Prayer Request

Please remember to keep this young man, Phillip, in your prayers.

I had many medical appointments over the past two days, and the doctors wish to begin radiation and chemotherapy within the next few weeks. Radiation treatments will be 5 times a week for 6-8 weeks, and my hair will fall out around the third week. Chemotherapy is taken in the form of a pill five times a month, and will last for 1-2 years.

Because the treatments are starting so soon, I have decided to take a trip from February 4 - February 16 to visit Lourdes, Nevers, and Rome. Lourdes is the site of the Marian Apparition to Saint Bernadette, and Nevers is the location of Saint Bernadette's convent where her uncorrupt body rests behind glass. Fr. Price's heart is also buried near her body in Nevers.

In Rome, I hope to present the Holy Father with a prayer card to Fr. Thomas Price for my healing after the Pope's General Audience on February 11th. Providentially, this will be the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Please keep me in your prayers as I make this pilgrimage!

The Super Bowl - NOT so super

As most of you know, NBC (nothing but creeps) has refused to run the Catholic pro-life commercial (posted here) during the super bowl. JMJ over at Totus Tuus has posted an excellent response along with a letter to send to Ms. Morgan, the vice-president of advertising standards at NBC. Here is the contact info from Totus Tuus:

Send your complaints about the rejection of the ad to Victoria Morgan, Vice President, Advertising Standards, NBC Universal, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 1825 E. New York, NY 10112. Call (212) 664-4267 or fax (212) 664-6366 or email victoria.morgan@nbc.com

A Quiet Prolife Enemy

It has come to my attention that the administration is trying to pass this bill through while we are all distracted by fighting FOCA. Contact your senators and congressman, now! You can read about FOCA's evil twin at American Life League and at LifeSiteNews

Prevention First Act is FOCA's Dangerous but Overlooked "Evil Twin," says ALL Co-Founder

By Kathleen Gilbert

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 27, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - American Life League's (ALL) Judie Brown last week urged pro-lifers to actively oppose the Prevention First Act (PFA), legislation currently under review in Congress. The Act, if passed, would hand over millions to "family planning" methods, strike a blow to health providers' conscience rights, and financially pave the way for the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA).

The Mexico City Policy

A friend forwarded the following link out in response to last post on population control. Thanks, Mary! The Mexico City Policy comes up in the end - see the quote at the bottom of this post
Excerpt from here:

National Security Study Memorandum 200: World Population Growth And U.S. Security

by Stephen D. Mumford

. . . And uncovers why this commission's final report was ignored.

“In the words of a Commission member, Congressman James Scheuer (D.-NY): "The reasons were obvious -- the fear of attacks from the far right and from the Roman Catholic Church because of our positions on family planning and abortion. With the benefit of hindsight, it is now clear that this obstruction was the first of many similar actions to come from high places."

Then he goes on to describe the commissioning of the NSSM 200 study, its major findings and the Vatican’s responsibility in the failure to implement the study’s recommendations.

And a quote from then President Nixon:

We must help break the link between spiraling population growth and poverty....Where they have been tried, family planning programs have largely worked. .Many pro-life advocates .. .contend that to condone abortion even implicitly is morally unconscionable. Their view is morally shortsighted. . ..if we provide funds for birth control . . .we will prevent the conception of millions of babies who would be doomed to the devastation of poverty in the underdeveloped world.

Richard M. Nixon

And then a few words on the late President Reagan:

In response to concerns of the Vatican, the Reagan Administration agreed to alter its foreign aid program to comply with the church’s teachings on birth control. According to William Wilson, the President’s first ambassador to the Vatican, the State Department reluctantly agreed to an out-right ban on the use of any U.S. aid funds by either countries or international health organizations for the promotion of...abortions. As a result of this position, announced at the World Conference on Population in Mexico City in 1984, the U.S. withdrew funding from, among others, two of the world’s largest family planning organizations: the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the United Nations Fund for Population Activities.

http://www.population-security.org/mumf-93-01.htm

The new administration's focus on its "agenda" lends to mind a memo sent from Planned Parenthood to Bernard Berelson (President, Population Council) in 1969.
Some scary stuff.

