Liturgical Dance At St Camillus In Silver Spring

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, in "On Sacred Music", had this to say about about liturgical dance: "Dancing is not a form of expression for the Christian liturgy."  He ended that work by saying, "I am convinced that the crisis in the Church that we are experiencing today is to a large extent due to the disintegration of the liturgy."

Every Church Should
Be One

I've written before about various episodes of nonsense at St Camillus, just inside the beltway off New Hampshire Avenue.  We've seen pro-abortion folks speaking there and we've heard jibber-jabber about "ecological conversion" and other new-age tripe.  So it comes as no surprise to me that the loathsome boil known as liturgical dance is festering at St. Camillus.  If some think "loathsome boil" is a tad too harsh, consider that this and other such nonsense have contributed to lack of understanding of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Catholic faith in general and perhaps jeopardized the salvation of many people.

For an example, I've posted a video of a Mass at St Camillus being profaned by one such dance session (ht to Dawn for this video).  Why, oh why, do these folks think it's so wonderful to be treated to the sight of a bunch of women wiggling on the ground and traipsing all over the place while they flail their arms in the air?  Notice at 1:30 they join their hands as though to block the congregation from the altar?  And yes, they did have a little girl lying on the steps of the altar.  What a horrible lesson for her to learn!

In case anyone might think the Archdiocesan chancery had no way of knowing about this travesty, I hardly think that can be the case.  The Catholic Standard interviewed a St Camillus parishioner and this woman made mention of the "liturgical dance group".  Reminder - the Catholic Standard is the official archdiocesan publication.  Why, oh why, was not someone alerted when this obvious red flag started to fly?  Can it be that the Archdiocese just didn't give a rat's rump?

Let us pray that during this conclave that the next pontiff will have the will and strength to rein in the "loosey-goosey" priests and prelates and put a stop to these sorts of insults to the Sacraments.  That will be indispensable to the restoration of the Church.

Father Guarnizo On Sloppy Reporting Of The Pope's Departure

Father Guarnizo knows quite a bit of sloppy journalism and liberal bias found within the lame-brain-main-stream media.  He himself suffered quite a bit due to their slop and malevolence last year.  From the Catholic News Agency read what he has to say about Paddy Agnew and the Irish Times.  I think most with two functioning brain neurons will agree with him.

John Carr To Write For America Rag

Remember John Carr, the recently-retired head of USCCB's Dept of Justice, Peace and Human Development?  That link on his name takes you to posts that highlight his progressive connections and insidious influences.  He's slated to soon befoul Catholic University.

He's extending more progressive entanglements as he has accepted a position with "America" magazine as its Washington correspondent.  You might all recall that one of Pope Benedict's first actions was to purge America of its editor, Fr Thomas Reese, S.J. - you know, the Jesuit who recently opined that "Contraception is a lot cheaper than live births, especially if the live births are problematic."

Actually, this seems rather appropriate - the "marriage made in he_________".  You fill in the blank as you deem appropriate.

The Gay Mafia In The Church

Read from this blog what St Peter Damian, himself a bishop and Church Doctor, had to say regarding the mortal sin of homosexual conduct.  It's clear that sodomy was to be found among clergy of his day.  However, it doesn't seem that even in that troubled era in which Peter Damian lived, the moral rot had extended into the Vatican as it has done today.

Cardinal Wuerl On The Conclave

My colleague at An Archdiocese of Washington Catholic links to some comments by Cardinal Wuerl regarding the upcoming papal conclave.  Among other things His Eminence said was that "whoever is going to sit in Peter's chair is going to have to see the issues as Blessed John Paul did, as Benedict did.."

That is very true.  The next pontiff will have to be willing to stand up to the secular culture and not let it stand him down.  He will have to speak truth to worldly power no matter the costs.  Certainly Canon 915 and obedience to that law will be part and parcel of that witness.  I'm praying that all our prelates understand, accept and implement this.

Petition For Revocation Of Licenses Of Carhart And Germantown Death Center

Below is a link to a petition initiated by Defend Life for the revoke the Maryland license of Leroy Carhart and to suspend the license of Germantown Reproductive Health Services, Inc.  It is addressed to both the Maryland Board of Physicians and Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.  Please sign this now and pass word of this to your pro-life contacts.  They do not have to be Maryland residents to sign it.  Thank you.

http://www.change.org/petitions/revoke-carhart-s-medical-license-suspend-the-license-of-abortion-facility


Also, please call the comments line of Shady Grove Hospital at 240-826-6920 and insist that they file a formal complaint with the Maryland Board of Physicians to expose Carhart's gross callousness and incompetence.  You may well get a greeting that disavows any responsibility and states that Carhart is not affiliated with the hospital.  While that may be true, they still have a professional responsibility to alert proper authorities of malpractice evidence as it is presented to them.  It certainly was so presented on February 7th. Keep calling until you are at least able to leave a message.

See http://www.prayforgermantown.com/ for other needed steps to take.  And above all, pray to Our Lord this Lent.

Warning! Guns Are Mentioned In This Post!

Tim Hawkins is a Christian comedian who does song parodies as part of his act.  He's fun to listen to when I can use a laugh.

Some progressives are (shall we say) "humor-challenged".  That often goes hand in hand with lack of common sense.  We've seen several examples of that in public schools (two of them in Maryland), with little children being treated as felons for pointing their fingers as guns, etc.

Therefore, I would suggest that any readers who are reading this in a public school on their smart phones NOT play this video within earshot of a school official.  If they hear the words of this song, you could find yourself hauled off to a gulag by the SWAT team that will be called, because the words "gun" and "shoot" are mentioned.  Watch it another time.

