Parents Need Travel Safety Prayers to go to Be With My Grandson in Iowa

Erin and Joe are leaving for Iowa in a few minutes to be with my Grandson, Alex. Please pray for SAFE TRIP! Alex, my grandson is doing OK right now, sleeping after CT Scan. MD wants parents there, and will not discharge him to anyone but his parents (in today's world, that is probably for the best, and the safest thing...)

Thanks!

God bless@

Prayers Needed for My Grandson, Alex

My daughter Erin just called about a half hour ago, and a couple of times since then.

My grandson Alex went on a short vacation with his friend to Iowa (we live in Wisconsin). Connor's grandfather has a plane and flew them down. Tonight, after swimming all day, fishing, and having a lot of fun, they were watching fireworks. Alex (11) suddenly fell to the ground, and was having a seizure.  There were two nurses with the family, 911 was called, and he was taken to the hospital via ambulance. He is now responsive, but groggy (normal after a seizure).

I think, but we cannot be certain, that this MAY be dehydration ( this is my gut reaction from a distance... ).

They are doing a CT Scan and chest Xrays. He got sick to his stomach in the Xray dep't, they asked him what he had eaten and had to drink all day, and he had not had much to drink. He remembered one can of soda. They have now started IV's, and he seems to be improving. Erin was finally able to talk to him, he asked her if she is upset with him; she said no, just very worried, and not liking the fact that she is so far away from him...

Please pray for Alex, that it is nothing serious. The hospital and his friend's family will be calling with updates through the night.

They have no insurance. This is not Erin's worry right now, but... it is also a factor.

Bodie Thoene on the bombings in London and Glasgow

My favorite all time Historical Novels are written by Bodie Thoene, with her husband Brock. He is the Historian,  she is the writer. Their books are mostly of the times when Nazis were taking power, the WWII times, and the beginnings of Israel, including the build up to the war that took place as the new Nation was born, and Jerusalem was lost until June, 1967. I urge you to read their Zion Covenant, Zion Chronicles, and Zion Legacy
series. She includes the US aspect in the S hiloh Legacy Series, which also seemed to build off of the earlier Saga of the Sierra Series.

The Galway Chronicles are more of the Irish side of the family.... lol.

The Zion books, however, give an account that is eerily reminiscent of things going on in the world today. Her characters are based on real people, or 'combinations' of a few real people. Lori Kalner has answered some readers questions about that time/this time on the Thoene blog, and 'Tikvah' has shared some of her mother's story, and that of Rachel Sachar who raised her after her mother's death in Jerusalem.

God bless!

http://www.thoenebooks.com/blog.asp?post=0&id=261

Miraculous Deliverance

Written by: Bodie Thoene on Saturday, June 30, 2007

Miraculous Deliverance
by Bodie Thoene

       The violence against Christians and Jews and Western civilization is escalating! First London and now Glasgow have become targets in the U.K. 
      Here are our thoughts after much prayer and reflection on these events:
     
     There is a footbridge leading across the Thames River in London which Brock and I crossed several times a week in the years we lived in that great city. At night from the Hungerford Bridge we could see the well-lit dome of St. Paul's Cathedral in the east and the towers of Westminster Abbey, originally dedicated to the Apostle Peter, in the west.
       St. Paul's is built on a hill where an ancient Roman temple to the Roman god Jupiter once stood.
       St. Peter's (Westminster Abbey) has foundations which date back to the third century when the Roman persecution of Christians finally came to an end.    
      When St. Paul's Cathedral burned down in the Great Fire of 1666, money to rebuild St. Paul's was borrowed from St. Peter's (Westminster Abbey). This is the origin of the phrase,  "Robbing Peter to pay Paul."
     The existence of these two magnificent buildings, St. Peter and St. Paul, identify the Christian origins of England and the city of London.  Peter and Paul stand as symbols of God's protection over the nation. 
     During World War 2, in the Blitz, Nazi bombers leveled vast areas of London.  St. Paul's Cathedral loomed up through the smoke; its beauty untouched amid a sea of rubble.  Men and women digging through the remains of their homes looked up,  saw the Cathedral, and found courage in the knowledge that with God's help, England would be victorious. 
    Though a German bomb exploded in the Houses of Parliament, St. Peter's Westminster Abbey remained unscathed.  
      Sixty years after WWII, I recall one evening when journalist friends from the 700 Club were staying at our home on their way to Jerusalem.   We took them on one of our exhausting "Thoene walking tours" of London.   Together, we strolled out on the footbridge straddling the Thames to view the lights of London and point out the historic sights.    We stayed there for over an hour and prayed together, claiming God's conversion of the new generation of Londoners.  We fervently prayed for spiritual deliverance for the great city whose first Christian churches and spiritual foundations were named to honor the two great apostles, St. Peter in the West and St. Paul in the East. 
              
