ultrasound has also resulted in videos that show the development from day 1 is a continuum & that it is a human life from the start. To counter that, the "culture of death" has so-called "ethicists" who are now promoting the idea that the child doesn't have the right to be called human or live until it earns that right in some way. & even more recently, I read an article where someone is now pushing doctors to never use the term child with the unborn baby, even if the parents want to have the baby.  In short, since they cannot hide the truth any more, they are trying to mislead people so they don't see it. This is the same method used before ultrasound to make people think it was just a blob of tissue. It was also used in the 60s to cover up the truth that birth control pills can cause an abortion by redefining conception from when it actually happens, fertilization, to implantation in the lining of the uterus. We still see that today, including with the use of the morning after pill.
We are seeing a similar attempt at redefinition in the euthenasia movement as the truth about that comes out. Even more than in the past,Planned Parenthood is now using misleading language to avoid answering questions about what the do truthfully.

Next up, since it is tied to the above, is the attack on crisis pregnancy centers CPCs), especially with laws to shut them down by attacking their 1st amendment rights as well as slandering them. By using the deception that they accuse CPCs of, the "culture of death" tries to say they mislead women. They also hate the growing use of ultrasound equipment at CPCs. They know that CPCs don't merely work to keep women from having abortions, these places provide women with alternatives that promiote life, not death.

Another thing the "culture of death" hates are those organizations that have programs to show the truth about what an abortion really does to the child. I know that some Pro=lifers have problems with the graphic pictures they use, especially in public displays. But the reality is, just like with what happenned in Nazi Germany & to blacks under slavery, it took people seeing the truth about what happenned in those situations to reject it & fight against it. We see people who still deny the Holocaust by claiming the pictures were faked. & we see the same thing these days by abortion supporters who try & deny that is what really happens as a result of an abortion..
This is why they try to stop people with signs showing the truth from setting up the diplays. When they are set up, you will see people attack them & do what they can to destroy them. Or they will try & get the people (especially student groups) arrested for trespassing. We see a similar attack on Pro-lifers who peacefully & prayerfully stand before abortion clinics. The whole purpose is to silence those speaking the truth.
This is also why they attack groups like Live Action & others who go undercover. The abortion insutry tries to paint what they are doing as hoaxes. Or they say, even when shown otherwise, that the tapes were edited to mislead. These groups are attacked because they are bringing to light the truth about the abortion industry.
Next up we have the attack on the Catholic Church through the HHS mandate. Yes, it is an attack on religious freedom. & that is why you see evangelical Christians & others in the Pro-life camp who may not totally agree with the Catholic Church's teachings on birth control for example. They know that at the root of these attacks is an attempt to push the Catholic Church out of the public square. In fact to silence anyone who is a believer & proclaims the truth.
The "culture of death" knows that the Catholic Church's magesterial teachings proclaim the light of truth on life issues. The Catholic Church has been the one Church to consistantly tell the truth about abortion, sex outside of marriage, gay marriage & the rest of theier deadly agenda.  In shining that light, it brings the evil of the "culture of death" out of the darkness where it prefers to remain.
Besides the attempts at silencing from without, we are seeing a not so clandestine 5th column working from within to undermine the Catholic Church by saying that it is OK to ignore what the Church is teaching. Of course I am refering to such people as Nancy Pelosi, Kathleen Sibelius, Tom Harkin, Tom Vilsak & VP Biden among many others. This is an attempt to keep people from looking at the truth as they should by creating confusion.
& while evangelicals & other protestants who are Pro-life don't have the fullness of the truth, to the extent that they do, they are letting the light of truth shine as well. & that is why they are coming under attack as well to silence them.
So what are we to do.
As I have said so often before, 1st & formost this is a spiritual battle. The "culture of death" is demonic in origin. & it is spiritual weapons that will defeat it. So that means, pray, pray pray.
We also must repent for the sins of our nation.
But prayer does not absolve us from taking action where we can. Yes, some people are homebound, or in a hospital & unable to be active as most people define it.  But they do have an active role. God is calling them to be prayer warriors, interceding for all of us out on the fronty lines. They can also offer up their suffering as a form of intercession as well.
For the rest of us, there are plenty of things we can do.
If there is a Planned Parentood clinic or other abortion provider nearby, volunteer to prayerfully protest in front of it. Give what financial support you can to Pro-life organizations, local & national. Also do the same for crisis pregnancy centers. Some of them operate on volunteer help as well. Write letters to the paper telling the truth about the abortion industry. Be sure your facts are straight. Don't rely on emotion. There are some groups out there who put up Pro-life billboards. They often rely on financial help as well. Then there are blogs & your Facebook page as well
No one of us can do everything. Nor is God asking us to.  But each of us does have a role to play in this battle. We must start end & undergird everything we do with prayer. & yes, I do that with my Pro-life posts as well. I regularly seek God's guidance. In the end we also need to remember that it isn't us who will bring about the victory. It is God who will. Our responisbility is to do what he calls us to. & in doing show let our light shine before men. Doing so, we let the light of truth shine in the darkness to enable those who are mislead to the truth. We cannot worry about acceptance or rejection. That is not our concern. In these times it is more urgent than ever to let our light shine. We must remember, we are not alone. We must support one another. & we must rely on God for our strength. as well as to guide us. & go forth with the assurance, not that God is on our side, but that we are on God's side. & if weare, we are on the winning side.

Papa Benedetto - We Are Called by Christ to Preach the Truth, Even If People Don't Want to Hear It!

