The martyrs of Spain -- lest we forget

If you want to learn about the heroism and faith of true Catholics, and if you want to learn of the demonic hatred that Communists have for Jesus, Mary and the Church, do a web search on "martires de Espana" and "guerra civil."

There you will find links to articles and videos about the Spanish Communists' killings of thousands of Catholic bishops, priests, seminarians, sisters, brtohers and lay people during the leftist Republic and the Spanish civil war, and the burnings of hundreds of Catholic churches and other buildings.

Be forewarned that the accounts and images you will see are shocking in the extreme, as well as heartbreaking.

And never forget that the Communists today are just as full of hatred for you and me -- they begrudge Pope Benedict XVI's beatification of 498 martyrs of Spain, and they want to kill us, too.

So tell any Catholic you know who is what the Reds call "a useful idiot" -- one who believes all the lies about Communists being good guys -- the truth about what Communists do to Catholics when they get the opportunity.

"There is no place for God in the Revolution." -- Fidel Castro

Let's say rosaries and other prayers in reparation for the crimes of Communists, and in petition to God to sustain and deliver all our fellow Catholics and other Christians being persecuted by Communists right now, and in thanksgiving for the heroism and example of Spain's and all modern martyrs and victims.

Write your bishop today -- here are the addresses

California Right to Life Advocates (click on this post's title) asks that we each write our local bishop now, before the U.S. bishops' annual meeting Nov. 12-14.

Please encourage your bishop to strongly oppose the use of Plan B, the so-called morning after pill, in Catholic hospitals. CRLA says:

"Father Peter Damian Fehlner, theologian, and North American Superior for the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate in the United States, has issued the most adamant statement opposing Plan B. He is quoted as saying: 'even if the pill in Plan B is only "dubiously" abortive, we simply may not use it at all' http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/oct/07102305.html He has also indicated that he questions the validity of the United State's Council of Catholic Bishops Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. "

Please also write your bishop to ask him to strongly back enforcement of Canon 915, which says not to give Communion to anyone in manifest serious sin -- such as pro-abortion politicians and the anti-Catholic transvestite "Misters."

CRLA asks that we be courteous in our letters, of course, and that we keep them to 1 page or at most 1-1/2 pages.

From CRLA, here are the addresses of the ordinaries of each diocese in California (print and save for future use, too):

Archdiocese of San Francisco
Most Rev. George H. Niederauer
One Peter Yorke Way
San Francisco, CA 94109-6602

Archdiocese of Los Angeles
His Eminence Cardinal Roger Mahony
3424 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90010-2202

Diocese of Fresno
Most Rev. John T. Steinbock
1550 N. Fresno St
Fresno, Ca 93703-3711

Diocese of Monterey
Most Rev. Richard J. Garcia
631 Abrego St.
Monterey, Ca 93942-2048

Diocese of Oakland
Most Rev. Allen H. Vigneron
2900 Lakeshore Ave.
Oakland, Ca. 94610-3614

Diocese of Orange
Most Rev. Tod Brown
c/0 P.O. Box 14195
Orange, Ca 92863-1595

Diocese of Sacramento
Most Rev. William K. Weigand
2110 Broadway
Sacramento, Ca 95818-2541

Diocese of San Bernardino
Most Rev. Gerald R. Barnes
1201 E. Highlands Ave
San Bernardino, Ca 92404-4607

Diocese of San Diego
Most Rev. Robert H. Brom
P. O. Box 85728
San Diego, Ca 92186-5728

Diocese of San Jose
Most Rev Patrick J. McGrath
900 Lafayette St, Suite 301
Santa Clara, Ca 95050-4966

Diocese of Santa Rosa
Most Rev. Daniel F. Walsh
P. O. Box 1297
Santa Rosa, Ca 95402-1297

Diocese of Stockton
Most Rev. Stephen E. Blaire
1105 N. Lincoln St.
Stockton, Ca. 95203-2410

More on the Adoremus Conference in Escondido, Sat., Nov. 3

This one-day conference sounds good indeed. It's entitled, "Reform of the Reform: Now What?" and it's at St. Mary's Church in Escondido on Saturday, Nov. 3.

The sponsor is Adoremus, Society for the Renewal of the Sacred Liturgy.

Expert speakers will be Auxiliary Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Diego, Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., Fr. Jerry Pokorsky and Helen Hull Hitchcock.

Registration is at 9 a.m. and costs $15 per person and $25 per family. Fr. Fessio will speak at 9:30 a.m., a Gregorian Chant workshop is at 11 a.m., Bishop Cordileone will celebrate Mass at noon, lunch is at 1 p.m. and a roundtable discussion at 2 p.m. will feature the experts listed above.