      Everything means something.  
     In the early morning hours of Friday, June 29,  2007, a terrorist bomb plot, which would have killed hundreds in the heart of London,  was foiled. 
       How many times have we and our children walked by that place?   Countless times.  
       The news commentators have been remarking over and over about the "accidental discovery" of the two cars rigged as deadly bombs.  They have linked the plot to the close anniversary of the Islamic terrorist bombings in London two years ago on July 7.
       As Christians who believe in miracles and the significance of all things, we must ask ourselves if the anniversary date June 29, 2007,  has any spiritual significance to the DELIVERANCE in London?  
      Let's take a look at the daily scriptures being read in the church throughout the day this latest terrorist plot was foiled:
    
      On Friday June 29, 2007, the scripture readings of the ancient church remember and honor the apostles Peter and Paul.
      
Readings of the day the terrorists were thwarted in their murderous plot are these:
     
Reading 1) *Acts 12:1-11 tells the story of Peter's DELIVERANCE from prison by the miraculous intervention of an angel who woke him up, loosed his chains and led him from prison! 
        "About that time, Herod the King stretched forth his hands to afflict and oppress and torment some who belonged to the church…"   
        Read it all!  This is quite a story of deliverance from evil!
      
Reading 2) * 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18   Paul writes from prison in his final days on earth to encourage Timothy that his life and ministry have not been in vain.  He says he has fought the good fight and has finished the race…V. 17 "But the LORD stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the Gospel message might be proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.  So I was DELIVERED out of the jaws of the lion!  And the Lord will certainly DELIVER and draw me to Himself from every assault of evil. He will PRESERVE and bring me safe unto his Heavenly kingdom!   To Him be the glory forever and ever!  AMEN!"  

     These scriptures proclaim and document the miraculous, literal and physical deliverances of Peter and Paul as they served the Lord and spread the Gospel.    
     Is it merely coincidence that Peter and Paul were honored on the very day the plot to murder hundreds in London was foiled? 
      Peter and Paul died as martyrs for the Kingdom of Christ, and yet they still rejoiced in their DELIVERANCE from danger.   
     God's promise of deliverance was proclaimed aloud in the Word from pulpits on Friday, June 29, 2007, around the world.   We all saw God's deliverance in London, whose first two Christian communities were founded and named for St. Peter in the West and St. Paul in the East. 
     From the pulpits of St. Peter's and St. Paul's the Gospel has been proclaimed for nearly 1,700 years!   The Christian heritage of the English-speaking world has its roots in these churches which were first to rise out of Roman paganism.  Great servants of God's Kingdom are buried there and will emerge from their tombs, resurrected on the last day!  
     The Islamic terrorists may keep their own calendar of death and horror.   But on June 29, 2007, on the Commemoration of Peter and Paul,  London witnessed the message of God's  miraculous deliverance!   Like the miraculous deliverance of Peter and Paul, hundreds were delivered from a horrible death. 
    Pray with us that every man, woman, and child whose life was saved that night, will now cross the bridge which leads to Eternal Life.   May each heart pause a moment and see the true Light found in the Word of the Lord, proclaimed through the apostles  Peter and Paul.    

     "But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the Gospel message might be fully proclaimed…"  2Tim. 4:17


Baruch atem b'Shem Yeshua,
Bodie

'Billboard: 'Life's Short -- Get A Divorce' - News Story - KNTV | San Francisco'

I am personally tired of the kind of logic this statement from the attorney responsible for the ad:

As for Fetman, she says, "Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. If you don't like it, don't look."

The pictures used in this ad are specifically designed to be eye-catching, and are, in my humble opinion, soft-porn. Just as with offensive television programs, we are told to 'turn the channel'.  The size, the locations (not just on that billboard, but according to the photo slide that is with this story, on sides of at least one truck, also) are all intentional. The message is offensive in itself, but the combination of the message, the photos, and the advertising attorneys' attitudes all are equally offensive.