PASTORAL VISIT TO FRASCATI, ITALY

HOLY MASS

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

St. Peter's Square, Frascati
Sunday, 15 July 2012

[Video]

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I am very pleased to be with you to celebrate the Eucharist and to share the joys and hopes, efforts and commitments, ideals and aspirations of this diocesan community. I greet Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who is my Secretary of State and the titular of this Diocese. I greet Bishop Raffaello Martinelli, your Pastor, as well as the Mayor of Frascati. I thank them for the courteous words of welcome with which they have greeted me on behalf of you all. I am glad to greet the Minister, the Presidents of the Region and of the Province, the Mayor of Rome, the other Mayors present and all the distinguished Authorities.

I am also very glad to be concelebrating this Mass today with your Bishop, a very faithful and capable collaborator of mine in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as he said, for more than 20 years. He was involved above all in the catechism and catechetics sector where he worked in deep silence and discretion. He contributed to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and to the Compendium of the Catechism so in this great symphony of faith his voice is also truly present.

In this Sunday’s Gospel Jesus takes the initiative of sending the Twelve Apostles out on mission (cf. Mk 6:7-13). In fact the term “apostles” means, precisely, “messengers” or “envoys”. Their vocation was to be fully achieved only after Christ’s Resurrection with the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Yet it is very significant that Jesus wants to involve the Twelve in his action from the outset: it is a sort of “apprenticeship” with a view to the great responsibility that awaited them. The fact that Jesus calls certain disciples to collaborate directly in his mission demonstrates one aspect of his love, namely, he does not spurn the help that other people can contribute to his work; he knows their limitations, their weaknesses, but bears no contempt for them. On the contrary Jesus confers on them the dignity of being his envoys. He sends them out two by two and gives them instructions which the Evangelist sums up in a few sentences. The first concerns the spirit of detachment: the Apostles must not be attached to money or to other comforts. Then Jesus warns the disciples that they will not always receive a favourable welcome. Sometimes they will be rejected; they might even be persecuted. However this must not frighten them: they must speak in Jesus’ name and preach the Kingdom of God without being worried about whether or not they will succeed. Succeed — its success must be left to God.

The First Reading presents us with the same perspective, showing us that all too often God’s messengers are not well received. This is the case of the Prophet Amos whom God sent to prophesy in the Sanctuary at Bethel, a sanctuary of the Kingdom of Israel (cf. Amos 7:12-15). Amos preached very energetically against injustices, denouncing in particular the abuses of kings and notables, abuses of power that offend the Lord and nullify acts of worship. Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, therefore ordered Amos to leave. Amos answered that it was not he who chose this mission but that the Lord had made him a prophet and sent him to this very place in the Kingdom of Israel. Therefore, whether he was accepted or rejected, he would continue to prophesy, preaching whatever God told him and not what men wished to hear. And this has continued to be the Church’s mandate: she does not preach what the powerful wish to hear. Her criterion is truth and justice even if it is unpopular and against human power.

Likewise in the Gospel Jesus warns the Twelve that in some places they may be rejected. Should this be the case, they are to go elsewhere, having shaken the dust from their feet in public. This sign expresses detachment in two senses: moral detachment — as if to say it is you who have refused the proclamation offered to you — and material detachment. We did not seek and do not want anything for ourselves (cf. Mk 6:11).

The other very important instruction in the Gospel passage is that the Twelve must not be content with preaching conversion. They must accompany their preaching, in accordance with Jesus’ instructions and example, with care for the sick, with caring for those who are sick in body and in spirit. It speaks of the healing of illnesses and also of driving out demons, that is, of purifying the human mind, cleansing, cleansing the eyes of the soul that are clouded by ideologies and hence cannot see God, cannot see truth and justice. This twofold corporal and spiritual healing is always the mandate of Christ’s disciples. Hence the apostolic mission must always include the two aspects of preaching God’s word and of showing his goodness in gestures of charity, service and dedication.

Dear brothers and sisters, I give thanks to God who has sent me today to proclaim to you once again this Word of salvation! A Word which is at the root of the life and action of the Church and also of this Church which is in Frascati. Your Bishop has told me about the pastoral commitment you have most at heart. It is essentially a commitment to formation, addressed first of all to formation teachers: to form formators. This is just what Jesus did with his disciples; he instructed them, he prepared them and he also trained them through a missionary “apprenticeship”, so that they might be able to assume apostolic responsibility in the Church. In the Christian community this is always the first service offered by those in charge: starting with parents who carry out an educational mission for their children in the family.

Let us think of parish priests, who are responsible for formation in the community, of all priests in their various fields of work. They all live an important dimension which is educational. Likewise the lay faithful, in addition to the role of parents, mentioned above, are involved in the service of formation with young people or adults, as those in charge of Apostolic Action and other ecclesial movements, or are involved in civil and social contexts, always paying great attention to a person’s formation.

The Lord calls everyone, distributing different gifts for different tasks in the Church. He calls people to the priesthood and to the consecrated life and he calls them to marriage and to commitment as lay people, both in the Church herself and in society. It is important that the wealth of gifts be fully accepted, especially on the part of the young; so that they feel the joy of responding to God with the whole of themselves, giving joy on the path of the priesthood or of the consecrated life, or on the path of marriage, two complementary routes that illuminate and enrich each other and together enrich the community. Virginity for the Kingdom of God and marriage are both vocations, calls from God to which to respond throughout one’s life.

God calls: it is necessary to listen, to receive and to respond to him, like Mary: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). Here too, in the diocesan community of Frascati the Lord sows his gifts by the handful, calls people to follow him and to extend his mission in our day. Here too there is a need for a new evangelization, and for this reason I propose that you live intensely the Year of Faith that will begin in October, 50 years after the opening of the Second Vatican Council. The Council documents contain an enormous wealth for the formation of the new Christian generations, for the formation of our consciences. Consequently, read it, read the Catechism of the Catholic Church and thereby rediscover the beauty of being Christian, of being Church, of living the great “we” that Jesus formed around him in order to evangelize the world. Be the “we” of the Church, never closed, but ever open and reaching out to proclaim the Gospel.