Otherwise, enjoy!

Homoideology And Homoheresy

These are terms coined by Polish priest Father Dariusz Oko in his report on the extent of the homosexual infiltration of the Church - even inside the Vatican.  He also uses the term "homomafia".  These are rather accurate terms.

We have long suspected this problem existed, and this report comes as no surprise to me as it describes things that I've personally seen.  Take the refusal to acknowledge the fact that the abuse of boys by clergy is obviously homosexual in nature.  When this crisis broke into national news, the Archdiocese of Washington tried to do some damage control.  They decided to have a panel of "experts" go into various parishes to "explain" the matter to parishioners.  The first one happened at St Raphael's in Rockville.  They tried to tell us that pedophilia targets both boys and girls in the general population.  We pointed out that our focus was not "the general population" but the Roman Catholic clerical abusers whose victims were 90% pubescent boys.  That and other reminders of pesky facts was not appreciated; I could see it in their eyes.  Guess what?  That "first panel" was also the "last panel".  We never heard a peep from them again.

Just last year we saw a dramatic manifestation of the gay problem within the Archdiocese of Washington - and at St John Neumann Church in particular.  I blogged extensively about Father Marcel Guarnizo who was then stationed at St Joh Neumann.  He denied Holy Communion to a flagrantly practicing lesbian.  Without so much as even interviewing Father Guarnizo, Bishop Barry Knestout handed to Father the papers that informed him that he was no longer to function as a priest within the Archdiocese of Washington.  Father Guarnizo is incardinated within the Archdiocese of Moscow.  Had he been incardinated here, I strongly suspect his faculties would have been suspended altogether.  Now we all know how long it can take to get things done within the chancery, don't we?  Didn't this maltreatment of Father Guarnizo happen lickety-split? I've no doubt that the homomafia within the Church was ten-thousand-percent behind the Archdiocese of Washington's despicable maltreatment of the good priest Father Guarnizo.  If anyone thinks me incorrect, I defy you to provide cogent reasons why!

Yesterday's LifeSite News features an article that ties together the various events that have erupted over the past few days, including the Vatileaks situation.  It also has a link to the report by Father Oko.  It is a downloadable pdf; I do suggest that you download it to your own computers.  Also take the time to read the "related articles" linked at the bottom.  I'll post the Vortex video below.

Maryland Faces Yet Another Transgender Battle

You may have heard of some of the upset in Massachusetts as parents of public school children learned that their children could be disciplined for not affirming transgenderism.  That means that girls would have no recourse if a boy "identifying as female" wanted to use the girls' rest rooms.

Now this shadow is appearing in Annapolis once again.  Maryland Senate Bill 449, misnamed as "Fairness for All Marylanders Act", defines "gender identity" as "appearance, expression or behavior of an individual regardless of the individual's assigned sex at birth".  "Public accommodation" would of course include public schools, paving way for incidents in our own Maryland public schools.

This bill has been assigned to the Judicial Proceedings Committee.  Please contact them and ask them to defeat it in committee.

Environmentalism Is Anti-Life

This blog (and others) features several key posts exposing the anti-life underpinnings of the environmentalist poison infecting much of modern thought these days.  Now we have the Sierra Club to thank for the latest pieces of evidence.

Last week they sponsored a rally in Washington to protest the Keystone Pipeline.  Human Life International and Americans for Limited Government have interviewed protesters who have called for population control.  One man voiced support for the implementation of China's "one-child" policy here.  That's nothing new for the pro-abortion crowd.  In 1989, Molly Yard, then president of NOW, called China's brutal policy "among  the most intelligent in the world".  So much for "pro-choice", but I digress.

Another Sierra devotee coined (or parroted) the term "earth patriotism".  And what does that mean, you ask?  Well, it means not having "excessive children", that is, not more than two.  As you watch this video, try not to be too under-whelmed with the (dearth of) intellectual depth of the environmentalists.  After all, these are the folks who voted for the Messiah Most Miserable (evidence at 1:31 to the left of the screen).

Day Of Shame For German Catholic Church

Recently two Catholic hospitals in Cologne, Germany declined to give the "morning after" pill to a rape victim.  Of course what they declined to do was to facilitate in a possible chemical abortion.  Of course the progressives had a snit-fit.

Cardinal Joachim Meisner brought shame and disgrace upon the Church - and betrayed scores of innocent babies to boot - by approving (under "limited circumstances" of course!) the distribution of the deadly pill in Catholic hospitals in his diocese.  His spokesperson had the gall to say that "everything which is abortive in nature is not allowed".  Guess what?  The term "emergency contraception" is misleading on its face for part of its mechanism is the causation of chemical abortion.

Even if that was not the case, the Church has always condemned contraception owing to the anti-life mentality underlying its usage.  How soon these bishops forgot Humanae Vitae.  Perhaps they wish the rest of us would, too.  That's not happening.

During these last few days of his pontificate, I pray that Benedict XVI will discipline Cardinal Meisner and the rest of that feckless cabal.

MD Medical Examiner: Morbelli Died From Abortion Complications

The office Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland has released its findings regarding the death of Jennifer Morbelli on Feb 7 at the hands of Leroy Carhart.  From Operation Rescue we read that there were two causes of death:

1. amniotic fluid embolism - Amniotic fluid that was surrounding the pre-born Madison entered Jennifer's blood stream.  This inhibited the ability to clot blood, leaving her vulnerable to hemorrhaging. 
2. the profuse abdominal bleeding

She and her family most likely received Carhart's standard instructions not to consult an emergency room but rather to call his "24 hour number".  Well, it turns out that this "24-hour number" was the number to Carhart's horse show equipment business.  The family was unable to contact him; was the line engage with horse hay buyers?