There is a 'vote' there as to whether or not YOU find it offensive at the site, as well.

God bless!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Jun 29, 2007 1:26 PM
Subject: From A Friend: 'Billboard: 'Life's Short -- Get A Divorce' - News Story - KNTV | San Francisco'


Me has sent you a link: "Billboard: 'Life's Short -- Get A Divorce' - News Story - KNTV | San Francisco"

The link:
http://www.nbc11.com/news/13278083/detail.html?taf=bay

Thank you, Groton Connecticut visitor!

I want to thank the visitor I had from Groton, Connecticut. Had you not come, and had you not tried my link to Cardinal Sean's blog, I would not have realized it was not working properly!! It is fixed now, and God bless you!

Thanks!

Five thousand British convert to Catholicism each year, says British priest

Interesting article... seems that perhaps England is slowly returning to Catholicism... St Thomas More and St John Fisher must be delighted to hear this news! I am praying for Tony Blair, too...

God bless!

Five thousand British convert to Catholicism each year, says British priest

London, June 28 (CNA).-In an interview with the Spanish daily "La Razon," Father Gerard Sheehan, pastor of the Church of St. Thomas Moore, said that in his Diocese of Westminster-London, each year some 800 new Catholics are baptized or received into full communion with the Church."

"If we apply those numbers to all of England, we can say without fear of being wrong that the Catholic Church in England receives an average of five thousand new adult members each year," he said.

Father Sheehan said conversions reached their peak during the 90's, when the progressive wing of the Anglican Church in the United States ordained women bishops, something unacceptable to the "conservative" wing of the Church of England.  "That was a key moment," he said, adding that "today, the number of converts is less than it was ten years ago, but when the (Anglican) Church of England accepts the ordination of women bishops, conversions will increase again."

Father Sheehan said it was difficult to obtain concrete numbers as the Church "has always wanted to avoid giving signs of triumphalism, she does not want to publicly brag about these issues, because she does not want to offend anybody; in reality for sometime unity between the two churches has been sought, and any show in this sense could damage the road to this encounter."

The case of Tony Blair, who visited Pope Benedict XVI recently at the Vatican amid rumors of his imminent conversion to Catholicism, is a one such case.  The Vatican made no comment about the matter, and Blair told the Times that, "Things are not as resolved as they would seem."  However, everything indicates that Blair's conversion is just a matter of time and that, out of sensitivity, the announcement of his conversion will not come until he has left office, La Razon said, adding that Blair is only the public figure of the return to the Catholic faith of thousands of British who have already begun their process of conversion, with reserve and without intermediaries.

Giuliani's 'Catholic campaigning' problematic, says Village Voice

Seems that there are others in the US that are having problems with Giuliani....

Giuliani's 'Catholic campaigning' problematic, says Village Voice

New York, June 28 (CNA).-A recent article in New York's Village Voice claims that Rudy Giuliani is using his Catholicity to gain political advantage in his current campaign for Republican presidential candidate.

"Giuliani has only struck a public Catholic pose when it has suited him politically," the article claims. The article offers an analysis of Giuliani's about-face regarding his Catholic faith in relation to his current campaign, pointing out the contradictions between his current campaign and his track record as New York City mayor.

For example, Giuliani is currently saying that he hates abortion and is committed to decreasing the number of abortions. He has even said that it would be "okay to repeal" Roe v. Wade. However, while mayor of New York, he hosted three anniversary celebrations at City Hall for the landmark decision that legalized abortion in the United States.

Giuliani also appointed Pam Maraldo, the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, to the city's four-member Board of Health. City records indicate that Giuliani's health and youth agencies awarded more than $2 million in contracts to Planned Parenthood's New York City branch over the years, the Village Voice reports.

The magazine also notes that while the mayor cut the city's welfare rolls, he found millions of dollars in city funds "to subsidize abortions for women whose incomes were too high to meet eligibility standards."
 
"His wholesale reversal on Medicaid funding, late-term abortions, and parental consent are all part of a repackaging designed to soften not just his New York public record, but also the inconvenient details of his personal life," the article claims.

"It's impossible to reconcile that [mayoral] record with Giuliani's presidential pose on abortion, just as it's impossible to match his Catholic candidacy with his marital history," the article states.

The magazine points out that Giuliani has been married three times. Giuliani divorced his second wife after 18 years and remarried in a civil ceremony, clearly outside of the norms of the Catholic Church, the New York magazine notes.