Dear brothers and sisters of Frascati. May you be united with each other and at the same time open, be missionaries. Stay firm in the faith, rooted in Christ through the Word and the Eucharist; be people who pray, in order to remain linked for ever to Christ, like branches to the vine. At the same time go out, take his message to all, especially the lowly, the poor and the suffering. In every community love one another; do not be divided but live as brothers and sisters so that the world may believe that Jesus is alive in his Church and that the Kingdom of God is at hand. The Patron Saints of the Diocese of Frascati are two Apostles: Philip and James, two of the Twelve. I entrust to their intercession the progress of your community so that it may be renewed in faith and may give a clear witness with works of charity. Amen.

A Tale of Two Nuns

(with apolgies to Charles Dickens)

They were the best of Nuns

They were they worst of nuns

it was the age of wise virgins,
it is the age of foolish virgins,
it was the living out of belief,
it is the living out of heresy,
it was their season of letting their Light shine,
it is their season of spreading Darkness,
I am sure by now you recognize that I have taken the opening of this post from Dicken's A Tale of Two Cities. I am also sure you recognize the Nuns on the Bus that were referenced by the purple lines. What you may not recognize, unless you are an opera fan, are the Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne (referenced by the brown lines).
They were the 16 members of the Carmel of Compiègne, France. There were 11 Discalced Carmelite nuns, 3 lay sisters, and two externs (tertiaries) of the Order. They were martyred on 17 July 1794 as a apart of the Reign of Terror.  Their story was told in the 1957 Francis Poulenc opera, Dialogues of the Carmelites (with the usually adaptations that don't do full justice to their faith.)
By now I think you can see why the Dicken's reference. & maybe even a bit of the reason I chose the Nuns on the Bus as a contrast. I am also sure that you are asking another question about the martyrs, "Why do I bring them up?"
The answer has to do with the homily that Fr. Parker gave at Mass on Tuesday at St. Mary's Church in E DBQ. Since it was their feast day in the Carmelite calendar, he brought them up to compare how things were then to now.
Fr. Parker pointed out how the attack on religious liberty during the French Revolution is paralleling what is going on here in the United States under the Obama administration.  Thoughout the whole time of increasing attacks & persecution, the Carmelites daily offered themselves as victims to God for the restoration of peace to France & the Church. After their arrest & condemnation they were sent to the guillotine. At the foot of the scaffold, the community jointly renewed their vows. Then they began to chant the Veni Creator Spiritus This hymn is sung at the ceremony for the profession of vows. They continued their singing as, one by one, they mounted the scaffold to meet their death. The 1st to die was the novice of the community, Sister Constance. Next were the lay Sisters & externs. Then the nuns were executed, ending with the prioress, Mother Teresa of St. Augustine, O.C.D. They were the last peoplle to be executed as the Reign of Terror ended a few days later. From the start, their willingness to die for the faith has been credited as putting an end to the bloodbath.
The point Fr. Parker was making was that we are heading in the same direction. Slowly biut surely, step by step, our religious freedom is being attacked. Just like then, we are heading to a point where to publicly live out our faith could be dangerous. When the time came, the Carmelites chose to keep wearing their habits & publicly profess their faith. They did so because they were solid in their faith. We need to be solid in our faith as the Carmelites were. We need to be ready & willing to suffer & maybe even face martyrdom should it come to pass.
As Father was sharing this, I couldn't help but think how said it is that we have nuns like those of the LCWR who are rebelling instead of being faithful to the magesterial teachings of the Church. They are working to destroy the Catholic Church, not build up & encourage the faith. But I have to add I am thankful that there are plenty of Nuns who wear their habits & are faithful to the mageterium & the Pope. I don't know if they, or even I will ever have to face martyrdom in this country. I do know that it is very possible if we keep heading the way we do, I only pray that, should the time come, God will give me the graces I need to follow the example of these Carmelites & the other martyrs throughout the centuries.

Now If a Mafia Godfather Had Said This, Obama Would Have Been Impeached Yesterday

Just when you think you have seen* it all when it comes to corruption, Planned Parenthood, the Obama administration & the incestuous relationship between them & other Democratic & pro-abortion groups, this comes along. Cecile Richards is bragging about how she worked with the Obama administration to insure their idea of women's health care, read abortion, was enshrined in ObamaCare.

Richards quoted in in a new interview with National Journal as saying "I’ve been working with this administration for the last three years on getting women better health care access in a whole host of ways.… [The Affordable Care Act] is the single most important opportunity to expand women’s health care access in this country that we will ever see." She goes on to talk about how, based on what happenned in Massachusetts after Romney's version of health care reform that is very similar to ObamaCare# passed, there was a huge influx that portends the influx the expect under ObamaCare.

