2-12-08
Archbishop Chaput-Denver is one of the more cogent and intellectual Catholic voices and leaders in the country. His writings are always thought-provoking, while at the same time being completely faithful to the Church. He recently penned a 10 point guide for Catholic voters that can be found here: http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/politics/pg0190.htm
Of particular interest was the way he dealt with Catholics voting for a pro-abortion candidate.
8. So can a Catholic in good conscience vote for a pro-choice candidate? The answer is: I can't, and I won't. But I do know some serious Catholics — people whom I admire — who may. I think their reasoning is mistaken, but at least they sincerely struggle with the abortion issue, and it causes them real pain. And most important: They don't keep quiet about it; they don't give up; they keep lobbying their party and their representatives to change their pro-abortion views and protect the unborn. Catholics can vote for pro-choice candidates if they vote for them despite — not because of — their pro-choice views. And they also need a proportionate reason to justify it.
To this I would add "and when they meet the victims of abortion in the next life, they will be able to explain their vote to them."
This is an interesting reflection from Cardinal Tomko—who happened to be the one who gave Pope Benedict Ashes last Wednesday—and indeed has done it for the pope the last 12 years.
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 6, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The cardinal who administered ashes to Benedict XVI today says the exhortations that accompany the rite are not easy to say to a Pope.
Cardinal Jozef Tomko, cardinal-priest of the Basilica of Santa Sabina where the Bishop of Rome celebrated this evening's Ash Wednesday Mass, has been the prelate who administers ashes to the Pontiff for the last 12 years. He receives this task because he was assigned the cardinal titular church where the Pontiff traditionally celebrates Mass for the beginning of Lent.
Like all Catholics, the Holy Father receives the ashes while the one administering them proclaims one of the two traditional exhortations: "Repent and believe in the Gospel" or "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return."
Both formulae are difficult to say to a Pope, Cardinal Tomko told L'Osservatore Romano. Referring to the first formula, the cardinal said the Holy Father "would have every right to say this to me and to everyone else. How can I remind the Pope of this?"
And it was particularly difficult to say the second "as John Paul II got older [...] It was like reminding him again what he not only knew, but felt in his body," the cardinal said.
"The choice has always been difficult. At times I have used one formula, at times the other. It is a very personal aspect, but also very significant because in whatever case," Cardinal Tomko added, "I must opt for a formula that is neither from the Pope nor from me: They are the words of God before which we should all bow our heads."
More from the front lines of the battle between faith and work—with a Michigan pharmacist having been fired for refusing to dispense the "morning after pill."
February 4, 2008
Brian Bundy is a Michigan pharmacist who has refused to dispense the abortive "morning after pill." In fact he has taken his refusal so seriously that when Target fired him he chose to sue them because he believes that Target knew that his Christian faith would not permit him to dispense abortive medicines. In fact he says they knew this when they hired him.
Many in the pro-life movement are praising Bundy, claiming quite accurately that this case could bring national attention to the fact that the pills do in fact have the potential to abort children during their first days of life.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this current case is how the pro-aborts are handling it. A Flint, Michigan newspaper quotes Jim Richardson of Planned Parenthood of East Central Michigan:
Absolutely we should all pay very close attention to any kinds of efforts that the extremists are using to impose their religious beliefs over the beliefs of others and this is one of those cases.
Say what? Since when it is a statement of religious extremism to recognize the biological fact that a preborn child's life begins at the beginning and that chemicals that take that life are abortive? That is science, my friend, not religious extremism.
But to my mind the most dangerous statement pro-abort Richardson makes is this one:
Pharmacists should not stand in the way of a woman having access to medications that are prescribed.
Medications ... think about that word.
Medicine is defined in Webster's Dictionary as "a substance or preparation used in treating disease." The morning after pill, like its precursor, the birth control pill, is not taken to treat a disease, but rather to provide "protection" so that sexual acts will allegedly not result in babies. Such behavior is not related to disease of the physical type, but rather reflects a moral condition in need of spiritual healing. If a man and a woman are not willing to accept God's gift of a child, then they should abstain!
