(In anticipation of Sunday, 10/25/15)
Believe it or not, a similar theme was struck this past week on the op-ed page of the Courier Times and on the Synod Floor:
- "On June 26, 2015, four of the Supreme Court’s liberals joined Justice Anthony Kennedy in discovering a new right to same-sex marriage in the U.S. Constitution....For two centuries, leftist extremists made their arguments, from the 1800s to the 1960s, characterized by the Communist Manifesto, where Marx and Engels wrote of the 'abolition of the family!'....countless everyday Americans are oblivious to the older, deeper forces at work. And even more delicious for the left, same-sex marriage is serving as a powerful tool in attacking what the extreme left has always hated most: religion" (Dr. Paul Kengor, Courier Times, October 2015).
- "Our Lady of Fatima has said that Russia’s errors would spread all over the world. It was first done under a violent form, classical Marxism, by killing tens of millions. Now it’s being done mostly by cultural Marxism....it pretends to redefine family, sex identity and human nature....it is nothing else than the ancient serpent’s offer, for man to take control, to replace God, to arrange salvation here, in this world....It’s the task of the shepherds to recognize it, and warn the flock against this danger....These are nowadays the main agents imposing cultural Marxism to our nations, under the form of population control, reproductive health, gay rights, gender education, and so on....we need Rome to tell the world: 'Repent of your sins and turn to God for the Kingdom of Heaven is near'" (Dr. Anca-Maria Cernea, President of the Association of Catholic Doctors of Bucharest (Romania), at the Ordinary Synod on the Family on 10/16/15).
- "the Sexual
Revolution ushered in the scourge of abortion, pornography, and sexual
abuse so rampant in recent decades. Instead of real and authentic love,
this false 'liberty' offers cheap pleasures that mask a deeper
loneliness and pain. Instead of the security of traditional family
bonds, it leaves children longing for the stability of a mother’s and a
father’s love....
"Today’s attack on fatherhood, and by extension, motherhood, is multi-pronged and breathtakingly damaging. 41% of children are born into unmarried homes in our day, an increase of 700% from 1950....These children are not fatherless because of some sweeping physical conflict, like World War II....
"The child is forced to ask the question: 'Where is my Daddy?' What then is the impact on a child’s heart, on his or her understanding of the world, of love, and of the Heavenly Father, when the answer to this question is 'He left us,' or 'I don’t know,' or 'From the sperm bank, and he left no contact address'?" (Bishop Thomas Olmstead)
"They shall come back rejoicing, carrying their sheaves." Despair is NOT the Answer! Jesus is the Answer!
- "Masculine chastity is a 'long
and exacting work' that we should be proud to undertake! Imagine
standing before the throne of God on judgment day, where the
great saints of ages past, who themselves dealt with preeminent sins in
their own day, will say to each other, 'We dealt with the trouble of
lust in our day, but those 21st century men! These happy few battled the
beast up close!'....
"There are those in our culture today, however, who do not want us to see fatherlessness as unnatural or lamentable. Do not be fooled by those voices wishing to erase all distinctions between mothers and fathers, ignoring the complementarity that is inherent in creation itself. Men, your presence and mission in the family is irreplaceable! Step up and lovingly, patiently take up your God-given role as protector, provider, and spiritual leader of your home. A father’s role as spiritual head of the family must never be understood or undertaken as domination over others, but only as a loving leadership and a gentle guidance for those in your care. Your fatherhood, my fatherhood, in its hidden, humble way, reflects imperfectly but surely the Fatherhood of God, the Father to those whom the Lord has given us to father....
"I would now like to say a special word to those of you, my sons, who have suffered the absence of your own father. There are many reasons why men abandon their responsibilities, or even if they remain, stay distant, as a result of the lack of positive experience of fatherhood in their own lives. This wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly fatherlessness is never God’s plan. Do not give in to discouragement, however, and do not lose hope. The Church is always called to reveal God the Father. Allow Christ to show you the Father who never abandons his children, but rather offers his only begotten Son....
"Finally, I want to offer a special word for those men who know that they have failed in their fatherhood. This is true to a greater or lesser degree in each and every one of us....I stand with you as an imperfect father, asking God the Father to make up for the ways that we fail in this greatest of masculine missions. It is important to acknowledge the enemy’s tactics; Satan will attempt to drag us down into a despair that can lead us to abandon our fatherhood even further because of our sins. Yet we must never give up, my sons! Pray and be renewed in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Christ strengthens us through Confession and the Holy Eucharist to spend ourselves in rebuilding fatherhood in whatever way possible....
"videos are being released documenting the barbaric practice of selling baby body parts by Planned Parenthood....We need to get off the sidelines and stand up for life on the front lines. We need faith like that of our fathers who defended the children of previous generations and who gave up their own lives rather than abandon their faith in Christ" (Bishop Thomas Olmstead).