While this death was ruled "natural", charges of malpractice against Carhart are most definitely not precluded.  The Montgomery County Police have opened an investigation and are awaiting the full autopsy to proceed.

Please go to the site "Pray for Germantown" to learn some action steps that we should all take to have this menace known as Leroy Carhart evicted from Maryland.

Catholic Relief Services Funding Pro-Abortionists In Mexico

In yesterday's post, I linked to an excellent article penned by Christopher Manion that outlined (among other things) the Holy Father's expectations regarding Catholic charitable institutions.  Three that come to mind are: Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities.  The alert individual will note that all three fall abysmally short of the standards set forth by the Magisterium for the conduct of Catholic charity.  Note, too, that the first two entities operate completely under the auspices of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Manion's points seem to be underscored by today's article from LifeSite News.  Apparently Catholic Relief Services is funding a number of pro-abortion organizations in Mexico.  I've written a number of times about the less-than-stellar activities of the Catholic Relief Services.

Sometimes the Church's worst enemies can be found within her structures.  When that happens, the only remedy, besides prayer, is to starve the tumors.  That means to cut off any and all donations to Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities.

Pope Benedict XVI And True Charity

In Crisis magazine appears an article by Christopher Manion on some contributions that Pope Benedict XVI has made to the future of the Church during these past eight years.  Among them is the restatement of the true principles of Christian charity.

As we all know, the hierarchy of the US Church has been horribly compromised by the lure of federal money to finance its charitable outreaches.  Manion points out that the Land O' Lakes statement was a colossal sell-out on the part of Catholic institutions of higher learning to grab some federal grants.  Some (like me) would in fact argue that Father Hesburgh of Notre Dame deliberately intended to muffle the voice of Catholicism via Land O' Lakes; in many respects he succeeded.  This blog has recited countless times that Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services have made fools of themselves through the debacles in which they engaged.  The only reason why I didn't include the Catholic Campaign for Human Development with the other two is that I believe that the CCHD was created with the very intention of undermining the Magisterium.  And of course I need not rehash how many state Catholic Conferences have muzzled their own voices so that they could win various grants and endowments for their pet progressive causes.

Read Manion's article.  While it will take brave bishops and popes to clean up our charitable outreaches, it will also take the voices and activism of the Catholic laity (that's us!) to bring about these much-needed reforms.

Nancy Pelosi Whines About Her Dignity

And just what occasions this sob-session?  Why, she doesn't want to have her "dignity" ruined by a Congressional pay cut!  I suppose she's forgotten all about us, the Great Unwashed, who have seen our earnings and prospects crippled thanks to the progressive policies she and her cronies (including the Messiah Most Miserable) have foisted upon us.

One of those monstrosities has been the Obamacare-Hell-Bill.  You know, it's the one that Pope Pelosi said we'd have to pass in order to find out what's in it.  Well, sounds like Nancy is finding out just like the rest of us.

I suppose that since she's no longer the Speaker, she's still smarting now that she doesn't have her own jet to whisk her to and from California.  Now to add insult to injury, she must struggle by on the mere pittance of $174,000 per year!  But not to worry!  Perhaps she can apply to get on Obama's food stamp program!

The horror!  The tragedy of it all!  It's so underoverwhelming.  I'll close this post so that we can all get our hankies and shed a tear!  Boo-hoo!  Sniff!  Sob!

Father Guarnizo On The Killing Of Jennifer Morbelli

Father Marcel Guarnizo of the Archdiocese of Moscow (who was stationed at St John Neumann until last year) has written a piece on the latest publicized killing committed by Leroy Carhart.  Notice that I said "publicized killing"; the unpublicized killings continue to this day.  While it's not correct to call the death of Jennifer Morbelli a "murder" (for her death was not intended), the death of Madison Morbelli most certainly was a murder, as have been the deaths of over 1,300 babies since Carhart cast his foul shadow over Maryland.

Father's piece is entitled "The Heroes of Sundance", in reference to the pro-abortion propaganda movie that lionized Leroy Carhart and three other baby-killers.  Please read it and pass it along.

Washington Post: Dolan For Pope

The Washington Post, with a column by R. Scott Appleby, has graced us all with yet another token of their concern.  They are advising the Catholic Church how to select the next Pope!  Awww!  Isn't that just, well, special???  Kinda makes one wonder how the Roman Catholic Church managed to survive these two thousand years without the wisdom of the Washington Post to guide her paths!

He thinks it's time for an American pope.  Appleby asserts that an American pope would not have been advisable at the last election eight years ago.  Why?  Because the rest of the world was "too resentful of America’s global footprint: its ostentatious wealth, its ubiquitous military presence and its saber-rattling, diplomacy-scorning president bent on prosecuting two unpopular wars. Big Brother hardly needed a partner in the Vatican."

Ah, but now that's changed.  Barack HUSSEIN Obama, the Messiah Most Miserable, is now president.  He has "softened America’s international image".  (I might argue that "softened" is a bit of an understatement, but I would digress!).  And who, oh who, is Appleby's choice?  Cardinal Dolan!

You see, he "projects vigor and regular-guy charisma, making his unwavering support of Vatican orthodoxy on sexual ethics and other doctrinal matters more palatable to the broad Catholic middle."   I suppose "regular-guy charisma" included that Al Smith Dinner, where Dolan allowed Obama his coveted photo-op right before the election and that groveling letter he wrote to Andrew Cuomo.