For more info., e-mail monika@saintjoe.com or call 1-800-526-2151, ext. 413. "Space is limited; register early."

Steve Brady is back home, Deo gratias

Steve Brady, the founder of the effective watchdog group Roman Catholic Faithful, has reported that he is back home from the hospital after the motorcycle accident earlier this month in which he suffered a fractured skull, a puncture wound and other injuries.

He is grateful for everyone's prayers.

Can't keep a good man down! Deo gratias --

Telling Rome...

Worldnetdaily.com today reported (click on this post's title) that Mr. Anthony Gonzales of the San Francisco watchdog group St. Joseph's Men's Society is going to send Rome photo evidence of the homosexual activities going on at homosexual-friendly Most Holy Redeemer Church in San Francisco.

To find out about some of those activities, go to the Catholic watchdog web site Quamdiu Domine ("How long, O Lord?" -- Psalm 12/13) at www.qdomine.com
(Thanks to friend Gibbons J. Cooney of S.F. for pointing this out.)

But here are some questions:

Cardinal William Levada must have known of Most Holy Redeemer Parish's homosexual-friendliness when he was Archbishop of San Francisco. He is not known to have done anything about it then. Now that he is so high up in Rome, will he act on any complaints about that parish?

San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer and Cardinal Levada are lifelong friends and have bought a retirement condo together. Have they consulted each other about the recent shocking events at Most Holy Redeemer Parish, such as the Archbishop's Communion for the anti-Catholic transvestite "Sisters?"

Archbishop Niederauer held positions for many years at St. John's Seminary in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Have he, Cardinal Levada and Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles consulted each other about the shocking events?

With the recent suspension of that monsignor from the Congregation for the Clergy, and the further claim that he has a list of homosexuals at the Vatican, what kind of hearing will officials and staffers at the Vatican give to complaints about homosexual-friendliness in a San Francisco parish?

St. Charles Lwanga and Companions, martyrs for the Faith and for resisting the evil demands of a homosexual tyrant, pray for us all!

Liberal Catholics are addicted to pro-abortion politicians

See today's edition (click on this post's title) of the online California Catholic Daily for another example of liberal Catholics in action.

It turns out, says the Daily, that St. Helena Catholic School in the Diocese of Santa Rosa, California, this year has auctioned off -- for a $14,000 winning bid -- a dinner with Catholic pro-abortion, pro-homosexual-agenda zealot Nancy Pelosi (Democrat-California), speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Daily also says that Msgr. John Brenkle, pastor of St. Helena Catholic Church, is to join the winner(s) at dinner with pro-abortion politician Pelosi.

The Daily spoke with Msgr. Brenkle and quotes this exchange with him:

"California Catholic Daily: 'So you can throw abortion out the window because you don’t like Bush and the war?' [Msgr.] Brenkle: 'No, but you put up with the imperfections of politicians. Nobody is perfect.'”

The Daily also asked Msgr. Brenkle, “Do you plan on discussing any of these issues with her?” and he did say, “I’m going to look for that opportunity."

Msgr. Brenkle ought to read this instruction to all of us from the U.S. bishops:

"The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions. "
-- U.S. Bishops, Catholics in Political Life, June 2004

Will Bishop Daniel Walsh of Santa Rosa do anything about this situation? He should tell the pastor to call off the dinner and return the $14,000. That would be what the liberals call "a teachable moment" for the parish and the public, not to mention pro-abortion politician Pelosi.

Sounds like a good conference in Escondido, Sat., Nov. 3

Saw this notice on another blogspot -- I honestly forget which one -- and thought you would like to hear about it:

"Reform of the Reform: Now What?"
Organizer: Adoremus
Date: November 3, 2007
Location: St. Mary's Church in Escondido
To register:
E-mail: monika@saintjoe.com
or call 800-526-2151 ext. 413

Comparing archbishops

On the one hand, we have Archbishop George Niederauer of San Francisco, who helps implement adoption of little children by pairs of sodomy enthusiasts.

On the other hand, we have Archbishop and Cardinal-Elect Angelo Bagnasco of Genoa, president of the Italian bishops' conference, who is or has been under armed police guard this year after receiving death threats in the mail, at least twice accompanied by cartridges, for having used the following comparisons to oppose a law to create sodomy-enthusiast "unions":

"Why say 'no' to forms of legally recognised co-habitation that create alternatives to the family? Why say 'no' to incest? Why say 'no' to the pedophile party in Holland?"