It is my humble opinion that in this case, as in all others like it over the past 40 years, the forces who have structured the culture of death want all persons of reproductive age to look upon pregnancy as a disease, a preborn baby as a condition worse than cancer and birth control as the panacea that, if it fails, can be followed up by an abortion! This has created the cultural attitude we see today which dismisses Christian heroes by Brian Bundy as extremists while applauding the elimination of pregnancy by any means as a wholesome goal.
Who indeed really is the extremist?
Let us pray for Brian Bundy and all those like him who refuse to deny God by accommodating the evil that we know is abortion, be it chemical, medical or surgical. May Mr. Bundy's case receive the attention and the justice it deserves.
This article is courtesy of the American Life League.
And in honor of Valentines Day this Thursday:
Dateless? An Angel to the Rescue
Web Site Offers Novena Prayer to St. Raphael
LONDON, FEB. 11, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Singles worried about spending the upcoming Valentine's Day by themselves are being encouraged to seek help through the prayers of an angelic matchmaker.
A Web site of the Catholic Enquiry Office, part of an agency of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, is encouraging Catholic singles to pray a novena to the Archangel Raphael.
Raphael is traditionally considered an ally in the realm of love and relationships thanks to the role he played in helping Sarah and Tobit in the Old Testament.
The book of Tobit explains how Raphael delivered Sarah from an evil spirit that had brought about the death of seven husbands on seven successive wedding nights.
Monsignor Keith Barltrop, director of the Catholic Enquiry Office, explained, "Many people have testified to the help they have received in finding a life partner through the prayerful help of the archangel. At this time of year, significant numbers are seeking someone special, or maybe dealing with recent heartbreak. St. Raphael is there to help."
Singles are being encouraged to join a novena starting Feb. 14, using the following prayer:
For the Choice of a Good Spouse
St. Raphael, you were sent by God to guide young Tobias in choosing a good and virtuous spouse. Please help me in this important choice which will affect my whole future. You not only directed Tobias in finding a wife, but you also gave him guidelines which should be foremost in every Christian marriage: "Pray together before making important decisions."
Amen.
The online resource includes tips from a matchmaking expert, information about the archangel and intercessory prayer, true love stories and a competition offering the prize of a meal for two.
Several weeks ago I sent out some "Why did the chicken cross the road" reflections via the saints. My friend Jeremy Priest http://jeremypriest.blogspot.com/2008/02/chicken-winner.html
picked it up and held a contest:
Okay, this was the Contest: Who can come up with the best "Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?" for one of the following: St. Thomas Aquinas, Noah, or St. Lawrence (Deacon & Martyr):
Rich Budd won for this Aquinas entry:
Aquinas: Article 1, Question 1: Why did the Chicken cross the Road?
Obj. 1 To get to the other side.
Obj. 2 To cause Noah trouble
Obj. 3 To avoid being BBQ'd by Lawrence
On the contrary: The Apostle says: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
I answer that: The Chicken, baptized and following the way set out for him by his savior Jesus Christ, was not attempting to cross the road but rather to step onto the road (in an obviously analogous sense) so that he could, in imitation of the great Apostle himself, run and finish the great race and be received into eternal beatitude.
Rep. Obj. 1 It is now clear that the Chicken never intended to get to the other side of the road but instead to stay on the road and follow this narrow way towards heaven.
Rep. Obj. 2 The Chicken is a Christian and thus was not present at the time of Noah. Noah must be speaking of a different bird which existed earlier in the evolutionary tract.
Rep. Obj. 3 Lawrence was not the BBQ'er but the BBQee thus this argument does not follow.
- Brad Sjoquist wins for his St. Laurence entry (prize to be determined):
St. Lawrence: "He was done on that side"
- Sarah Houseal gets the Fr. Will Punspero SJ Award for this Noah entry (prize to be determined):
Noah: To get away from the sinners who caused the storm to happen. He knew they were involved in "fowl play!"
- Sarah Downes gets an honorable mention for this St. Thomas entry:
St. Thomas:"[something I don't understand, and need to ask Peter Kreeft about]"
God bless you! Phil Lawson For the latest info on St. Peter's, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com (You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)
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