Appleby opines that "the church desperately needs an infusion of modernity" and "one who can get the creaky gears of the Vatican moving again, perhaps with the assistance of money and expertise from affluent and well-placed donors".  In reality, the Church needs to have modernism purged from its institutions and its clergy.  As for the "assistance of money", the apostles did quite nicely without buckets of money from Rome as they were commissioned and empowered by Jesus Christ Himself.  These are not valid qualification for the selection of a pontiff.

Carhart Situation - The Washington Post Is Concerned

Yes, indeed!  The Washington Post is concerned (VERY concerned, I tell you!) about the news relating to the botched abortion committed by Leroy Carhart in Germantown MD last week.  However, lest you think that the Washington Post, bastion of all pro-abortion proponents, is finally regaining a conscience, think again lest you be disappointed.  They're concerned, all right - but they're concerned that Carhart's despicable behavior is seeing the light of day and not being swept under the rug.

The columnist is Petula Dvorak.  Her perspective is clear.  You'll note how she refers to Madison as a "wanted baby".  As she progresses with the story and relates the discovery of Madison's problems, we see that "baby" becomes "pregnancy", as in "terminate the pregnancy".  We see how trusting she is of the various Maryland authorities:  you know, the authorities that 1) licensed the Germantown facility without even conducting an inspection and 2) awarded Carhart his Maryland medical license even though they also acknowledged the gross inaccuracies in the license application.  I am not so trusting.

The Washington Post is very concerned about HIPAA.  I'd like to see similar outrage expressed towards the Carhart clinic personnel who dumped confidential clinic information (along with biohazards) in an ordinary dumpster.  Now there's a HIPAA violation if ever there was one!  Let Dvorak wax indignant about that one, if she's so concerned about "privacy".  But I suspect we'll hear crickets, for the goal is about shutting us up and nothing else.

(ht - LifeSite News)

Cdl Mahony - Oh Woe Is He!

Get out your hankies and prepare to shed a tear at this tale of woe written by Cardinal Mahony of Los Angeles - its archbishop emeritus.  He is sharing that he is "called to be humiliated"!  And "rebuffed"!  Doesn't that just break your heart?

Your Eminence, maybe you brought this upon yourself?  How about the sex abuse coverups?  How about the heretic-fests that were publicly known as the LA Religious Education Conferences?  How about the complete bastardization of the Mass in those same conferences?  Get the picture?

I agree that you may well be called to penance for your abysmal performance.  But please don't try to portray yourself as an object of pity.  Man up and accept the penance for your own sake.

All others, you might want to break out the barf bags after reading that sob story.

Germantown Abortuary - Tax Deadbeats Too??

Well, we've seen how sloppy they are with their trash, what with all the patient data and bio-hazards that they just tossed into the dumpsters.  It just goes along with shoddy medical practices and even shoddier moral conduct.

Thanks to Jill Stanek's blog and Operation Rescue, we now see that their tax and legal filings are slip-shod as well.  Apparently they haven't filed their Maryland Personal Property Return (with the $300 fee) that was due last April.  Germantown Reproductive Health Services, Inc. (corp id# D-03146156) is NOT in good standing at this time.

The Department of Assessments and Taxation is not the only authority who does not hold them "in good standing".  Todd Stave, Nancy Stave Samuels and Leroy Carhart need to repent and leave the baby-murder business, for the Supreme Authority is watching.

Carhart Instructed Patients To Avoid ER

Operation Rescue reports that in 2007, then Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius hosted a party for George Tiller and several of his associates - including Leroy Carhart.  A photo of Carhart and Sebelius together can be seen on OR's web page.  Because of Sebelius's conduct during the investigation of Christin Gilbert's death, there is reasonable cause for concern that Sebelius might use her influential position to hinder any real investigation into the death of Jennifer Morbelli in Germantown.

Jill Stanek and others report that the Maryland AG's Environmental Crimes Unit is (finally) taking seriously the illegal dumping done by the Carhart cartel.  I myself wrote about that last July.  On Jill's blog are pictures of patient instructions that are distributed by his office.  In the middle of the first blue piece of paper you'll note that the patient who is experiencing distress is directed "not to go to the ER" but to call the staff.  Well, if someone's bleeding to death (as was Jennifer), what was "the staff" to do?  Remember - Carhart does not have hospital privileges in Maryland.  Now why, oh why, do you think that Carhart wanted no one to go to the ER?  Let me spell it out for the self-deluded who are reading this:  it's because he didn't want his bumbling incompetence to come to the attention of medical authorities.

It's reasonable to suppose that the Morbellis were given these instructions.  Did they try to comply with them?  If so, they wasted valuable time.  Perhaps Jennifer would have survived had she immediately sought competent medical treatment.

Not All Are Victims

A few months ago I went to a talk given by a fairly prominent pro-life leader.  In his talk he spoke of what he believed our attitudes towards abortion-minded people should be when we're approaching them.  With one of those attitudes I take exception.  He stated that we should be prepared to assume no malice, to presume good will and even "make excuses" for them.  He went on to say that Jesus, while being crucified, "made excuses" for His tormentors when He prayed, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do".  His analogy was flat out wrong.

Jesus never "made excuses" for His tormentors.  He, being God, had divine knowledge of what was in the hearts of those crucifying Him (see John 2:24-25).  His statement was not mere presumption but a statement of fact that only He, as the Second Person of the Trinity, could know.  I then thought of the example of Stephen, the first martyr.  When he prayed his prayer of forgiveness on the brink of his own death, he prayed, "Lord, hold not this sin against them".  Notice that Stephen acknowledged the objectively sinful nature of the evil that was being inflicted upon him.  While he didn't accuse them, neither did he presume to "make excuses".