But this is only a small part of the payback to Planned Parenthood for their support of Obama. As I pointed out the other day, despite evidence that includes federal audits of family planning programs from 1995 to 2009 that have identified a total of nearly $88 million in overbilling & maybe up to $99 million or more, the DOJ is not going after Planned Parenthood for medicaid fraud. Meanwhile, the FBI has arrested 35 people in New Jersey & New York  as a part of an alleged scheme obtained hundreds of millions of dollars worth of prescription drugs from low-income & other Medicaid recipients resell them. This is part of an  an ongoing effort to crack down on fraud within government health-care programs. While the arrests are good news, why aren't they going after Planned Parenthood as well? I can come up with only 1 answer, the corrupt relationship between Planned Parenthood & the Obama administration.
Richards, who is the daughter of the late Anne Richards, former Democratic governor, recently Richards invited Democratic activists to a training seminar put on by Planned Parenthood & the liberal group Democracy for America. “This is how we push back against anti-women's health politicians and their deep-pocketed cronies.” Deep-pocketed???????????? She should talk. Look at how well the PP execs on the national as well as affiliate level get paid. Cecile Richards makes over $383,000. The top execs as a whole make over $2.09 million. As I pointed out a while ago the "average pay of a PP affiliate CEO is $158,275. That puts them in the top 6% of household incomes. Jill June who heads up Planned Parenthood of the Heartland got $265,389 for the 2011 fiscal year. She is one of 30 top Planned Parenthood employees who makes over $200,000 (top 2.67%) & 1 of 18 who makes over $250,000 (top 1.5%)." For the reporting year Planned Parenthood made $197.9 million in profits (revenue over expenses as it is stated on Form 990). Sounds like Planned Parenthood is the one with the deep-pocketed cronies to me.
Richards is smart enough to realize that even as blatently partisan as Planned Parenthood is, because of its 501(c)3 tax exempt status, they have to give some appearance of non-partisanship. This is in part because some people are starting to point out how partisan Planned Parenthood really is. & when the New York Times brings it up, it must be getting pretty obvious. So she points out a few Republicans who support them. So why is she only working with Democratic groups if there are so many pro-abortion Republicans as she claims? Surely that have some groups promoting abortion rights as well? Yet everything she is doing is with Democrats. Smoke & mirrors once again.
More smoke & mirrors was provided in how the National Journal asked her about Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who was mentioned in the Times piece. What is failed to be mentioned in the question is why Collins was mentioned. Because Planned Parenthood turned against her in 2008 for voting for Judge Alito. Richards says that they haven't cut ties & will continue to work with her. Yet Collins said something totally different in the Times story.   “Why should I try to make their case in the Republican caucus? I can’t answer my colleagues when they say to me that Planned Parenthood is just a political party, because it is true.”     A political party? So much for non-partisanship. The Times piece also points out that "in this election cycle, the group’s political arm (while proudly claiming to be nonpartisan) has not endorsed or directly given money to a single Republican."

Meanwhile, evidence is mounting that the Obama administration is going beyond the merely labeling of Pro-lifers as terrorists & investigating them. Jill Stanek reports that her son-in-law,  Andy Moore, was visited by 2 FBI agents on 13 July. Here are the questions asked:

What affiliations do you have including church groups?

How long have you known your wife?

What belief system makes you believe in your cause?

What is your goal in protesting?

Do you know why people would make complaints against you?

Are there friends of yours or people you’re connected with that you could confidentially tell us are aggressive or abrasive? “Don’t be afraid to tell us.”

Are you involved in activism in Austin, since we noticed some entries on abortionwiki?

They were REALLY interested in the connection to Jill Stanek – details of internship, New Zealand speaking tour visit, did you get your activist and pro-life ideas from her? Did she train or teach you? Did you meet Jill before or after you became involved in the movement? Was it Jill who “fired you up” to become so active in the movement?

They were overly nice saying he wasn’t in trouble and feel free to tell us anything. Encouraged him to keep going back out there, that they represent both sides. ++they are protecting his freedom of speech++ is what they kept saying.

They said their task force that deals with these abortion cases also handles Hate Crimes and White Supremacy. Odd grouping with pro-lifers.

They knew he was an immigrant. They said a felony on his record could/would get him deported. “You wouldn’t want to be apart from your wife and newborn.”

Did you notice how many of those questions are related to what the Homeland Security report defined as potential deomestic terrorist threats  & groups?
Additionally, Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, told LifesiteNews.com that a source has given him reason to believe the Obama administration is engaging in surveillance of pro-life leaders & organizations. “It would not be a stretch to believe that every single pro-life leader has his unique ID code for their cell phone tapped into a government computer, and they know where we are and who we’re talking to at every moment.”
Before I go on, I have to say that not all the FBI agents are like this. But the questions these ones were told to ask are clearly out of that  Homeland Security document.  That document is clearly the playbook they are being told to follow.

It is clear that the Obama administration is doing all it can to pay back Planned Parenthood & the abortion industry for their support. The timing of this before the election is no coincidence either. It is pure Mafia style strong-arm tactics. They are trying to silence those who are speaking out against Planned Parenthood.
So lets take a look at what we have. The Mafia bought politicians & judges through bribes & donations. Planned Parenthood buys Democratic politicians like Sibelius & Obama through donations & campaigning for them. The Mafia got kickbacks to their "legal" businesses as a result of their ownership of poiliticians. Planned Parenthood is getting huge kickbacks through grants (see footnote below) as well as ObamCare. The Mafia used threats & fear to get people to cooperate. Planned Parenthood has the (mis)use of  FBI agents to make those threats under the guise of an investigation. Remember what Andy Moore was told? As an immigrant he was reminded that "a felony on his record could/would get him deported. “You wouldn’t want to be apart from your wife and newborn."
I suspect their is also more than a little revenge is what is going on withion how the Obama administration is targetting Pro-lifers. Look at all the success of uncovering the truth of Planned Parenthood when it comes to medicaid fraud, covering up rape, incest & white slavery, & other dirty secrets they have tried to hide, by Pro-lifers. Bringing these things to light has resulted in criminal investigations, the loss of tax monies & even resulted in some local Planned Parenthood clinics to close. I feel safe in saying that as a result, the Obama administration is gladly helping Planned Parenthood to get revenge on its enemies. Another thing the Mafia is known for.