Go to link above to read the entire memo. Here are some excerpts . . .

Memorandum to Bernard Berelson (President, Population Council) found in "Activities
Relevant to the Study of Population Policy for the U.S." 3/11/69 by Frederick S. Jaffe (Vicepresident of Planned Parenthood - World Population).

TABLE 1. Examples of Proposed Measures to Reduce U.S. Fertility, by Universality or Selectivity of Impact

Restructure family:
a) Postpone or avoid marriage
b) Alter image of ideal family size
Compulsory education of children
Encourage increased homosexuality
Educate for family limitation
Fertility control agents in water supply
Encourage women to work
. . .
Modify tax policies:
a) Substantial marriage tax
b) Child Tax
c) Tax married more than single
d) Remove parents tax exemption
d) Additional taxes on parents with more than I or 2 children in school
Reduce/eliminate paid maternity leave or benefits
Reduce/eliminate children's or family allowances
Bonuses for delayed marriage and greater child-spacing
. . .
Chronic Depression
Require women to work and provide few child care facilities
. . .

Payments to encourage sterilization
Payments to encourage contraception
Payments to encourage abortion
Abortion and sterilization on demand
Allow certain contraceptives to be distributed nonmedically
Improve contraceptive technology
Make contraception truly available and accessible to all
Improve maternal health care, with family planning a core element

Deo Gratias - Excommunications Lifted

Documents on the lifting of the excomunications:

From http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Decree of the Congregation for Bishops

CONGREGATIO PRO EPISCOPIS

By way of a letter of December 15, 2008 addressed to His Eminence Cardinal Dario Castrillón Hoyos, President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, Mons. Bernard Fellay, also in the name of the other three Bishops consecrated on June 30, 1988, requested anew the removal of the latae sententiae excommunication formally declared with the Decree of the Prefect of this Congregation on July 1, 1988. In the aforementioned letter, Mons. Fellay affirms, among other things: "We are always firmly determined in our will to remain Catholic and to place all our efforts at the service of the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the Roman Catholic Church. We accept its teachings with filial disposition. We believe firmly in the Primacy of Peter and in its prerogatives, and for this the current situation makes us suffer so much."

His Holiness Benedict XVI - paternally sensitive to the spiritual unease manifested by the interested party due to the sanction of excommunication and trusting in the effort expressed by them in the aforementioned letter of not sparing any effort to deepen the necessary discussions with the Authority of the Holy See in the still open matters, so as to achieve shortly a full and satisfactory solution of the problem posed in the origin - decided to reconsider the canonical situation of Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, and Alfonso de Galarreta, arisen with their episcopal consecration.

With this act, it is desired to consolidate the reciprocal relations of confidence and to intensify and grant stability to the relationship of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X with this Apostolic See. This gift of peace, at the end of the Christmas celebrations, is also intended to be a sign to promote unity in the charity of the universal Church and to try to vanquish the scandal of division.

It is hoped that this step be followed by the prompt accomplishment of full communion with the Church of the entire Fraternity of Saint Pius X, thus testifying true fidelity and true recognition of the Magisterium and of the authority of the Pope with the proof of visible unity.

Based on the faculty expressly granted to me by the Holy Father Benedict XVI, in virtue of the present Decree, I remit of Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, and Alfonso de Galarreta the censure of latae sententiae excommunication declared by this Congregation on July 1, 1988, while I declare deprived of any juridical effect, from the present date, the Decree emanated at that time.

Rome, from the Congregation for Bishops, January 21, 2009.

Letter to the faithful from Bishop Fellay
http://www.dici.org/dl/fichiers/Letter_Sup_Gen.pdf

From the SSPX - Press Release
http://www.dici.org/accueil.php?loc=US

A Big Surpirse? Who's Surprised . . .

I don't know why people are saying "big surprise coming". We prayed over a million rosaries, twice. The first time our prayers were answered, so why would we be surprised if Our Lady answered again?