Now, which of these two archbishops is closer to authentic Catholic teaching and practice?

More news about the Sisters of Bethany

I don't have the citation for you, or a link, but I understand that in a recent edition, the Santa Barbara paper reported that "the Archdiocese," Regional Bishop Thomas Curry and the Mother General of the Sisters of Bethany have all told the being-evicted Sisters in Santa Barbara that they may stay in town.

The newspaper said, though, that reportedly the Sisters have been told they may not relocate near their current home in Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish.

Yet presumably, many of the poor people whom the Sisters help live in that same area.

If that newspaper report is true, does all this sound to you as if the Sisters are being none too subtly encouraged to give up and go live in their mother house in L.A.?

Are they being told, "Sure, you can stay in Santa Barbara, but you have to come up with a new home yourselves and it can't be near the people you help. So there won't be much for you to do in Santa Barbara, but you can stay there."

Government schools have widespread predation and cover-ups

The AP today is covering (click on this post's title) the widespread sex attacks and cover-ups by staffers and administrators in the government schools.

It's about time someone in the news media covers this criminal situation.

How can the news media claim to care about kids' safety if they ignore the huge dangers in government schools?

Nobody can blame celibacy rules for the government school attacks, either.

Nothing in what I am saying, by the way, is meant to minimize the clergy molestation situation -- just to say that the situation in government schools is another problem that also needs to be addressed.

Pro-Abortion Nancy Pelosi and the "Sisters" are both making political statements by receiving Communion

Okay, so she doesn't dress like a "Sister of Perpetual Indulgence." But Catholic abortion zealot Nancy Pelosi, San Francisco Democrat speaker of the House, goes to Communion just like them -- and for the same reason.

Nancy Pelosi and the transvestite "Sisters" are both making political and anti-Catholic statements when they parade up to Communion. They are each publicly saying, "See, I can cling to my sin and still receive Jesus."

We know what sin the transvestites cling to. The sin Nancy Pelosi clings to is fanatical support for aborting millions and millions of God's precious babies.

Now, if Archbishop Niederauer can (finally and sort of) apologize for giving Communion to the transvestites who were making a political statement, isn't he also bound to order that no Communion be given to Nancy Pelosi, who also is making a political statement every time she receives?

Retired Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is wrong to say ministers of the Eucharist should keep on giving Communion to pro-abortion politicians. And if he says that, then does he okay Communion for anti-Catholic transvestites, too?

Photo is from http://img.timeinc.net

"Theologian": Abp. Niederauer right to give Communion to those transvestites

On its front page, yesterday's (Oct. 17) San Francisco Chronicle finally covered (click on this post's title) the story of San Francisco Abp. George Niederauer's giving Communion to two members of the blaspheming, anti-Catholic, transvestite group, "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence," in Most Holy Redeemer Church on Oct. 7, the day of the annual Folsom Street sodomy-fest.

That group's very name, by the way, shows prima facie that they are "obstinate public sinners": "Perpetual Indulgence." And if they are male, why do they call themselves "sisters?"

Naturally, leave it to the Chronicle to dig up a "theologian" to "justify" -- completely dishonestly, incidentally -- Abp. Niederauer's act:

"'The general sacramental principle is that you don't deny the sacrament to someone who requests it,' said the Rev. Jim Bretzke, professor of moral theology at University of San Francisco, a Jesuit Catholic university. 'The second principle is that you cannot give communion to someone who has been excommunicated.'

"He said such people are designated 'manifest public sinners' in canon law. 'This is someone who violates in a serious way one of the Ten Commandments or one of the important laws of the Church,' he said. 'While I can see Bill O'Reilly and others might be offended, the sisters do not meet the criteria the church has for denying Communion. Over-accessorizing and poor taste in makeup is not an excommunicable offense.'

"Bretzke added, 'Even if these people were bizarrely dressed, the archbishop was following clear pastoral and canonical principles in giving them Communion. The default is, you give Holy Communion to one who presents himself.'"

Notice Fr. Bretzke's dishonesty: He characterizes the offense as just a matter of dress, not even calling it by its right name -- the perversion of transvestism -- and not even admitting that that garb is a pro-sodomy public statement.

Would Fr. Bretzke call it just "over-accessorizing and poor taste" and "bizarrely dressed" if fully robed Klansmen presented themselves for Communion? Or would he be honest and admit that their garb reflected the state of their souls?

Clean up USF as well as the Archdiocese of San Francisco!