I think this has great relevance for a troubling trend that I'm seeing among pro-life activists and leaders.  That trend is to cast all women having abortion as being strictly victims of circumstances beyond their control, be it overbearing family members, economic hardship, whatever.  Please understand - I'm sure that is true for a great many of these women - but not all.  I'm taking exception with the trend that I'm seeing of late to paint all abortion-bound people with this broad brush of victim-hood.  To illustrate, I do see way too many women walk into the mills who are obviously brow-beat by their boyfriends, parents, etc.  Yet I've seen other women bound and determined to "take care of this shit" (a direct quote) while their boyfriends are following them in tears, begging the women for the lives of their babies.

I fear that I'm seeing this broad brush being brandished in the handling of the deaths of both Jennifer Morbelli and her baby girl at the hands of Leroy Carhart.  There have been two press conferences.  In both these press conferences we see numerous references to the grief that her family is bearing (and no doubt they are) and many prayers for their solace and peace. I have heard no such prayer for their repentance for their roles in the two deaths.  Let's get real.  We're fools if we really believe that family didn't have some degree of culpability for their deaths.  The common theme of those talks is that Leroy Carhart bears sole responsibility for their deaths.  Of course he bears a majority of the blame.  But let's face this.  Carhart would not have touched Jennifer and Madison if the family never walked into his abortuary, plunked down their money and asked him to murder Madison.  He was the paid "hit-man" to be sure - but who paid him???

I was involved in a rather raucous discussion on this matter in Facebook.  Some argued that this woman must not have realized the humanity of the baby.  I find that difficult to believe.  The baby was 33 weeks along - no doubt she was kicking and moving about in Jennifer's womb.  I'm willing to bet they saw routine sonograms.  They named her Madison.  Moreover, during the week they were reporting to Carhart's office, sidewalk counselors tried to offer her and her family both offers of assistance and warning of the dangers of this procedure.  I understand from some of those counselors that they all rebuffed those warning rather angrily.  For this rejection of knowledge they now bear the ultimate consequences.

I say this not to minimize the pain that the Morbellis and McKennas are undergoing.  However, if there is to be true peace and solace, it can only come about if they face up to their own grievous roles in the debacle of last week, repent and seek out the Sacrament of Confession.  Where were the public prayers for that????  This is not "condemning" or "judging" but an attempt to acknowledge truth and not to offer false compassion rooted in sentimentality that will do nothing to restore a state of grace.  I understand that a priest was with Jennifer; I pray that she was disposed to receive absolution.

In using the "victim" language and tip-toeing around crucial spiritual issues, I suspect some are merely trying to win the sympathy of the culture at large.  Ain't gonna happen!  We cannot try to "speak their language" for when we use "their language" we adopt their thinking.  We have to define the language and the thinking.  Rather, we must preach the Gospel unabashedly rather than try to nod to political correctness.

I'll end this by linking to a story from Jill Stanek's blog about a young woman in dire circumstances who refused to be a victim - or to be seen as such.  Here is Anna.

Today's Press Conference In Germantown

A follow-up press conference was held at 11:00 am today regarding the deaths of Jennifer and Madison Morbelli.  More details were disclosed, including the delivery of the murdered Madison on Wednesday morning.  After several days of silence, the mainstream media is finding this matter difficult to ignore.  Today this article appeared in the "local" section of the Washington Post.  Of course the article has its typical pro-abortion slant, but at least they're acknowledging the existence of this situation.

Jill Stanek's blog had a write-up on the rally.  In it was listed the six action steps outlined by Michael Martelli in the video below (at the 11:00 mark).


Germantown MD Memorial Service 2-11-13 from Maryland Coalition for Life on Vimeo.

The Holy Father's Announcement

By now most Catholics have heard the news that the Pope Benedict XVI will be stepping down from the papacy effective February 28, 2013.  The news is startling to say the least.  Here is the official announcement in the Holy Father's own words.

Now that I've gotten over the initial shock and read his reasons, I can understand his reasoning.  His advance notice facilitates an orderly transition - and one that hopefully continues the trajectory of Benedict's pontificate.  Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to guide the conclave when they meet in a few weeks.

Germantown Botched Abortion Casualty Identified

The full details, with relevant links, can be found on Jill Stanek's blog.

Her name is Jennifer McKenna Morbelli and she hailed from White Plains NY.  Her daughter's name (the intended victim of abortion) was Madison Leigh.  This baby was very much wanted, but apparently fetal anomalies were detected.  We do not yet know the nature of these anomalies.

Jill reports that sidewalk counselors verified the picture as being that of the deceased woman.  As she and her family reported to the abortuary throughout last week, sidewalk counselors repeatedly tried to warn her and her family of the dangers of this procedure and to offer them assistance.  Jennifer and her family rejected their advice - with a fair amount of hostility.  Of course that's a reaction with which I myself am all too familiar.  Sadly that rejection of pro-life advise proved to be Jennifer's undoing.

Her last name and the obituary to which Jill links both indicate that Jennifer was Catholic.  I understand that a Catholic priest was with her when she died.  I pray that she was able to make a good confession prior to her death.  If she was unable to confess, I presume Father gave her conditional absolution and I pray that she did have contrition for the sin that she undertook in taking Madison's life.

Let us also pray for repentance for Jennifer's family.  Many prayers are floating about for solace and consolation, but there can be no peace until they seek out God for that peace.  At the very least, they acquiesced to the plan to abort Madison.  I've seen enough of these situations to realize that perhaps they have driven the decision to abort.  It's unrealistic to pretend that they have no culpability whatsoever.  Only as they themselves seek His forgiveness in the Sacrament of Confession (to whatever degree is appropriate) will they find the solace and peace they need.