As someone of Italiano heritage, I don't make these claims lightly, or with the aim of downplaying the evil that the Mafia did, & is still doing. I am sharing this to help bring to light the truth about Planned Parenthood & the Obama administration. Please pray that more & more people's eyes will be open to the truth. Not only to shut down Planned Parenthood or defeat Obama, but so that an end to the evil of abortion in the USA will soon be a reality. Pray also for the conversion of all those connected with Planned Parenthood, the abortion industry & the Obama administration as well. Pray for the success of Abby Johnson’s new ministry And Then There Were None. It is a nonprofit organization that ministers specifically to abortion clinic workers. The purpose of the organization is to assist former abortion clinic workers as they transition out of the abortion industry & into a new line of work. (PS: Congratulations to Abby &  her husband Doug on the recent birth of their son Alex.)

Source: Planned Parenthood Prez: “We Worked with Obama for Three Years”

_____________
* I refer to my post yesterday when I commented on how commented on the corrupt bargain between Obama, his administration & Planned Parenthood. & while I just pointed it out in passing, I also showed how intertwined the Obama adminstration, the Democratic party & Planned Parenthood are with other groups that support their demonic "culture of death" agenda.

Well, today I can add more to that as well. In 2010 Richards was named a trustee to the Ford Foundation. This should come to no surprize to anyone who knows how pro-abortion they are. Last year they gave $300,000 to the pro-abortion group Catholics for Choice. & after Richards came on board, contributions to Planned Parenthood from the Foundation more than doubled in a single year. The latest news is that former Planned Parenthood national media director & spokeswoman Diane Quest has been named senior account director at Camino Public Relations. They are also the public relations firm for other groups with strong advocacy for abortion including the Ford Foundation & a group I mentioned yesterday, the SEIU. Incestuous, corrput, these words seem almost too mild to describe what is going on.

# Romney has vowed to be a Pro-life president & to promote the Pro-life agenda. That includes who he appoints to judges & his administration, as well as supporting the overturn of ObamaCare. As for Massachusetts law, part of the problem was that court rulings in Massachusetts require state-subsidized health plans to offer abortion services, rulings that go way back & left no choice. I am also aware that in the past he has taken pro-abortion stands. At this point, I have to give him the benefit of the doubt. Too many former abortion supporters becoming Pro-life requires me to do so. But we have to take the rsponsibility to keep the heat on Romney, now & if he wins in November, after the election, to ensure that he follows through.

At Least the Mafia Tried to Keep the Corruption Under Wraps

The other day in a post I compared the relationship of Planned Parenthood & the Obama administration to the Mafia's relationship with politicians & judges. I couldn't help but think of a line from The Godfather at the national summit meeting of all the heads of the various Mafia families in the USA. At one point Don Tattaglia says "Yes, Barzini, he is too modest. He had all the judges and politicians in his pocket and refused to share them." Later Don Barzini comments "If Don Corleone had all the judges, and the politicians in New York, then he must share them, or let us others use them."

Those quotes are refering to the fact that the Mafia had control over politicians & judges by bribes, rigging elections & the like. In return, the Mafia knew they could rely on those politicians to send contracts their way to the "legitimate" businesses they own. Additionally, they knew that they could rely on the judges to ensure when a member or members of their "famiglia" came up on charges,  they would get off scott free or lightly. This whole Mafia, corrupt elected official/politician theme was a huge part of the story line in Godfather 2.

The difference between how the Mafia operated, real & in the movies, as to how Obama & his administration operates is that the Mafia operates behind the scenes. However the Obama administration proudly brags of its connections to Planned Parenthood & defends it, even when it is clear they have broken the law. Not only that, they go after those who work to bring out the truth. The story of Phill Kline in Kansas & how when she was governor of Kansas, HHS Secretary Sibelius appointed judges, etc have tried to destroy him has been covered plenty of times in this blog. Except for how public the connection between Sibelius & Planned Prenthood is, this could almost be a text book example of how the Mafia operates.

I have also pointed out how Obama is out there publicly shilling for Planned Parenthood, instead of ensuring that the DOJ leading the charge to investigate Planned Parenthood for their criminal activities, including Medicaid fraud like that in Iowa.   Additionally, he has not worked behind the scenes, but publicly pushed to see that Planned Parenthood gets a huge share of our taxpayer money. & not only through ObamaCare. Recently, he set up a 3 year grant for about $1.2 million to Planned Parenthood in Memphis TN. & after the latest veto of funds by Governor Christie in New Je4rsey, the Obama administration (through HHS, no surprize) has awarded the New Jersey affiliates $3.1 million. Additionally he has gone after states like Indiana & Texas when they cut Planned Parenthood funding after investigations showed their illegal activities.

Now the blatent flaunting of the corrupt relationship between Obama & the Democratic party with Planned Parenthood has gone 1 step further.  Andy Grossman wasrecently named as the National Platform Director for the Democratic National Convention’s platform panel.  Grossman is head of Grossman Solutions, a political consulting firm. All that sounds innocent enough until you look at who some of his clients are. According to the company  website they include the National Partnership for Women and Families (NAPWF), Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Ballot Initiative Strategy Center (BISC), Wal-Mart Watch, Bill Thompson for Mayor of New York City, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, SEIU, America Votes & Unity ‘ 09.