By the way, kudos to the courageous St. Joseph's Men's Society for filming the Mass and to the equally courageous qdomine.com for posting the video for all to see. Bishop Sheen said it is lay people who must clean up the Church.

"Profound internal cleansing" at Vatican?

The Catholic News Agency and other sources report (click on this post's title) that Cardinal Julian Herranz, president emeritus of the Holy See's Commission for Legislative Texts, has told an Italian newspaper, "We [the Vatican] are the first to want an internal cleansing..."

He spoke after the suspension of a Vatican monsignor from the Congregation for the Clergy who was caught on tape making, uh, disordered advances. (The monsignor claims he was merely working undercover to find "the true enemies within the Church.")

Not sure yet if the Cardinal's "cleansing" remark referred just to this one case or to something wider. Have you heard anything?

San Diego Diocese might sell seminary!

The AP is reporting (click on this post's title) that Bishop Robert Brom of San Diego says he might sell his diocesan seminary.

Great. So the molester and cover-up scandal now could wreck a whole diocese's priestly vocations recruitment and formation for who knows how long.

The AP article says this:

"The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego is asking parishioners to donate $25 million to help pay for its $198.1 million settlement with childhood sex abuse victims.

"The diocesan headquarters and a nearby seminary may have to be sold if the campaign is unsuccessful, Bishop Robert H. Brom wrote in a letter dated Monday that will be sent to parishioners with a note from individual pastors.

"'I need your help to cover the expense we incurred recently through compassionate outreach to our brothers and sisters who suffered sexual abuse within the family of the church so that we can continue, without serious jeopardy, the many other aspects of the mission,' Brom wrote.

"Earlier this month, the bishop asked the 280 priests in the diocese to contribute one month's salary — about $1,535 — to the 'Embracing Our Mission' campaign. The idea came from current priests who saw it as a gesture toward the 144 men and women who claimed they were abused by clergy and church workers when they were minors.

"The average payout will be $1.38 million per victim, according to the settlement announced last month."

Maybe by threatening to sell the seminary Bishop Brom is just priming the pump to get more money from the fleeced -- I mean, the flock.

By the way, notice the Orwellian language Bishop Brom uses. He calls his mega-payout "compassionate outreach," and he calls his "fund-the-payout" campaign, "Embracing Our Mission."

Somehow I thought the mission of the Catholic Church was a bit wider in scope than funding payouts. Didn't you think so, too?

A cover story on Cardinal Mahony and the settlement

The October 2007 issue of the Catholic World Report carries a cover story by its editor, George Neumayr, "The Wages of Sin: Cardinal Mahony and L.A.'s Record Abuse Settlement."

The story basically relies on news reports from the last several months, but it also quotes two unnamed L.A. priests.

According to the article, one priest says, "Everyone feels that he [Cardinal Mahony] gave away the store" [to avoid testifying] and "virtually all" of his parishioners think the Cardinal should resign: "They don't understand why somebody who has behaved so incompetently could keep his job. No CEO would be able to keep his job after losing a quarter of a billion."

Also according to the article, the other priest, quoted in the L.A. Times, says, "How can he [Cardinal Mahony] possibly talk about justice when he pays huge settlements to cover up for himself?"

Let's pray for our Archdiocese, everyone from the Cardinal on down.

Archbishop Niederauer phones parish

Now comes a report, from LifeSiteNews.com, that San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer has phoned Most Holy Redeemer Parish (pictured above).

Archdiocesan spokesman Maurice Healy, reports LifeSiteNews, says the Abp. phoned the parish to make them remove from the online version of their weekly parish bulletin a letter they had defiantly published from a member of the anti-Catholic, transvestite group "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence."

The letter praised the recent Mass at which the Archbishop was filmed giving Communion to two transvestites dressed in mock-religious costumes.

The parish has been known for more than two decades as being friendly to homosexuals. Time to clean house.

CNN reports on the Sisters of Bethany

Tonight (Tuesday) at around 7:30 p.m., CNN's Anderson Cooper show had a report on the Archdiocese of Los Angeles's eviction of the Sisters of Bethany from their convent in Santa Barbara.

The reporter made it clear that CNN spoke to the sisters before their superior ordered them not to talk to the news media.

The report included excerpts of an interview with a Santa Barbara man named Ernie Salomon who has started Save Our Sisters (S.O.S.).

The report also included excerpts of an interview with Tod Tamberg of the Archdiocese and noted that the Archdiocese does not plan to sell the cathedral.

Ole Q still says the Archdiocese could have avoided all this bad publicity by working something out with the sisters ahead of time instead of just ordering them out by letter.

