Cardinal Mahony has praised the late Teddy Kennedy but has also lamented his having been pro-abortion

Cardinal Mahony has said this to the Catholic News Service:

"...the voiceless, the powerless and the most needy of our citizens have lost a great champion..." in Teddy Kennedy. "His deep and personal commitment to causes affecting the poor and needy among us flowed from his deep Catholic faith, and the life and outreach of Jesus Christ.

"Over the years, however, I was never able to bring him to promote fundamental rights for one important group in our society -- the unborn. But he did struggle with this aspect of his Catholic faith, and I was hopeful that at some point he would see that all of his work for the most needy had to begin with a commitment to every person, born and unborn."

Pro-abortion Obama to eulogize pro-abortion Teddy Kennedy at funeral Mass

We must pray for the repose of the soul of pro-abortion Sen. Teddy Kennedy (D-Mass.), who succumbed to brain cancer yesterday (Tuesday).

The AP is reporting tonight (Wednesday) that pro-abortion Barack H. Obama will give a eulogy at Sen. Kennedy's funeral Mass this Saturday in Boston. The Mass will be at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica, Boston's beloved "Mission Church."

Teddy Kennedy's fellow pro-aborts are praising him for being so relentlessly pro-abortion (click on this post's title). The Reverend Carlton Veazey stated today:

"The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice extends our deepest sympathy to the family of Senator Edward Kennedy, who died after a courageous battle with brain cancer. Senator Kennedy was a strong supporter of reproductive health care and rights.... He stood for strong constitutional protections - including equal protection and the right to privacy - and worked to ensure that the federal judiciary would respect those protections. He was instrumental in the passage of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which has helped keep abortion providers and their patients safe. His tireless advocacy during more than 40 years in the Senate for the rights of women and health care providers will be missed.

"A Roman Catholic, he was a public servant in the best tradition of social justice - a man who followed his conscience and a champion for the most vulnerable and needy among us."

Two New Latin Mass How-To DVDs from the CDF

Good news!

The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, now part of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has published two instructional DVDs to help priests and laity understand and learn the Tridentine Latin Mass, the Catholic News Agency reports (click on this post's title).

The DVDs will be available in Italian, English, Spanish and French.

No word yet on when or how the public can obtain the DVDs.

When the DVDs become available, let's ask the L.A. Archdiocesan and cathedral web sites to link (prominently and conveniently) to them.

Let's ask the gift shop at the Cathedral to stock the DVDs.

We need someone to apply to teach a workshop, using the DVDs, at the Religious Education Congress. The powers that be should graciously accept such an offer.

The Michael Stephen Baker case resurfaces

Did you see the L.A. Times story (click on this post's title) the other day about defrocked Michael Stephen Baker, formerly of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles?

Cardinal Roger Mahony returned Baker to priestly ministry in the 1980's (having first sent him to a "rehab" facility) after Baker admitted molesting two boys. Baker then went on to molest more boys. The cardinal has apologized several times for having returned him to ministry.

It turns out that this summer, Baker was called to testify before a federal grand jury.

The Times article says this:

"The probe is aimed at determining whether Mahony, and possibly other church leaders, committed 'honest services fraud' by failing to adequately deal with priests accused of sexually abusing children, sources said.

"Mahony's attorney has said Mahony is not a target of the federal inquiry, adding the cardinal was fully cooperating with federal officials."

You can read an Associated Press article about the case at:
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/08/14/ap6781806.html

That article says Baker is in federal protective custody.

Have you ever met a prisoner of conscience, a prisoner for Jesus?

Have you ever met someone who has been a prisoner of conscience, a prisoner for Jesus?

I have met quite a few such persons. One was an elderly man, a holy man, who radiated joy. He could speak no English, but his friends said that he said that in the camps, truth was the essential. If you stuck to truth, you had integrity, you were moral, you had God.

Maybe you have seen this quotation:

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." -- Orwell

Here are some truths:

Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

The Roman Catholic Church is the One, True, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Every preborn baby is a fully human person who has God-given rights, including the right to life.

Amen.