"The question is: Can Giuliani run for president as a Catholic, identifying with the swing vote that has picked the winner in virtually every modern presidential race, when he is so out of step with the Church's code of personal conduct?" the magazine asks.

The article also focuses on Giuliani's close friendship with a priest accused of sex abuse. His first 14-year marriage was annulled thanks to his close friend, Msgr. Alan Placa, who has since been defrocked due to allegations of sex abuse of four minors, says the Village Voice. A lawyer by training, Placa was hired as a three-day-a-week consultant at Giuliani Partners, where he remains today, the magazine reports. Placa had also baptized Giuliani's children.

Village Voice offers a lengthy exposé on Placa's personality, based on testimonies, and on how he helped cover up incidents of sex abuse of minors by his fellow priests while in a position of authority at the diocese.

The hiring of Placa and the passage of a bill, which forces public schools to report abuse complaints to law enforcement as soon as they are received but exempt private schools from this same requirement, shows that "Giuliani's tone-deaf response to sex-abuse issues," the article states.

Giuliani is also reversing himself on gay issues, rejecting any attempt to welcome gay men into the military, the article notes.

Victory for Catholic Teacher Told to Pay Dues or Change Religions

From the article: But dues became mandatory last year. When she spoke to the union attorney, she was told her she had two choices - pay her dues or "change religions."

I am glad she won this case. I, too, once belonged to a union, whose value system was not mine, politically. For anyone to tell another person to 'Change Religions' in order to NOT join a Union grossly infringes on rights of that person, and is insulting. As a practicing Catholic, I also object to supporting abortion by proxy by forced union dues, etc. However, as a human being, without even considering my religion, I object to abortion, period! Killing of pre-born babies is objectionable to many outside of Catholic circles, including professed atheists such as Nat Hentoff, and for good reason. They are innocent of any wrong-doing, and they have the same right to life that any other person has. God bless!

Victory for Catholic Teacher Told to Pay Dues or Change Religions

Washington DC, June 27 (CNA).-A U.S. District Court judge struck down an Ohio law that allowed only those public employees who belong to certain religious denominations the right to claim a religious objection to paying union dues.

The legal challenge was mounted by a teacher in southern Ohio, Carol Katter, who said a union official told her to pay dues or change religions.

"It's wonderful, just wonderful," the math and language arts instructor told Cybercast News Service on Friday, after Judge Gregory Frost issued his decision.

Front struck down Ohio Revised Code section 4117.09(C) as a violation of Katter's First Amendment rights. He also permanently enjoined the State Employment Relations Board from further enforcing that law.

The law in question stated that any public employee, who was a member of a "bona fide religion or religious body which has historically held conscientious objections to joining or financially supporting an employee organization ... shall not be required to join or financially support any employee organization."

Katter, a lifelong Catholic, had always declined membership in the Ohio Education Association, a state chapter of the National Education Association, because of its position in favor of abortion.

But dues became mandatory last year. When she spoke to the union attorney, she was told her she had two choices - pay her dues or "change religions."

She soon learned that members of the Seventh-day Adventist and Mennonite churches received an exemption, due to their denominations' history of objection to union membership. The exemption was not extended to Catholics.

With free legal assistance from the nonprofit National Right to Work Foundation (NRWF), she filed a federal complaint in the U.S. District Court in Columbus last January. Katter also filed a related charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Stefan Gleason, the NRWF's vice president, praised the judge's ruling as "a victory for employee rights and the freedom of conscience."

Gleason noted that Frost's ruling follows another federal court decision last fall, which affirmed that all public-sector employees who have sincere religious objections to union affiliation cannot be forced to associate with and pay dues to a union they find objectionable.

"While the ruling expands the rights available to employees of faith, abuses of forced unionism will inevitably continue until Ohio passes a Right to Work law making union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary," he told Cybercast News.

Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to the father of our children!!

Fr B. told us we'd just signed up for 50 years of happiness, and we could come back and renew at the end of that time....
Remembering 37 years ago today.
May God touch you in a very special way, especially today.

The LORD bless you and keep you:
The LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you:
The LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
~~Numbers 6:24-26

God bless!





Our vows:
The groom said:I (M), take you (M) to be my wife.
I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad,
in sickness and in health.
I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.