Creative new uses for St. Vibiana Cathedral

The recent holding of a fashion show in St. Vibiana Cathedral, as reported by the Los Angeles Times (click on this post's title), illustrates the tragedy involved when we close our churches instead of keeping them.

The people who run our archdiocesan offices do not seem to get it, so let me spell it out: A healthy Church, thriving and spreading the Gospel as God wants her to, does not close her cathedrals, churches, seminaries, convents, schools and other facilities; she repairs them as needed and she opens new ones.

A healthy Church expands, not contracts. A "positive development" is opening (and reopening) seminaries and churches, not shutting them down.

But that would suppose we hadn't let liberal Catholics spend the last 45 years demoralizing the faithful, causing them to lose their faith and chasing away potential converts by running down our Church and claiming we need to "remodel" and "update" the Church that Jesus gave us 2,000 years ago.

And it would suppose we hadn't let liberal Catholics, including hierarchy and clergy, decimate the numbers of the faithful by telling them it's just fine to defy the Church and use artificial contraceptives to stop having children.

A healthy Church has Mass, Benediction, Adoration, weddings and baptisms of lots of new babies in its cathedrals, not sterile, ephemeral fashion shows.

P.S. Just to make my position on St. Vibiana clear once more: We could have saved it as a parish church and a core repository of archdiocesan heritage and spirit, and still built a new cathedral elsewhere. Some call that unrealistic; I say the most unrealistic course of all is to close and sell off our patrimony.

The Congregation for the Clergy

After the revelation that Rome has suspended a monsignor in the Congregation for the Clergy for saying he practices sodomy, we have to ask two questions:

What was he doing in a Congregation so vital to the priesthood? And...

Are there more like him, and was he part of a network?

What will the new document say?

You've probably heard that Rome will issue a follow-up document to make things more clear about "Summorum Pontificum."

Let's pray that it is a good one.

Time for a new appointments system

We all need to discuss how to ensure the future appointment of orthodox, anti-abortion new bishops who are wedded to Catholicism, not the Democrat Party, and who do not think the Democrat platform is the Creed.

The current appointment process has problems. If Rome simply rubber-stamps liberal nominees that a liberal U.S. hierarchy makes, our problems will continue and we will get nowhere.

When looking for new bishops, Rome needs to give consultative status to orthodox U.S. priests' groups and to listen to them carefully.

Who is doing the selling?

Time to ask the question: Just who are the people deciding what properties of the Archdiocese to sell to pay the molestation-cover-up settlement?

How many are bishops? Priests? Deacons? Laity?

How many are Catholic? How many are not, and what faiths are they?

How many have a personal net worth below $10 million?

Who are they? Inquiring minds want to know.

Pope will beatify 498 martyred by Communists

It would be great to be in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, Oct. 28. On that day Pope Benedict XVI will beatify the largest group ever beatified at one time, 498 Catholics whom the Reds killed for their Faith in Spain in the 1930s.

Click on this post's title for a link that I hope works, to the www.lasalle.org pdf page about the martyrs.

The martyrs include two bishops, 24 diocesan priests, 462 sisters and brothers, one deacon, one subdeacon, one seminarian and seven lay people. What supremely courageous and glorious heroes of Christ the King!

The Reds murdered more than 5,000 priests, sisters, brothers and other Catholics in Spain in the 1930s and desecrated and destroyed 20,000 churches.

Far, far too many liberal Catholics glorify and praise Communists past and present around the world -- the Communists who have imprisoned, enslaved, tortured and murdered our fellow Catholics and who do so today.

If you meet any Catholic who starts spouting praise of Castro, Guevara, the Sandinistas, the Salvadorean Reds, FARC, the Vietnamese Reds, etc., tell them about all the martyrs, and then tell them they should be ashamed of themselves.

Also remind them that Pope Pius XI wrote, "No one can be at the same time a true Catholic and a true Socialist."

Archbishop Niederauer apologizes. But what about the necessary follow-up?

The Catholic News Agency today (October 12) reports (click on this post's title) that Abp. George Niederauer of San Francisco has written a column to appear in his archdiocesan newspaper Catholic San Francisco this Sunday in which he apologizes for giving Communion to two members of the anti-Catholic, blaspheming group "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence" when he visited Most Holy Redeemer Church in San Francisco on October 7 and said Mass there.

The following is from the CNA account of the archbishop's statement:

"'Although I had often seen photographs of members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, I had never encountered them in person until October 7th. I did not recognize who these people were when they approached me.

"'After the event, I realized that they were members of this particular organization and that giving them Holy Communion had been a mistake.