Finally let us pray that the Maryland Board of Physicians does its job (finally).  At the very least, they should suspend the license granted to the abortuary itself (just a day prior to the start of this incident) and Carhart's personal license (obtained with a falsified application).

The Lenten Carbon Fast Is Back - With A New Name!

It keeps coming up like a bad penny, usually on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday.  This time, though, there's a bit of a name-change.  It's now the (drum roll and trumpets, please!)

Lenten Caring for Creation Calendar

This appeared in my parish's bulletin today - on green paper of course (must stay on that green theme!).  They even have the audacity to glom off the "Year of Faith" designation for 2013.  Some of the usual politically correct drivel includes:

• (Feb 18) Running clothes washer on "cold/cold" settings (in other words, don't worry about getting clothes clean and disinfected)
• (Feb 21) Skip the "energy intensive" dry cycle with your dishwasher (but be prepared to share more germs since the dry cycle is the real sterilizer)
• (March 7) check your car's tire pressure (a pearl of wisdom borrowed from Obama himself)

Of course, peppered throughout this thing (March 12, 21, 24) are solicitation to glom onto environmentalism with a faux-katholyc veneer via the "katholyc climate covenant", etc. 

It's bad enough that this bulletin insert was itself an abysmal waste of paper, green paper dye and ink.  What's even worse is that it couches an anti-life philosophy in "catholic-sounding" language.

I would suggest that one and all do some reading on Agenda 21, for this "Caring for Creation Calendar" is not much more than a segue into acceptance of this new-age, progressive attempt by the United Nations to seize control of our very lives.  Please see:

• Democrats Against Agenda 21
• Wikipedia article
• Green Agenda

There are many other, of course.  I myself have written quite a bit about global warming, citing many excellent sources in so doing.  In particular, I point you to this expose done by Michael Voris; please watch the video.  It is worth the investment in time.

Getting back to Lent that is starting on Ash Wednesday, forget the "caring for creation" tripe.  Focus on real healing and restoration.  Go to Mass more frequently.  Go to Confession (many parishes are offering additional Confession times).  Attend the Stations of the Cross.  Participate in your local 40 Days for Life efforts.  And yes, educate yourselves on Agenda 21 and the other nefarious aspects of the progressive agenda and then alert others to them.  The "caring for creation" stuff is actually quite insidious.

Massachusetts' Executive Order Disorder

Are the citizens of Massachusetts emasculated?  In the wake of Governor Deval Patrick's gross overreach of power, it would seem so.  New England was hit with a blizzard this weekend.  The Massachusetts governor issued an executive order (note the new liberal demagogue disease: Executive Order Disorder!  EOD for short!) took the occasion to ban citizens from driving on public roads.  Oh, yes, there were the exceptions - you know, anyone so graced by His Omnipotence the Governor (Isn't it nice that news media personnel were among the privileged?)!  Anyone else who dared to venture forth as though he/she were a free citizen of the USA was subject to a $500 fine or a year in jail.

Oh yes, it was ostensibly for "public safety during the blizzard".  This is a new excuse; usually the tyranny happens "for the children".  And that's what it is: tyranny.  Patrick had unilaterally declared that Massachusetts citizens were prisoners in their homes (or wherever they happened to be when the curfew fell).  He declared martial law - pure and simple.  But it was "for their own good", you see?  From the comments in this newspaper, some Massachusetts citizens are apparently sheeple.  I realize that at least one of the sheeple is a police officer; more's the danger.  I'm glad that some see the writing on the wall.

Massachusetts has seen blizzards before, of that magnitude.  In fact, we in Maryland saw that 2-3 years ago!  There was no need to declare "states of emergency"!  But as Alinsky said, "never let a crisis go to waste".  Ladies and gentlemen, this was nothing more than an envelope-pushing exercise to train us to accept tin-horn dictates - "for our own good, of course".  This "driving ban" didn't last long.  But there will be another "state of emergency", and this one may push the envelope just a wee bit further.  And on and on it will go until some of us find ourselves quite comfortable in a gulag.

Will the citizens of Massachusetts stand for this?  I know there are still some who recall that from their state echoed "the shot heard round the world".  The American Revolution began there in earnest with the Battles of Lexington and Concord.  Theirs' is the state of John Hancock, Paul Revere, John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Quincy Adams and others.  But now it is the state of the Kennedys, John Kerry, Barney Frank and Deval Patrick - but must it remain so?

I would suggest that articles of impeachment be drawn up to dislodge Herr Patrick from his imperial perch.  If they don't have the gumption to do that, they should make sure he has his walking papers after the next gubernatorial election.

We need to be watchful, for more of these "trial balloons" will be floated by progressive tyrant-wannabees throughout the country.

Carhart Et Al Killed A Woman In Germantown MD

The death occurred yesterday, February 7th.  The 29-yr-old woman had been sighted going in and out of the abortion mill during the early part of this week as she proceeded to allow her 32-week baby to be murdered.  When her family finally took her to a real medical facility, Leroy Carhart was nowhere to be found.  Sadly the woman succumbed to her brutally-sustained injuries, hemorrhaging into her own abdominal cavity.

This is not the first maternal death in which Leroy Carhart has been implicated.  Operation Rescue has much of Carhart's sordid history on record.  Here's a youtube clip of how another Carhart facility conducted a 911 call occasioned by a botched abortion; note how the 911 dispatcher is almost pulling teeth trying to get the details needed to properly instruct the rescue team.   The same Operation Rescue tried to alert the Maryland Board of Physicians of the frauds and inaccuracies that peppered Carhart's application for a Maryland medical license.  I understand that the Board placed a reprimand in Carhart's file - as they awarded to him his license to kill.  A reprimand - nothing more than a token "rap on the knuckles"!  This death is now on their desks and I truly hope that they'll now take much more seriously their responsibilities to the public.  For their past lackadaisical attitude towards the threat that Carhart obviously posed to women, the Maryland Physician's Board has moral culpability in this woman's death - not to mention the thousands of babies that Carhart murdered at the Germantown Reproductive Health Services.