Some very interesting posts from Fr. Demet:

Removal of the excommunications
A Guide

Also the following:

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

A surprise - for tomorrow
Updated: more confirmations

The extremely well-informed Spanish blogger Francisco José Fernández de la Cigoña (whose blog La Cigüeña de la Torre was, for instance, one of the first to predict the nomination of Cardinal Cañizares Llovera as Prefect of CDW) had hinted on the nature of the "explosive news" since last week - and since November, in fact.

Today, he confirms that his sources report "explosive news" related to the "Lefebvrists" [sic] - probably the removal or withdrawal of the excommunications of the four Bishops of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX), consecrated by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and co-consecrated by Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer in Ecône, Switzerland, on June 30, 1988. Fernández de la Cigoña predicts the Papal act for "tomorrow" (though it is unclear how long it will take for the act to be made public).

The other signs that things are on the move were reported here yesterday.

__________________

UPDATE (2248 GMT). Italian religious journalist Andrea Tornielli has just confirmed in his blog the increasing reports: the Pope has already signed the withdrawal of excommunications, and his act will be made public in the next few days.

Pro Life Advertising

Pretty cool approach, but I doubt he still will get it . . .
CatholicVote.com

From Bishop Fellay

DICI (SSPX News Agency)

Message of H. E. Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X

Dear faithful,

The Rosary Crusade, to which we invited you in Lourdes, during our memorable pilgrimage of Christ-the-King, at the end of last October, has by far exceeded our expectations. In less than two months, one million seven hundred and three thousand rosaries were recited throughout the world to obtain from Our Lady the withdrawal of the decree of excommunication of 1988.

We would like to thank you all wholeheartedly. Considering such a generosity, we dare to ask you to continue your efforts in praying that this Crusade may bear its fruits for the good of the whole Church.

+Bernard Fellay
Menzingen, 20 January 2009

Archbishop Lefebvre and Vatican II

OK, after getting several emails about this "newsbreaking" article, I feel the necessity to post this response from Fr. Demet (a Fraternity of St. Peter Priest, not an SSPX one). He always does a nice job on his postings. It has been in my side "Shared Items", but obviously not getting enough attention there . . .
From http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2009/01/most-underwhelming-news-of-year.html

Sunday, January 11, 2009

The most underwhelming "news" of the year

Italian religious website Petrus repeats the "amazing" news "reported" by Italian weekly Panorama. In an article dedicated to several "finds" in the "Secret heart of the Vatican" (Nel cuore segreto del Vaticano, Panorama, n. 3/2009, p. 130-134), the newsweekly's reporters found the damning evidence that... Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre signed the documents of the Second Vatican Council.

No, really... Panorama's reporters found the top-secret signature (which it calls "The signature that unmasks Lefebvre") in some mysterious location, when they could have found the more "damning" document showing the Archbishop's signature of, among others, Gaudium et Spes (De Ecclesia in mundo huius temporis) or Dignitatis Humanae (De Libertate Religiosa) in our Rorate repository (see here).

The problem is: it is well known that Lefebvre placed his name upon the ceremonial lists of documents (for instance, both the list provided by Panorama and the one in our repository include a very diverse array of conciliar documents and, below them, signatures of bishops - the second list includes not only the above-mentioned documents, but also the only one which the Archbishop publicly praised, Presbyterorum Ordinis).

Irrespective of this, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Lefebvre's biographer and one of the Bishops consecrated by Lefebvre in 1988, had already written that the Archbishop had indeed placed his signature upon the Conciliar documents and among the Conciliar Fathers (Marcel Lefebvre: The Biography, published originally in French in 2002: cf. last pages of Chapter 13). This does not deny the fact that Lefebvre firmly voted against the final drafts both of Gaudium et Spes and Dignitatis Humanae.

Therefore, the only "new" information in the Panorama article is the attempt to create a false appearance of "scandal" in Italian-speaking Catholic circles in a very delicate moment. We will do our utmost to make clear that the shame is on Panorama, and on those who repeat false reports thoughtlessly.

______________________
Source of image: click here.

posted by New Catholic at 10:50 PM

THE MOTHER

Thanks to Karen for this great post and for the link to the above article (here) by Romano Guardinion on the faith of Mary.