"'I apologize to the Catholics of the Archdiocese of San Francisco and to Catholics at large for doing so,'" Archbishop Niederauer writes.

"'Someone who dresses in a mock religious habit to attend Mass does so to make a point. If people dress in a manner clearly intended to mock what we hold sacred, they place themselves in an objective situation in which it is not appropriate for them to receive Holy Communion, much less for a minister of the Church to give the Sacrament to them.'

"'Therefore I conclude that the presence of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at the Mass on October 7th was intended as a provocative gesture. In that moment I failed to recognize it as such, and for that, as I have said, I must apologize,' the Archbishop concludes."

Some follow-up needs to accompany this apology.

For instance, how about if Archbishop Niederauer holds Benediction and Adoration at Most Holy Redeemer Church in reparation for the situation?

And then how about if Archbishop Niederauer cleans house at Most Holy Redeemer Parish so that it becomes a parish for ALL Catholics once more and so that never again will anyone there lend aid and comfort to the sodomy-activist movement and mislead and give scandal to people?

Do you have any more ideas for necessary follow-up? Or any more thoughts on this whole situation?

Please pray for the recovery of Steve Brady of Roman Catholic Faithful

Today's (Oct. 11) issue of the State Journal-Register in Illinois carries a story (click on this post's title) about Steve Brady, 55, the founder of the lay Catholic watchdog group Roman Catholic Faithful, Inc. He is in serious condition in the hospital after his motorcycle hit a deer on a highway on Oct. 9.

Let's pray for the speedy and complete recovery of this courageous and sincere Catholic family man who has gotten results as he seeks to expose and clean up severe, shall we say, problems among some in the hierarchy and clergy.

For continuing updates about Steve, you can visit http://www.rcf.org/

Our Lady, Health of the Sick and Help of Christians, pray for Steve and his family!

"Profit over people" is a cliche of socialism

The Oct. 5 issue of our archdiocesan newspaper The Tidings has a story (click on this post's title), "'We cannot tolerate the injustice of profit over people.'"

That headline is something Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles said on Sept. 28 at the Shriners Hospital downtown during the Annual Public Policy Breakfast of the archdiocesan Justice and Peace Commission.

His Eminence's full quote was, "The uninsured receive too little medical service and receive it too late, and receive poorer care when they are in hospitals. And so we cannot tolerate the injustice of profit over people."

Notice that His Eminence is making an incredible automatic assumption: That "profit" is what has messed up U.S. health care. He completely ignores the huge and overwhelming role that GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION plays, in the form of thousands of laws and regulations over every aspect of medicine, not to mention court rulings and..."free" care for tens of millions of illegals.

Of course, Cardinal Mahony is also wrong in his basic underlying assumption that somehow "profit" and "people" could be at odds. An inherent part of economic freedom is that we may all sell the fruits of our labor and buy the fruits of others' labor. Kinks in that process are inevitably caused by the unseen, unnoticed heavy hand of government and its crooked cronies.

(When some corporations and lobbyists use government to abet their schemes, that is NOT the free market but just the opposite.)

If St. Joseph the Carpenter had not made a PROFIT on the goods he SOLD, he could not have supported the Child Jesus and the Blessed Mother. And Jesus Himself, when old enough to help, took part in this PROFIT-MAKING.

Not only that, but Cardinal Mahony could not have built his cathedral unless his ultra-wealthy donors had amassed their fortunes by making PROFITS.

History and current experience prove that socialized medicine and more government are NOT the answers. They only make things worse for everyone.

For a quick course in economic freedom, check Amazon and eBay for copies of a book ole Q once read, The Law and Cliches of Socialism. No, I don't endorse everything in it by any means, nor is everything in it perfectly in line with our Catholic social teaching. But enough of it is -- and much of it is a great corrective to errors such as "profits over people."

By the way, did Cardinal Mahony or anyone else at this once-a-year public policy assembly use that golden opportunity to defend preborn babies and our God-given right to life, and condemn legalized abortion? Just wondering.

Archbishop Niederauer defends himself

LifeSiteNews.com today (October 10) reported on Archbishop George Niederauer's giving Communion to two fully costumed members of the anti-Catholic, blaspheming group "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence."

LifeSiteNews.com notes that "a...video of the event has been placed online by the Catholic blogsite Quamdiu Domine and is available here: http://www.qdomine.com/Morality_pages/MHR.htm

(Ole Q has not seen this video.)