The bride said:I (M), take you (M) to be my husband.
I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad,
in sickness and in health.
I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.

But it is also proper to recognize the value of the witness of those spouses who, even when abandoned by their partner, with the strength of faith and of Christian hope have not entered a new union: These spouses too give an authentic witness to fidelity, of which the world today has a great need. For this reason they must be encouraged and helped by the pastors and the faithful of the church.
~~FAMILIARIS CONSORTIO Pope John Paul II 12/15/1981 (Sec 20)


"Right is still right if nobody is right,
and wrong is still wrong if everybody is wrong,"
Archbishop Fulton J Sheen author of The Life of Christ

"So when you make a promise (or a VOW) to God, don't delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. It is better to say nothing than to promise something that you don't follow through on. In such cases, your mouth is making you sin.
And don't defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise
you made was a mistake.
That would make God angry, and he might wipe out
everything you have achieved."
~~ Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 New Living Translation

Catholic condemned to death for blasphemy tells of his trauma

Another example of 'tolerance? Pray for this man and his family! And for ALL those who suffer for their Faith in these lands.... and pray that it never comes HERE...

Catholic condemned to death for blasphemy tells of his trauma

Lahore, June 26 (CNA).-Church and human rights bodies, including the Catholic bishops' National Commission for Justice and Peace and the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, are challenging the judgment in the case of a young Catholic man, who has been sentenced to death.

On May 30, the Sessions Court sentenced Younis Masih, a 27-year-old furniture polisher, to death for blasphemy and fined him 100,000 rupees (US$1,663).

Younis, who has been imprisoned for nearly two years since being accused of blasphemy, was interviewed by UCA News on June 14.

"My knee joints ache due to the torture by police, who tried to make me confess the alleged blasphemy by beating me with heavy staffs," he told UCA News from within Lahore Central Jail. He said he is also denied clean water and other necessities provided to fellow inmates.

Younis denies the blasphemy allegation and recounted the events that led to the court's most recent decision. On Sept. 9, 2005, about 70 members of a group singing devotional music attacked Younis, after he was accused of making derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad.

The next day, about 26 men continued the attack. They grabbed him from a billiards club and assaulted him. They abused his wife, threw bricks at his house and set it on fire. Several of the 50 local Christian families later fled the area.

When Younis went to police to report the assault, the police, in turn, registered a blasphemy case against him. He said a large mob, armed with sticks, gathered at the police station while he was there and refused to leave until a report was lodged against him for insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Younis was jailed.

Difa-e-Islam Mahaz (front for the defense of Islam), an alliance of 22 Sunni religious organizations, organized a large demonstration at the Lahore Press Club, where they called for him to be hanged. They vowed to continue until Younis was sentenced to death.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said in a May 31 statement that it would monitor Younis' case and would help his counsel appeal before the High Court.

Nadeem Anthony of the Rights Commission told UCA News that police and Muslim clerics created an atmosphere of terror that led to the disappointing decision. Anthony claims the case was not investigated properly. He complained about "pressure from the religious extremists" and people taking the law "into their own hands."

Section 295-B of the Pakistan Criminal Code punishes those convicted of insulting the Qur'an with life imprisonment, and Section 295-C stipulates death for insulting Prophet Muhammad.

Happy 8th Anniversary Daughter and Son-in-Law!

Happy Anniversary to my number one child and her hubby !

Your children learn by observing you.
May God grant you the Grace to be good witnesses to them.

May God grant you MANY more anniversaries!

I love you both!

God bless!


Jesus, Mary, Joseph, The Holy Family, pray for them!

Blessed Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi, pray for them!

Dylan into hospital

Dylan is back in the hospital. He is the three year old spitfire we have been praying for. Please continue to pray for him, and for his entire family.

God bless!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: E

I got this from Leann tonight...  Besides Dylan, her nephew, she's got some medical issues with her own girls, too...  sheesh, sometimes, it seems when it rains it poors....  The best news is, is that Dylan, though very sick, refuses to show too many signs of it...  Leann said she had to bribe him to get him to cooperate with the Dr's and nurses who are trying to help him... 

 

The home nurse has put them on the Make a Wish list, too, and it seems a trip to DisneyWorld is in the family's near future...  But for Leann and her sister, it made how sick Dylan is all too real...  Thanks everyone for your continued prayers... They are certain that they are all working!