- Email Representative Fitzpatrick, Senator Casey, and Senator Toomey, asking for all federal funding of Planned Parenthood to stop. Email all of Bucks County's representatives and senators in Harrisburg, asking for all state funding of Planned Parenthood to stop.
- As per the Pa Pro Life Coalition, "Dismemberment Ban Legislation to be Introduced on Tuesday, October 27, 2015. The Pro-Life Caucus in the Pa. General Assembly will be introducing legislation to ban such abortions in Pa. The Pa. Health Department Annual Abortion Report indicated that approximately 2500 such abortions were committed in our state in 2013....contact your state legislators and urge them to support this life-saving legislation" [From Bucks County, our state legislators can be contacted as follows: cstaats@pahousegop.com; tdavis@pahouse.net; gdigirol@pahousegop.com; Ffarry@pahousegop.com; Jgalloway@pahouse.net; boneill@pahousegop.com; spetri@pahousegop.com; mquinn@pahousegop.com; Ssantarsiero@pahouse.net; kwatson@pahousegop.com; sgreenleaf@pasen.gov; cmcilhinney@pasen.gov; bmensch@pasen.gov; rtomlinson@pasen.gov.]
- As reported in the NY Times, "Rampant sexual abuse of children has long been
a problem in Afghanistan, particularly
among armed commanders who dominate much of the rural landscape
and can bully the population. The practice is called bacha bazi,
literally 'boy play,' and American soldiers and Marines have been
instructed not to intervene — in some cases, not even when their Afghan
allies have abused boys on military bases, according to interviews and
court records....The policy of instructing soldiers to ignore child sexual
abuse by their Afghan allies is coming under new scrutiny, particularly as
it emerges that service members like Captain Quinn have faced discipline,
even career ruin, for disobeying it....the Army relieved Captain Quinn of
his command and pulled him from Afghanistan....the Army is also trying to forcibly retire Sgt.
First Class Charles Martland....'The Army contends that
Martland and others should have looked the other way (a contention that I
believe is nonsense),' Representative Duncan Hunter, a California
Republican who hopes to save Sergeant Martland’s career, wrote...to the
Pentagon’s inspector general" (U.S. Soldiers Told to Ignore Sexual Abuse of
Boys by Afghan Allies, 9/21/15). The Family Research Council has an online petition
for the Senate and House Armed Services Committees:
"I, the undersigned, urge you to pressure the Pentagon to clear Sgt. Charles Martland's record on the matter concerning his intervention to protect a young Afghan boy from sexual abuse. I also ask that you investigate the policy concerning the ability of U.S. military personnel to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation."]
Calling back into "battle" those who prematurely gave up
To refuse to accept Obergefell as binding precedent for all but the specific plaintiffs in that case.
To recognize the authority of states to define marriage, and the right of federal and state officeholders to act in accordance with those definitions.
To pledge full and mutual legal and political assistance to anyone who refuses to follow Obergefell for constitutionally protected reasons.
To open forthwith a broad and honest conversation on the means by which Americans may constitutionally resist and overturn the judicial usurpations evident in Obergefell."
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us of society's duty to defend the "true nature of marriage and the family" (#458) and "to created an environment conducive to the practice of chastity" (#494):
As per the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, "The First Amendment Defense Act (H.R. 2802, S. 1598) would bar the federal government from discriminating against individuals and organizations based upon their religious beliefs or moral convictions that marriage is the union of one man and one woman or that sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage. The Act provides broad protections against adverse federal actions directed toward individuals and organizations that act on such beliefs." The USCCB has an "alert" for contacts to Fitzpatrick, Casey, and Toomey, re: the First Amendment Defense Act: http://cqrcengage.com/catholicbishops/app/make-a-call?0&engagementId=113753
As per the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, "The State Marriage Defense Act would require....the federal government to honor the state marriage laws where people are actually living when determining whether they are legally married for purposes of federal rights, benefits, and privileges." The USCCB has an "alert" for contacts to Fitzpatrick, Casey, and Toomey, re: the State Marriage Defense Act: http://cqrcengage.com/catholicbishops/app/make-a-call?2&engagementId=81348
As per the Family Research Council, the so-called "Equality Act" (S 1858 and HR 3185) "would essentially obliterate gender-specific designations in virtually every realm of public life in America and possibly even many private areas.
"The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference explains that "Changing the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA) will jeopardize many churches and their charitable outreach if they continue to adhere to their religious beliefs. In other states, this law has closed Catholic adoption agencies and violated religious liberty....HB 1510/SB 974 exposes even more Pennsylvanians to discrimination based solely on their religious beliefs. Simply put, this legislation is intolerant and prejudiced against people of faith. " As per the Pennsylvania Family Council, "Stand for true tolerance: oppose Senate Bill 974 and House Bill 1510."
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