LifeSiteNews.com also says it "contacted the office of Archbishop Niederauer for a response to the accusations. A statement by Archbishop Niederauer sent to LifeSiteNews.com by Archdiocesan communications director Maurice Healy says that the Archbishop did not notice any 'mock religious garb'":

"'At Most Holy Redeemer Church Oct. 7, I noticed no protest, no demonstration, no disruption of the Sunday Eucharist,' said Archbishop Nierderauer. 'The congregation was devout and the liturgy was celebrated with reverence. Toward the end of the Communion line two strangely dressed persons came to receive Communion. I did not see any mock religious garb. As I recall, one of them wore a large flowered hat or garland.'"

LifeSiteNews continues: "The 'Sisters' were heavily involved in the recent Folsom Street Fair which in addition to full nudity and public sex acts by homosexuals involved included a [poster's] mockery of the Last Supper with Christ and his apostles represented by leather-clad homosexuals. Bishop Niederauer stressed that he had denounced the poster. 'In the past when the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence or other groups have ridiculed the Church I have denounced their actions,' said the Archbishop. 'Only a week ago, Catholic San Francisco carried my remarks condemning the derisive use of the Last Supper on a poster printed by some other local group.'"

So...if Archbishop Niederauer knows about the "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence," as his statement shows he does, how can he refer to members of it who stood right in front of him only as "two strangely dressed persons?"

Does Archbishop Niederauer actually think there are faithful Catholics in San Francisco who by sheer coincidence wear face paint and costumes exactly like the "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence" but have no connection with that group?

Sure, that must be it: Every minister of the Eucharist must often encounter men in elaborate drag and makeup who look just like members of a notorious and publicity-seeking anti-Catholic, pro-sodomy activist group but are not members of that group.

As ole Q said yesterday...good thing they didn't KNEEL for Communion; who knows what would have happened to them then.

Pray for Cardinal Norberto Rivera of Mexico City

A Reuters story (click on this post's title) says that spitting leftists used sticks to attack the car of pro-life, anti-homosexual-agenda Cardinal Norberto Rivera of Mexico City after he said Mass last Sunday at the city's central cathedral.

The cardinal told TV reporters on Monday night that leftists have threatened him for the past year: “They have threatened me with death. These are not just aggressions, I've received constant death threats."

There have been, says the story, "allegations in a U.S. civil case that [the cardinal] protected a priest who sexually abused boys in Mexico and California." He denies the allegations, and obviously the reason the left hates him is that he is a faithful Catholic shepherd.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for Cardinal Rivera!

Sources: Abp. Niederauer has given Communion to anti-Catholic "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence"

Does Pope Benedict XVI's pick for archbishop of sodomy-friendly San Francisco know about Canon 915's prohibition of giving Communion to obstinate public sinners?

Americans for Truth (click on this post's title) says the photo above was taken by a member of the St. Joseph's Men's Society inside Most Holy Redeemer Church in Frisco [this past weekend] and shows Abp. George Niederauer giving Communion to a fully in-drag member of the "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence."

That San Francisco-founded group of avowed sodomites dresses in perverse versions of the habits of traditional Catholic sisters; gives its members "names" that mock Catholic themes; insults Jesus, His Mother and the saints; attacks Catholic doctrine on sexual morality; and urges committing sins of sodomy.

Could you find anyone besides fully costumed "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence" who better qualify as "obstinate public sinners?" Should a minister of the Eucharist give them the benefit of the doubt and assume their good will?

Would the Archbishop have given Communion to robed Klansmen?

The U.S. Catholic bishops' document Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care says, "Catholics who are living in accord with the Church's moral teachings are invited and encouraged to participate fully and regularly in the sacramental life of the Church."

That's "in accord with," not "in opposition to."

What if they had KNELT to receive Communion? How many priests and bishops would have refused them Communion then, and bawled them out?

As the saying goes, "Where are we going, and why are we in this handbasket?"

P.S. So far, there seems to be no statement on the S.F. archdiocesan website about this situation.

Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, October 7

Pope St. Pius V, pictured above, established this great feast, first as Our Lady of Victory, to commemorate the Battle of Lepanto (October 7, 1571), in which the Catholic fleet under the hero Don John of Austria defeated a huge Turkish fleet that intended to conquer and literally enslave Italy and advance from there.

The Pope had asked all Christendom to pray the Rosary for victory; and on the day of the battle, he received a vision that told him of the victory.

May we always entrust our causes and our cares to Mary, and may we always pray the Holy Rosary in love, gratitude, confidence and reparation.