The video below is of the press conference that took place today near the Germantown abortion mill.  On Monday, there will be a memorial service along with another press conference to announce further details regarding this case.  With the prayers, I hope that there is prayer for the repentance of the woman's family.  I was baffled not to hear such prayers in the video as there were prayers for their solace.  There can be no solace without repentance for their part in the deaths of both the baby and his/her mother.

Dr Ben Carson At The Prayer Breakfast

Listen carefully to Doctor Carson.  He speaks truth to many things: political correctness, value of education, importance of parents to children.  Notice how uncomfortable Obama seems, as he withholds applause when the rest of the audience applauds.  Then as Carson starts speaking of ancient Rome as a warning to the US (at 17:24), I detect a bit of a "presidential glare".  At 21:28, when Dr Carson starts extolling health savings accounts, Obama looks positively glum!  At about 24:22 the clip is accelerated a few seconds; I don't know why.

In many ways, this is reminiscent of the 1994 Prayer Breakfast when Mother Teresa told the audience, including then-president Bill Clinton that "the greatest destroyer of peace is abortion".

USCCB Rejects Obama's Compromise Sham

I just received word that the USCCB has rejected Obama's compromise "offer" as the joke that it is.  Good for them!  Their statement and commentary can be found here.  I was particularly pleased to note their displeasure at the de facto creation of a "third class" of citizens, namely, those private employers who would be forced to pay for baby-killing concoctions on pain of severe penalties.

This is a good start.  I pray that they will see the whole Obamacare thing as the menace that it is and work for its repeal.

The Noxious Legacies Of Bernardin And Mahony

Today's Vortex delves into the wreckage foisted on the Church by these two prelates.  Now Cardinal Bernardin has gone to his eternal reward (whatever that might be) and Cardinal Mahony recently had his wings clipped.  Still we must deal with the aftermath of their reigns of terror and dissent.  Let us pray that Cardinal Mahony respond to the grace of repentance.

Cdl Burke To Irish Priests - Deny Holy Communion To Pro-Aborts

Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, has weighed in on the debate over legalizing abortion that is now ongoing in the Irish government.  He said that Irish bishops could publicly reprimand pro-abortion politicians.  Moreover, he said that priests should exclude from Holy Communion those politicians who support abortion.  In doing so, he cited Canon 915.

Yoo-hoo!  Cardinals Wuerl, McCarrick, Dolan and O'Malley!  Please take note!  Cardinal Burke speaks to you as well!   There is no "pastoral option" to disobey Canon 915!  Got that???  Stop kissing up to the likes of John Kerry, Sister Carol Keehan, John Sweeney, Joe Biden, etc.  Man up!  Be the shepherds they desperately need because if you don't, they could well spend eternity in hell due to their public rebellion to God's laws.  Now where is the "pastoral option" in that????

It Isn't Just Boston!

Over the past few days, the Archdiocese of Boston has figured prominently in some Vortex episodes of the past few day - mainly by way of example.  In the one from today, Michael Voris raises the question of why so many bishops (and their chanceries) are so heedless of the voices of faithful Catholics (us) and seem to evince little concern for the scandal caused by the constant boot-licking they do for prominent people who thumb their noses at God and decency.  As you watch the video, you'll note that he refers to a National Catholic Register article about the topic; read that and the comments.



I think Voris may have answered his own question (at least in part) when he posted another Vortex a few days ago.  In that one he expounds on some figures released by the Archdiocese of Boston.  It does seem that some chancery officials there are living high on the hog and being paid quite handsomely by the Archdiocese (which happens to be in debt).  Here's a pay chart and its financial report.  I will say this for the Archdiocese of Boston; they published a real financial report, not a "public relations" nonsense that was published by the Archdiocese of Washington a few weeks ago.

Could it be that the chancery fat-cats aren't rebuking the murderous ways of the powerful and elite because they don't want to upset their apple cart and loose their own perks and pleasures?  Does money talk that loudly?  Those are fair questions that deserve honest answers.

Maryland Abortionist On Probation

A long-time abortionist in Maryland, Abolghassem-M Gohari, who slaughters babies in both Greenbelt (PG County) and Gaithersburg (Montgomery County) has recently been put on probation by the Maryland Board of Physicians.  Go to the bottom right-hand corner of the prochoice providers website (noting some others in Maryland's Rogues' Gallery as you scroll down).  You'll see a picture of him, the addresses of his killing dens and a link to the MD Board of Physicians license-lookup page.  When you get there, put his last name in and another page will pop up with a notation of his probation and a link to the pdf that contains the particulars of the disciplinary action.  I'd suggest that you save a copy to your own computers.

It seems that he allowed unqualified staff assistants to perform sonograms and administer the RU-486 drugs. When some of his victims had the good sense to be frightened of these practices, he yelled at them while using profane language.  Why this man only got probation and not revocation of his license I'll never know, as his murderous practices are manifesting themselves to the women as well as to the babies.  Such is the corruption in Maryland government; I am pleased that at least this much is starting to be done.  It's a start, not the finish.  We need to clean house in Maryland, both in Annapolis and at the county level.