America Votes is a huge supporter of ObamaCare. NAPWF is also a huge supporter of ObamaCare & abortion rights.  WalMart Watch is tied in to a pro-abortion union. BISC fights for what it calls "reproductive justice", read abortion rights. It is also big in promoting LGBT issues. We know how the SEIU has acted as thugs for Obama, often like old fashioned Mafia thugs,  as well as supporting abortion. The Unity '09 coalition include Planned Parenthood. Grossman headed the Common Purpose Project Health Care Working Group, which Politico indicates played a big role in getting the Obamacare law approved. He currently serves as the President of the Health Information Campaign, an organization founded in 2010 to educate the public about the Affordable Care Act. 

The work done by his company for Planned Parenthood includes  heaing up a job search in 2011 for a political director  The work continued as it headed up another search for them in February 2011. This time it was for a Vice President of Public Policy & Advocacy for Planned Parenthood. Grossman’s agency led a search in March 2011 for a Director of Government Relations for Planned Parenthood. In 2010 Grossman came under fire when aides to Linda McMahon accused him of illegally cooperating with Planned Parenthood. Gee, illegal & Planned Parenthood in 1 sentance. No surprize.

Now he is being rewarded by being put in charge of  the Democratic Platform. That means you can be sure it will include abortion as sancrosanct. It will also include plenty that will insure that Planned Parenthood continues to feed at the trough of Federal & state largesse should the Dems retain control of the White House as well as on the state level where they win.

Not even in its heyday would the Mafia ever dream of being this public in its corrupt behavior. That this is going on is another proof that we must pray & work for Pro-life candidates who will change the laws to get elected. We cannot let this corrupt bargain between Obama & Planned Parenthood continue to promote the demonic "culture of death". Corruption only destroys a country. & this form of corruption is the worst possible way to do so.

FYI: the Republican Party announced pro-life Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell will head the GOP platform committee. That means that there will be a clear contrast between the 2 parties when it comes to abortion & Planned Parenthood.

Source: Planned Parenthood Strategist to Head DNC Platform Committee

Thought for the Day - 15 July 2012

If You Are Wondering Why Cardinal Ratzinger Chose Benedict When He Became Pope, Here's a Clue

A Benedictine Response to the Culture of Death

On July 11, we celebrated the Memorial of Saint Benedict of Nursia -- the founder and patron of Western Monasticism. St. Benedict (ca. 480 to 547 AD) was born in the small village in the high mountains northeast of Rome. His parents sent him to study in Rome, but he fled the city to live in the remote area of Subiaco because he was disgusted by the decadence of his fellow students.

Soon after, St. Benedict was discovered by a group of monks who asked him to be their leader. He reluctantly accepted, but his leadership was too rigorous for the lukewarm monks. They even tried to kill him by offering him a pitcher of poisoned wine; but as the story goes, when he prayed over it, the pitcher miraculously shattered in his hands. St. Benedict left the "unruly" monks and went on to establish twelve other monasteries in the area before moving to Monte Cassino on a hilltop between Rome and Naples in 529 A.D. There he destroyed a pagan temple dedicated to Apollo and built the monastery where he wrote his Rule and lived until his death. The Rule of St. Benedict is still used in many monasteries and convents today.

Pope Gregory the Great in his Dialogues presented St. Benedict as a "luminous star" who led humanity out of the "black night of history." St. Benedict lived in a time when the Roman Empire had collapsed. Civilization was in ruins. It is said that the Benedictine monks brought civilization to Europe through "the cross, the book and the plow." Benedictine monks built monasteries where learning and ancient manuscripts were preserved for the ages. What we think of as the Christian culture of Europe is very much indebted to these monks whose monasteries were centers of piety and learning in medieval times.

In our times we might be able to identify with a civilization in ruins, or at least a civilization that appears to be hurtling toward ruin. Many, including and perhaps especially such Catholics as Melinda Gates, have abandoned much of the Christian faith and culture that St. Benedict was so essential to spreading, and human life is under attack in unprecedented ways. In these times, we need to call on St. Benedict's intercession and ask for his intercession to point us out of the darkness of the culture of death and help us reform society.

Pope John Paul II said that St. Benedict's vision for the reform of society included three main ideas: the value of the individual as a person; the dignity of work, understood as service of God and brothers; and the necessity of contemplation, that is of prayer -- having understood that God is the Absolute, and we live in the Absolute, the soul of everything must be prayer: "Ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus." [That in all things God may be glorified.]

The challenges are great. Europe is dying in large part because it has abandoned the Christian culture on which it was founded and has embraced a neo-pagan ideology. Fewer and fewer Europeans are having children. Even worse, Europeans are trying to spread their anti-natalist ideology around the world.

Case in point: A summit held in London on Wednesday by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was held to lauch a massive project to spread contraception in the developing world. It is clear that while Melinda Gates has called her campaign "No Controversy," many other countries, especially Catholic and Islamic countries, think her campaign is very controversial.

Many Muslims, like many Christians in the developing world, justly see population control as a new form of imperialism. Indeed, early in the population control movement, before the destructive ideology was wrapped in the language of "reproductive health" and "sustainability," population control advocates were much more open about their aims. In 1929, British atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote in his book Marriage and Morals: "It cannot be expected that the most powerful military nations will sit still while other nations reverse the balance of power by the mere process of breeding."

There are too many examples of such blatant eugenic imperialism to list here, although now the same practice is ironically cloaked in the more deceptive language of "justice" and "women's health."

In the face of such challenges, we need to embrace the Benedictine motto Ora et Labora [Pray and Work] as we seek to restore a Christian civilization of life and love.

St. Benedict wrote in his Rule "Whenever you begin any good work you should first of all make a most pressing appeal to bring it to perfection." He said that nothing should be preferred to Opus Dei [The Work of God], which is what he called the Liturgy of the Hours or the Divine Office.

Both prayer and work are essential in rebuilding Christian culture and overcoming the culture of death.