"The celebration of this day invites all to mediate upon the mysteries of Christ, following the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary who was so singularly associated with the incarnation, passion and glorious resurrection of the Son of God." -- from the Christian Prayer (Liturgy of the Hours)

If you've never read it before and you want to know the true knightly spirit of Christendom, be sure to read the greatest poem that G.K. Chesteron ever wrote, "Lepanto." You can see it at: http://www.bartleby.com/103/91.html

(The illustration above is from the website of the wonderful Nashville Dominicans -- the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation.)

New letter to the Sisters of Bethany

My kind sources in Santa Barbara are at it again, reporting that today's (Friday the 5th) edition of the newspaper there says (sorry, I don't have the link) that Mother Luz Elena Quezada, superior general of the Sisters of Bethany, wrote the three sisters in Santa Barbara on October 1 to tell them they do have to leave their convent by December 31 but they do not have to leave town.

A grassroots group, the Support the Sisters of Bethany in Santa Barbara Committee, is asking donations for the sisters to buy, lease or rent a new residence and has asked anyone with housing available to volunteer it.

Donations can go right to the Sisters of Bethany at 215 North Nopal Street, Santa Barbara CA 93103.

Friday, October 5, is the Feast of St. Faustina -- and there's a pro-life connection!

Tomorrow, Friday the 5th, is the feast of St. Faustina Kowalska, the Divine Mercy saint. St. Faustina, pray for us!

Fr. Frank Pavone, M.E.V., founder of the new religious order Missionaries of the Gospel of Life and of the pro-life group Priests for Life, wrote this (click on this post's title) in 2003 about Sister Faustina, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy...and abortion:

"Fr. Seraphim Michalenko, MIC, who was a principal translator of St. Faustina's diary, and the postulator of her cause of canonization, writes...

"'On at least three occasions, from 8:00-11:00 in the evening, she felt like her insides were being torn apart. She suffered so much that she thought she was going to die. The doctors couldn't figure out what was ailing her, and no medication was able to alleviate her sufferings. Later, she was given to understand that she was undergoing those pains for mothers who were aborting their children' (Diary, 1276).

"On another occasion, she had a vision of an angel coming with thunderbolts to destroy one of the most beautiful cities of her country. And she felt powerless to do anything about it (Diary, 474). What antidote did the Lord give her? The Chaplet of Divine Mercy. [She explained] that the city was to be chastised for its sins, primarily the sin of abortion." ("Wombs of Mercy," Marian Helpers Bulletin, Summer 1995, p.13).

Fr. Pavone then wrote this:

"Now the Pope [John Paul II] has personally emphasized this connection once again, by signing a special Papal Blessing for those who pray the Chaplet for an end to abortion. The blessing, signed on the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25, 2003, is addressed to the Eucharistic Apostles of the Divine Mercy and to 'all the faithful worldwide who join them in offering the Divine Mercy Chaplet…for mothers, that they not abort their offspring; for infants in danger of being put to death in the womb; for a change of heart of providers of abortions and of their collaborators; for human victims of stem cell research, genetic manipulation, cloning and euthanasia; and for all entrusted with the government of peoples, that they may promote the Culture of Life, so as to put an end to the culture of death.'

"God cannot fail to hear our prayer; let's not fail to pray it."

So let's pray the Chaplet tomorrow and every day, including for an end to abortion:

"Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world."

This Sunday, October 7, is also Life Chain Sunday!

As you probably know, besides being Respect Life Sunday, this next Sunday, October 7, is also Life Chain Sunday around the USA.

A LOT of Life Chains are going on all over good ole L.A. this Sunday! You can click on this post's title to find out all about this powerful pro-life public witness and to see where the Life Chain nearest you will be.

Be sure to invite your pastors, priests, deacons, consecrated religious and fellow parishioners to go with you to the nearest Life Chain this Sunday!

And if you get a chance, please comment here to let us know what results you get -- and also whether your entire parish is officially taking part in a Life Chain this Sunday or any other time this month. Thanks in advance!

Ask your pastor now what he will do on Respect Life Sunday, October 7

This coming Sunday, October 7, is Respect Life Sunday, as we know. Have you asekd your pastor what he is going to do to observe it?

To find Respect Life Sunday resources, you can click on this post's title, or you can go to the California Catholic Conference site at http://cacatholic.org/

As we know, many parishes observe Respect Life Sunday, but many don't. If you have a chance, please comment here to let everyone know what your parish does, or doesn't, do for the babies and the right to life on that day.

Also, the whole month of October is Respect Life Month. So if you can, please comment here to let us know what your parish does all this month, too.

Thanks in advance!