 

At the moment, they don't have any kind of a bank account set up, but she said to thank you for the offer.  The donations they have recieved they have just been putting in to their savings account and drawing from it when they have out of pocket expenses...  She said she will let me know, if and when that comes about...  thanks, again.

 

E

 

To all...

Dylan has been admitted into Memorial Hospital this afternoon.  His blood count has gone extremely low again and he is now going to need a blood transfusion.  I spoke to Dylan just a little bit ago and he is still in good spirits and not feeling as sick as he is.  Mandy and Geoff are hanging in there, but Mandy is very tired and running on fumes.  The positive side is that Dylan does sound good and still has a good amount of energy to still fight those who are trying to help him.

I won't be in town tomorrow since my Hailey will be having her minor procedures done tomorrow up at Valley Children's and then Hannah has her appointment up there in the afternoon to talk about her appendix issues.  As soon as I get back home I'll send out another update.

Thank you again for all your prayers!
Leann

Update on WI Catholic

Just a quick note to let you all know that I thank you for the prayers, and ask that they continue. It was adenocarcinoma, but Dr Flanagan believes that nothing more will be needed. She is, however, sending me to an oncologist for the final word on the subject, which she thinks will be frequent followups on the colonoscopies (MORE 'Go Lightly!! YUCK!) She wants me to follow through on whatever he decides.

Incision is healing well.. I told them that all the worst case scenarios have been going through my head from my many years of nursing... PLEASE Steri Strip me WELL... they laughed, but did humor me (actually, they told me it would not happen... I said... I know it is all in my head, but...)

I am hurting very little now, but still some discomfort. I can do belly laughs again... for which I am grateful! Mom was here with two sisters last week, and on Wed, she got to read the pathology report after my son took me to the MD appt. We stopped there on the way home. She looked relieved after she read it, but needs to keep being reminded that she DID read it. She has been calling often!!

I go to see Dr Flanagan again on July 12th, after which app't, she will decide if I can go back to work with restrictions (four weeks) or if I have to wait the full six weeks and go back with none. If I am able to return to what I was doing, she may ok with the four weeks. If not, she will see....

I can't drive yet, so am dependent on someone being able to come get me and take the time to go places with me. My oldest daughter and only grand-daughter were able to take me grocery shopping yesterday. It was a lot of walking compared to what I have been doing, so I got a real 'stitch' in my right side near my hip. Not sure what that was, but was VERY glad to get home. I am now all set with sandwich things, salad things, fruits, etc, again. Easy things to make that I like. BUT I FORGOT THE ONIONS!!!!!  I NEED ONIONS!!!! lol I have put out the 'call'.... grin... we will see how long it takes to get some onions... (Ask and ye shall receive...)

So, I am doing FINE, waiting for the oncologist's office to call me to set up that app't, and for July 12 for my afternoon app't with Dr Flanagan...and then we'll see...

Thank YOU for your prayers!
Take care! God bless!

Love that Cardinal Pell!

Sounds like he is going to get a very public place to repeat his positon, with a LOT of resulting publicity! This man has the courage of a St Thomas More in many ways! There are few like him in the world, but we are blessed enough to have a couple here in the US as well (thinking of Vasa, Chaput, Bruskewitz, Burke...and you can send me others' names if you'd like... )

God bless!

Australia's Cardinal Pell defies parliamentary threat
Sydney, Jun. 18, 2007 (CWNews.com)

Sydney, Jun. 18 (CWNews.com) - Leaders of the Greens Party in Australia have begun a drive to cite Cardinal George Pell for contempt of parliament-- an effort that the cardinal described as carrying "a whiff of Stalinism."

Lee Rhiannon, a Greens lawmaker, won approval for a parliamentary hearing at which Cardinal Pell will be questioned about his statement that politicians who vote in favor of cloning should realize that their votes will have "consequences for their place in the life of the Church."

Rhiannon complained that the cardinal's remarks were intended to intimidate lawmakers. "Cardinal Pell has shown no remorse for his comments," she added.

The Sydney prelate responded by saying that he "would be privileged to appear before the committee if necessary, to resist this clumsy attempt to curb religious freedom and freedom of speech."

During a radio interview on June 17, Cardinal Pell added that he "never threatened anybody with a public excommunication." He continued to say that politicians who support cloning should recognize the moral consequences of their actions. And he declined to offer a direct answer to the question of whether he would refuse Communion to a politician who voted for the pending legislation.