The Founder of Human Life International was Father Paul Marx, O.S.B. -- a Benedictine monk who also was called to evangelize. As both a scientist and a man of faith he pointed out, even at a time when many clergy were in open rebellion against Humanae Vitae, that a contraceptive mentality inevitably leads to abortion and other assaults on life.

Fr. Marx, in his 1993 book The Warehouse Priest, laid out the case for supporting the Holy Father's prophetic encyclical, saying that the Church must:

consistently proclaim that abortion is the fruit of contraception, that foresight contraception often leads to hindsight abortion, and that massive contraception has caused increasing abortion worldwide. Having visited and studied eighty-five countries, I challenge any bishop, priest, professor, or scientist to show me the contrary. Abortion is the end point of the abuse of sex, which begins with the unleashing of the sexual urge by contraception. (Page 262)

In 2004, Father Marx said that euthanasia is now following abortion just as surely as the latter followed contraception: "If you can be killed before birth, why not after?" Noting that pro-lifers have been dismissed as foolish for making those claims, he continued: "It becomes more evident every day that you're right... Europe is dying out. The United States is growing only because of immigration."

Ora et Labora. We have to continue to pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on us. Melinda Gates' new eugenics campaign is a challenge to all of us, we must spend time in prayer and allow Him to form our hearts and minds, so that we may think and respond in accordance with His will.

St. Benedict, pray for the conversion of those who have rejected their faith and are working to promote a culture of death. You destroyed the Temple of Apollo and built the magnificent monastery of Monte Cassino. Help us to follow your example of work and prayer. Pray that the defenders of life and family will be successful in our mission to defeat the culture of death and build a culture of life!

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Father Peter WestVP for Missions, Human Life International

Another Reminder of Why Obama Must Be Fired on 6 November 2012

H/T: Lake County Right to Life

Just A Reminder of Why We Need Be Sure Obama is Defeated in November

Planned Parenthood of the Heartland - Lying to the Feds & Iowa to Illegally Jack Up Their Profits

The news came out Monday that former  Storm Lake & LeMars IA  Planned Parenthood clinic director Sue Thayer had filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood of the Heartland (PPH) former known as Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa before its recent mergers for medecaid fraud. She sued under both the federal & Iowa False Claims acts.  The suit alleges that Planned Parenthood knowingly committed Medicaid fraud from 2002 to 2009 by improperly seeking reimbursements from Iowa Medicaid Enterprise & the Iowa Family Planning Network for products and services not legally reimbursable by those programs.

The suit was filed in March 2011 but the court only recently unsealed it so it could be made public.

The lawsuit alleges that the then Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa filed nearly one-half million false claims with Medicaid from which Planned Parenthood received & retained nearly $28 million. According to an Alliance Defending Freedom release "If Thayer prevails, Planned Parenthood could be ordered to pay the United States and Iowa as much as $5.5 billion in False Claims Act damages and penalties."

In a statement Sue Thayer explained why she filed the suit. "During my last years working at Planned Parenthood, it became increasingly clear to me that not all of their policies and protocols were completely legal and ethical. After much thought, I contacted the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

I believe that it is an important piece in the nationwide effort to shed light on the darkness and deception surrounding America's largest abortion provider - Planned Parenthood. It seems that GOD can use all those years that I spent working at Planned Parenthood for His good.

For the babies,

Sue"
According to the ADF statement "The lawsuit explains that, to enhance revenues, Planned Parenthood implemented a “C-Mail” program that automatically mailed a year’s supply of birth control pills to women who had only been seen once at a Planned Parenthood clinic and usually by personnel who were not qualified health care professionals. After that, Planned Parenthood mailed thousands of unrequested birth control pills to those clients. Planned Parenthood’s cost for a 28-day supply of birth control pills mailed to clients was $2.98, but the Medicaid reimbursement Planned Parenthood received for the pills was $26.32. In some cases, the Postal Service returned the birth control pills to Planned Parenthood. Instead of crediting Medicaid or destroying the returned pills, Planned Parenthood resold the same birth control pills and billed Medicaid twice for the same pills.

The suit also claims that Planned Parenthood coerced “voluntary donations” for services and then billed Medicaid for them. In effect, the lawsuit explains, Planned Parenthood both falsely billed Medicaid and took money from low-income women by getting them to pay for services Medicaid was intended to cover in full."

The lawsuit Thayer v. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Des Moines attorney J. Russell Hixson, one of nearly 2,200 allied attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom, is assisting with the case.