Dare Not To Be Liked

We all have the desire to be liked.  However, that desire (as all others) must be tempered and brought into God's order.  This desire is particularly dangerous if unchecked, for it can lead one into doing that which he knows he/she shouldn't - or - it can impel one to refrain from a good action if he/she thinks it will cause disapproval of others.  In this current God-hating culture that is our society, we simply cannot coddle this all-too-human and all-too-fallen desire of ours.

Today's Vortex talks of our need to conquer this desire if we are to lead authentic Catholic lives.  I agree with him as he says that we must not be afraid to contradict rebellious voices around us - even if they come from our chanceries.  I'd only add that we need to be more bold and consistent about being a voice for the unborn.  How to do so?  Get out to an abortion mill in your area.  Pray the Rosary.  Offer alternatives to abortion-bound women.  On Ash Wednesday (a week from tomorrow) the lenten cycle of 40 Days for Life will start in many localities.  Click on the link above to find one near you and be faithful to it during Lent.  After Lent is done, continue your witness.

Which Bishops Will Go To Jail

Rather than comply with the immoral HHS mandates?  Read the Lifesite News article here (pointed out by my anonymous commenter from Saturday's post).  While Bishops Sample, Aquila, Zubic and others stated their willingness to emulate their sainted predecessors, others demurred.

One of those who hemmed and hawed was DC's own Cardinal Wuerl.  He hopes for "an agreement" whereby the church can "continue to function as we always have, as a free entity freely exercising our ministry in our country".  Of course we can wonder just what kind of "ministry" His Eminence speaks of, when non-church-affiliated businesses are forced to comply with immoral laws on pain of their own harm.

Let me be frank.  This is mealy-mouth talk on the part of Cardinal Wuerl (and I suspect Cardinal Dolan as well).  They need to stand firm and not look for "agreements" with evil - "agreements" that will impel them to look the other way while private citizens and businesses are having draconian evils thrust in their faces.  The bishops wear red for a reason - to remind them that they must be prepared to shed martyrs' blood.

By the way - does part of this "agreement" include the USCCB acting like lap-dog mouth pieces for the blatant gun-grabbing by the Obama cartel?  From this action alert, it would seem so!  Perhaps some of the Minions Most Mindless of the Messiah Most Miserable headquarter themselves at 3211 4th Street NE.

HHS Religious Exemptions - Abysmal Jokes

Yesterday the Messiah Most Miserable decided to fling a few crumbs our way in regards to the onerous HHS mandates that forces each and every taxpayer to pay for contraceptives - that is, chemicals that murder tiny unborn children.  Well, not really!  (Hint - When these "announcements" are released on Fridays, caveat emptor!).

The crumbs, in all their dubious 80-page glory, can be found here.  You will notice one thing immediately on page 8 of the pdf; only churches, "integrated auxiliaries" and "exclusively religious activities of any religious order" are the recipients of the largess of Dear Leader.  That would mean that any religious order that does not engage exclusively in religious activities would be subject to the mandate; thus Catholic hospitals and religious orders with any kind of outreach are bound.  All other business entities, regardless of the beliefs of their owners, MUST fund the availability of drugs that kill preborn children.

This gesture on the part of Obama is simply that - a meaningless gesture, an empty ruse.  No wonder he waited until Friday to announce this tripe.  Most Catholic and conservative blogs see through this silly set of smoke and mirrors: Catholic World Report, American Life League, Catholic Vote,  EWTN, Susan B. Anthony List.

Of course the progressive infiltration weighed in, as well.  Read the Catholics United we read that "more women will have access to the health care that they need".   The author makes no bones about his support for contraceptives, placing himself at odds with Church teaching.  However, what else can be expected from Catholics United, whose director, James Salt, once worked with Sebelius' campaign office in Kansas?  Michael Sean Winters of the Not-So-Catholic Reporter gushes over this latest Obama slop as well.  He starts off his piece by stating that he's not a lawyer.  He forgot to add that the bishop of the diocese in which NCR operates has made plain that NCR is not qualified to call itself "Catholic".

Most baffling, though, is the reaction of the USCCB.  Perhaps "baffling" is a poor choice of words as they have always seemed eager to try to find ways to appease the tyrants of Washington; "disappointing" is actually a better word for this situation.  Basically they said nothing, citing a need for "study".  Really?  Let's assume that everything was just wonderful with these new regs in giving churches and church-related organizations carte-blanche exemptions.  Would that make the HHS mandate morally acceptable to the USCCB?  What about the small, for-profit businesses?  Would the USCCB be ok with them being forced to pay for baby-murder?  The statement by the Susan B. Anthony List was excellent and one that should be echoed by the USCCB.  Key segments are: "religious and moral freedom is not up for negotiation", "there must be no religious test by the government", "only complete repeal is acceptable".  This is not rocket science requiring copious amounts of study.  These exemptions are a sham, and the Catholic bishops of this country must grow backbones and call out this charade for what it is.

California Cleansing

On February 1 it was announced that Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez has informed his predecessor, retired Cardinal Roger Mahony, that he has been relieved of any duties within the archdioceses.  Furthermore, he has accepted the resignation of Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Curry.  This comes on the heels of his release of the files of those archdiocesan personnel accused of sexual abuse of minors.

In the wake of the archbishop's actions, the cardinal has posted his response to him.  As you read the letter, you will probably sense the petulance and sniveling therein.  The letter starts with the ridiculous excuse that "nothing in my education equipped me to deal with this grave problem".  What of basic decency or common sense?  Moreover, there was the grace of the Sacrament of Holy Orders itself.  There's the equipment.

Let us pray that some sense of repentance and of the dignity of the office of bishop be infused into Cardinal Mahony for the sake of his own immortal soul.  From the sound of his response, both are sorely lacking at this time.  Let us also pray that other dioceses in this nation experience similar expurgations.