Archbishop Barry Hickey of Perth, who had also been accused of threatening lawmakers by his public statements on the cloning proposal, took a different posture in his latest comments. In a letter to the Catholic newspaper The Record, he observed that his published statements might have inadvertently put pressure on Catholic politicians who were already planning to cast their votes in accordance with Church teaching. "They may feel compromised and be accused of voting at the bidding of the Church. If this is so, I owe them an apology because I have always admired their courage," Archbishop Hickey said.

© Copyright 2007 Domus Enterprises. All rights reserved.

Validity is Worth Fighting For

When the news broke on Time's website, I had the article here,
on my blog site. Interesting how some others are portraying this news, including some calling Sheila Rauch Kennedy 'vindictive'.... hhhhmmmmm. For taking Marital Vows seriously? Others try to say she had nothing to lose because SHE is not Catholic, but Episcopalian....hmmmmmmm, how about the Eternal Soul that both she AND Joseph Kennedy, and their children have???

Many seem to think that this ONLY relates to 'rich Kennedys' and the Boston Tribunal. It does not.

This is something that happens across the USA, and is defended by 'justifications' by most in the Canon Law field from the North American school of thought.

If you are a 'boomer', you have no way of understanding what you are doing when you stand before God and mankind in that Church as a young man and woman, and are lost. I was told that by a young Canon Lawyer ( I have the letter should you ever want to see it, written to a yahoo group). "WE Boomers", according to him--in the present way of thinking, are responsible for the 'no fault' divorce laws (and much of the rest of the evils of this world!), in spite of the fact that this young Canon Lawyer considers 1946 to be the beginning of the "Boomer" Age.

But we were not out of high school/college long enough to have had that effect in 1973 when Roe v Wade and Doe v Bolton were decided in the US Supreme Court, or in Aug 1973 when the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act was passed!

Nor were we "boomers" on the steps in DC with the group of adult Catholic dissenters who spoke out against Pope Paul VI and Humanae Vitae in 1968. I, being one of the older end boomers, did not gradutate from HS until 67, and his earliest date of 1946 would be only three years before that, graduating HS in 1964 and college in 1968 (for my class, 1971).

Sheila Rauch Kennedy is only ONE person who has appealed to the Roman Rota and won their case for Validity. (Her book has other examples in it, and Vasoli, may he rest in peace, not only won his own case, but helped others as well!) The shame of it is that in other articles I have read, Joseph was informed quite awhile before she was, and it took an awfully long time to reach and write up that verdict!

(Note: When one considers that Hell is for Eternity, however... ten years may not be so very long after all...)

Should it ever come down to it, I will be doing the same as she chose to do. It has nothing to do with vindictiveness. It has to do with Truth, with indissolubility of Marriage, with my vows being sacred, with obedience to God, with the ultimate goal of Salvation of not only myself, but my spouse, my children and grandchildren. It is the Vocation of Marriage.

It has to do with not trusting the 'spirit of compassion' that is prevalent today that is more evil in disguise than true compassion. It has to do with the fact that JUST BECAUSE YOU END UP IN DIVORCE COURT TODAY, it does NOT mean your marriage was and is not VALID in God's eyes! It has to do with the fact that often, today, it is the deserter/unfaithful partner who not only forces the divorce, but later forces the Petition for Nullity on the faithful spouse, and wins approval, reward for SIN.

Sorry, this is neither Justice nor Mercy. This is not Compassion. This is not Truth. It is Evil.

OH, and one more thought... if our first marriages are VALID... that makes those second marriages (where people are encouraged to stay together for the sake of the CHILDREN...) adultery. Where they are encouraged to live together as brother and sister rather than hurt their children.... what about OUR children?? Canon Law and Scripture both tell us to encourage reconciliation of that VALID FIRST Marriage. Our children deserve to be considered, too.

God bless

Our vows:
The groom says:I (...), take you (...) to be my wife.
I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad,
in sickness and in health.
I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.

The bride says:I (...), take you (...) to be my husband.
I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad,
in sickness and in health.
I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.


"So when you make a promise (or a VOW) to God,
don't delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all
the promises you make to him. It is better to say nothing than to promise
something that you don't follow through on. In such cases, your mouth is making
you sin. And don't defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the
promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe
out everything you have achieved."
~~ Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 New Living Translation

"Right is still right if nobody is right,
and wrong is still wrong if everybody is wrong,"
Archbishop Fulton J Sheen author of The Life of Christ

A former president of the US once said, "A man who would lie to his wife would lie to me, and a man who would break his marriage vows would break his oath of office."
~~Harry S Truman

The Kennedy annulments

I don't know about 'corruption, but the questions have been being raised for years...