Should Thayer prevail, this will put a huge crimp in PPH's attempts to expand their tenicles across Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas & Oklahoma. In fact it will more than wipe out the $11.5 million dollars they are trying to raise in their capital campaign they are currently running.  That fund is what was they used to buy & remodel their new location in DBQ on Hillcrest. They paid $550,000 for a building that has a gross assessment of  $483,580 for the land & building. But because they are tax exempt, they pay $0 in property taxes on it. Add to that the costs of the remodeling, telemed abortion equipment they have admitted is their & other furnishings & it probably comes to somehwere between $600-650,000 they put out for the new location. Yet they are still operating only 17 hours a week. & as I pointed out when they opened the new site, they aren't exactly getting the huge number of people they need to keep going. So, even with telemed abortions, should they lose the lawsuit, the DBQ site will probably be 1 of those to go, maybe even all of them should they be forced into bankruptcy
The PPH FY2011 annual report showed that PPH made $4.31 million profit. & from what I suspect, a lot of that may well be from continued medicaid fraud after Thayer left.
Of course this should come as no surprize that PPH is being accused of fraud. After all, they are just following the national model of Planned Parenthood to commit fraud.  In the last few months similar suits have been filed in Illinois, Texas & California. In February of 2012, ADF released to the public its report to Congress tracking Planned Parenthood’s waste, abuse, & potential fraud involving millions of dollars of taxpayer money. According to ADF’s fact sheet on the report, federal & state audits of family planning funding have found a minimum of $95,742,982.15 in waste, abuse, & potential fraud from 1995 to 2009. Add to that federal audits of family planning programs from 1995 to 2009 that have identified a total of nearly $88 million in overbilling. But it could be even worse,  rising as high as $99 million. This is according to the inspector general’s office at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. & if you are wondering why HHS hasn't done anything, let me remind you that Secretary Kathleen Sibelius has been well documented in this blog & elsewhere to be in bed with Planned Parenthood. She helped cover up PP's crimes in Kansas when she was governor. So why should she do anything different now?
What is PPH's reaction, much as is to be expected. While they have yet to post it on their website, PPH has issued a statement. In it Jill June makes the usual accusations whenever their evil is brought to light. According to CBS News, June said that the lawsuit is part of "a pattern of harassment against women's health care and Planned Parenthood affiliates across the country." Once again we see the same old smoke & mirrors, this is an attack on women's health care. Never mind that PP does more damage to women through abortion & covering up rape, incest & white slavery. So for PPH, what is a little fraud to help them in their making profit?
Following their logic, we should never go after any doctor or medical facility that commits medicaid fraud since doing so is an attack on "women's health". See the faulty logic in their claims? They don't want investigations because the truth is they ARE breaking the law.
The truth is not what PPH or the national organization wants out there. They know that as the truth has gotten out, the money they rip off from taxpayers will dry up. We have seen the attempst in Iowa, in other states (sometimes successful) & on the Federal level to start holding PP accountable for their criminal activities. Of course I am refering to the state legislatures & Congress.
Which brings me to something else Jill June has said about this suit. “Despite the audit both federal and state government have declined to exercise their right to intervene in the matter.” Of course not. 1st of all, on the Federal level, she knows the Justice Department won't go after Planned Parenthood.  As I have pointed out before, Obama & his administration are in bed with one another. Besides the above mentioned Sibelius, I will remind you that Obama has been plugging Planned Parenthood & has been endorsed by their PAC, so you might as well say he is endorsed by Planned Parenthood. Additionally, I will remind you that the Obama administration sees Pro-lifers as domestic terrorists & Planned Parenthood as 1 of their prime targets. So of course Holder isn't going after Planned Parenthood.
As for Iowa, the attorney general is an elected office, so even with a Pro-life governor in Terry Branstad, the AG sets his own course. Tom Miller is a pro-abortion Democrat. Additionally he endorsed Obama on 11 February 2007. So is it any wonder he hasn't gone after PPH.
The statement he issued about the suit is interesting. He said “Our decision to decline intervention at this time follows an extensive review of the case with federal and state investigators, and an extensive review of a large volume of evidence. We reserve the right to intervene at a later date upon the showing of good cause. Though the state is not currently a litigant, it remains the real party in interest, and is entitled to the majority of damages and penalties recovered on its behalf, should that occur.” It sounds to me like he is trying to have it both ways. He has opted to not prosecute, despite a large volume of evidence. But he reserves the right to intervene later. Apparently the volume of evidence is much more solid than he is willing to admit.Otherwise, why not just say it was too weak to take to court? I suspect he is holding off because he is hoping PPH will use some of the same tricks they did elsewhere to get cases thrown out. & if they fail, Miller is poised to move in so that he will look like he is actually trying to go after lawbreakers rather then helping them as he is now.
This isn't about "women's health". This is about a criminal organization that is finally having to answer for the illegal activities they have been allowed to get away with up until now. This is an organization whose political corruption equals if not exceeds that of the Mafia in its heyday. But eventually people got tired of the corruption & demanded things be cleaned up. & while not totally clean, things are much better now. The same is true about Planned Parenthood. As more & more of the truth gets out, more people will want an end to the corrupt hold they have on Obama & the Dems as well as to our taxpayer dollars being used to shore them up.
& when that happens, Planned Parenthood may well be forced to fold up.
Sadly this won't end abortion. That will take more than shutting down Planned Parenthood. But with Planned Parenthood gone.a huge dent will be made.
We must continue to pray & ask God's help that this & the other suist will be successful. This may well take years. In the meantime, we must also keep speaking up to get the truth out about Planned Parenthood. We must continue to pray & work for an end to abortion. The real battle is on our knees. The actions & victories that come from that are the fruit.
Jill June is clearly worried. She knows she stands to lose her cushy job that pays her over $265,389. I say over because that was her pay for FY2010 & since then they had added Arkansas & part of Oklahoma to the fold. So you can be sure her pay HAS gone up. She claims she works 80 hours a week to earn it. But given the number of fundraisers she shows up at, I suspect that she isn't working as hard as she claims & actually having a great time at the expense of the unborn babies she helps to murder as well as us taxpayers. It is time to end this free ride & make them answer for their crimes.

Sources: Former Planned Parenthood employee sues abortion giant claiming massive Medicaid fraud

Planned Parenthood Faces Suit From Ex-Employee Alleging Massive Fraud

Former Clinic Manager Accuses Planned Parenthood of the Heartland of Medicaid Fraud in Whistleblower Lawsuit

Action alert re Medicaid fraud: PP hit with $5.5 billion lawsuit

$5.5 billion lawsuit against Planned Parenthood of the Heartland

Breaking News: Former Planned Parenthood of the Heartland Clinic Manager Files Lawsuit Against Midwest Abortion Chain
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland faces Medcaid fraud allegation