The Kennedy annulments: corruption in the process?
Jun. 22, 2007 (CWNews.com)

Jun. 22 (CWNews.com) - Now the story can be told-- or at least part of the story. The parts we don't know, but should, are still more interesting.

Long ago an informed Vatican official-- possibly having sipped one more glass of good Italian wine than was medically necessary-- informed CWN that the Roman Rota had ruled in favor of Sheila Rauch Kennedy, affirming the validity of her marriage to former Congressman Joe Kennedy. But our Vatican source asked us to keep the matter quiet, and we did.

Now, however, Time magazine has broken the story. The decision by the Roman Rota has been confirmed.

Here, in brief, are the facts as we know them:

• In 1991, while serving as Congressman from Massachusetts, Joseph P. Kennedy II divorced his wife Sheila Rauch Kennedy.
• In 1993 the Congressman sought a decree of annulment from the Boston archdiocese. Without waiting for the result of his petition, he entered into a second marriage with a former aide, Beth Kelly; that wedding did not take place in a Catholic church.
• In 1996, Sheila Rauch Kennedy learned that the Boston archdiocesan tribunal had proclaimed that her marriage to Joe Kennedy was a nullity. Rauch, who is Episcopalian, was appalled by that decision, and contested the tribunal's judgment. She also wrote a book, Shattered Faith, denouncing what she saw as corruption in the annulment process. Rauch complained that Church officials in Boston never gave her an opportunity to demonstrate the validity of the marriage; nor did they inform her about her right to appeal the decision to Rome.
• Nine years later, in 2005, the Roman Rota reversed the Boston tribunal's decision, saying in effect that in the eyes of the Church, Sheila Rauch is still Joe Kennedy's wife.

We do not know the grounds for the annulment originally granted by the Boston tribunal, nor do we know why the Roman Rota reversed that decision. That is right and proper; we have no right to know the intimate details of their union.

But we do know that the final decision from Rome came nine years after the original annulment. "Justice delayed is justice denied," the old adage teaches, and in this case the long delay is an injustice. If Sheila Rauch was indeed married to Joe Kennedy, didn't she have the right to a reasonably prompt determination of that fact? If the marriage did not take place, didn't Joe Kennedy have the right to know that he was free to enter into a new marriage in the Church?

Next, notice that the Roman Rota reached its final decision (that is, barring the possibility of another appeal) in 2005. CWN heard about it in 2006. Sheila Rauch reports that she was not officially informed until May 2007. Is that lengthy delay not a further injustice? According to the Time magazine, the formal notification to Rauch, the petitioner, was delayed "while the official written notice was being prepared." Really? You might think that, after pondering the case for a decade, officials of the Vatican tribunal would have their thoughts sufficiently organized so that they could write up a decision in less than 18 months.

The final decision by the Roman Rota lends weight to Sheila Rauch Kennedy's argument that she and Joe had a real, albeit unhappy, marital union. The way this case was handled lends even more weight to her criticism of the annulment process in the Catholic Church.

And the media coverage of the overdue Vatican decision illustrates yet another problem with that annulment process. A spokesman for the Boston archdiocese, Terrence Donilon, declined to comment on the Time magazine revelation about the validity of Joe Kennedy's marriage. “Such matters are appropriately private and confidential,” he told AP.

Nonsense! The reasons for an annulment are confidential. We have no need to know the details that led Church officials to determine that Joe Kennedy is or is not married to Sheila Rauch. But we do have a right to know whether or not the couple-- or any other couple-- is actually married.

Marriage is a public act. Except under the most extraordinary circumstances, marriages are announced to the public, and Church officials would quite rightly be suspicious of a couple wishing to marry secretly.

Oddly enough I have made this argument before-- a decade ago, in a case involving Joe's uncle. In the eyes of the Catholic Church, is Senator Ted Kennedy married to his first wife, Joan, or to his current partner, Vicki? To this day, no Church official has answered that question for the record. But if the sanctity of marriage is important to the Church-- and it is vitally important-- then the answer to that question is an important one: an answer the public should hear.

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