Bishop: Your Political Vote Could Determine Your Eternal Future

I am not telling you which party or which candidates to vote for or against, but I am saying that you need to think and pray very carefully about your vote, because a vote for a candidate who promotes actions or behaviors that are intrinsically evil and gravely sinful makes you morally complicit and places the eternal salvation of your own soul in serious jeopardy

Bishop John Paprocki

Far too many times I have posted here about my great disappointment with the US Bishops when it comes to denouncing evil.  As a case in point, not one bishop has said anything about the outrageous and scandalous statement made by Caroline Kennedy at the Democratic Convention, specifically "As a Catholic woman, I take reproductive health seriously." "Reproductive health", of course, is code for abortion.  It took a secular pundit, Bill O'Reilly, to point out how scandalous this statement is.  We still have not heard anything from the bishops on this matter and in particular, nothing from Cardinal Dolan, who is the bishop for Ms. Kennedy.

However, every once in a while a bishop will do or say something that makes my heart leap and do the Snoopy dance, as I posted about Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria, Illinois who urged the faithful to turn to our Blessed Mother to combat the evil around us.   Bishop Jenky declared:  "I feel it very important that we turn to our Lady to help us and our country during these coming months. We can take comfort that her Immaculate Heart will triumph!"  It is a rather sad sign of our times that the act of a bishop taking the lead to protect his flock should be so out of the ordinary that it makes news, but that unfortunately is the current state of the Church.

Well, it's time to do the Snoopy dance again because another brave bishop has spoken up to warn the faithful that their actions could have eternal consequences.  This bishop is also from Illinois, Bishop John Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois. (Whatever is in the water in Illinois should be given to all bishops!)  Bishop Paprocki has spoken out and warned the faithful that to vote for anyone who promotes intrinsic evil endangers the soul of the voter.  There can be absolutely no doubt in anyone's mind that President Barack Obama supports evil, if for no other reason than the existence of the HHS Mandate, which is a direct attack on the Catholic Church. Of course, he is the first president ever to support same sex marriage and "gay rights" as well.  And we also have his horrendous record on abortion.  Just go here to Lifesite News and you will get a full picture.  This record starts from the time Obama was sworn into office up to the present time.  It's a fascinating read and includes such gems as this:

July 6, 2012 – Once again, the Obama administration has called “terrorists” the majority of Americans who support the pro-life view on abortion.

August 3, 2012 – Obama: I “Won't Give Any Ground” Defending Unlimited Abortion

August 22, 2012 – Unearthed Video Shows Obama Supporting Late-Term Abortions

September 4, 2012 – Michelle Obama: My Husband Stands for Promoting Abortion

Paragraph 2268 of the Catholic Catechism says the following:

2268 The fifth commandment forbids direct and intentional killing as gravely sinful. The murderer and those who co-operate voluntarily in murder commit a sin that cries out to heaven for vengeance.

Infanticide,  fratricide, parricide and the murder of a spouse are especially grave crimes by reason of the natural bonds which they break. Concern for eugenics or public health cannot justify any murder, even if commanded by public authority.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo leaving Mass
with his live-in girlfriend

If you vote for a politician who supports abortion, which is the intentional killing of an unborn child, you have cooperated in that murder and are held as accountable as one who actually committed the murder.  Therefore, you are in danger of hell fire.  Living in the City of New York, abortion capital of the United States, leaves Catholics with practically no one to vote for.  There are a few pro-life Republicans here and there, but they're about as rare as a 90 degree day in January in New York City.  A prime example is our pro-abortion, supporter of same sex marriage, divorced Governor Andrew Cuomo who marched down the Catholic Church aisle, along with his live-in girlfriend, on the day of his inauguration to receive communion from the bishop, who praised Mr. Cuomo:  "We know they [Cuomo and his girlfriend, both of whom are pro abortion], over the next four years, will be deeply immersed in the work of evangelization by bringing about the transformation of our state and our society, and we assure them of our prayers, of our support and of our best wishes for challenges they will face,” Bishop Hubbard said.  Unfortunately, our bishops here do not drink the same water as those in Illinois, so Governor Cuomo does whatever he wants with no interference from the Church.  Cardinal Dolan didn't even go to Albany when they legalized same sex marriage. 

In the United States, I would suggest that to align yourself in any way with the Democrat party is to put your soul in eternal danger.  Their convention a few weeks ago was all about death.  They literally celebrated abortion and same sex marriage and verbally attacked all those who disagreed with them.  As I mentioned in a prior post, the devil danced in the rafters at the Democratic National Convention.

Bishop John Paprocki spared no words when he condemned the actions of the Democratic party.  He spoke plainly and clearly and left no doubt that he considers the Democratic party to be the party of death.  And unfortunately, we are not just talking about physical death, as in abortion, but an even more serious matter.  We are talking about spiritual death.

Here is Bishop Paprocki's letter:

Bishop John Paprocki



My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Much attention was given at the Democratic National Convention held recently in Charlotte, N.C., to the fact that all references to God had been purged from the draft version of the party platform. After outcries of protest from outside as well as within the Democratic Party, the sentence with the same reference to God used in 2008 was restored to read, "We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values and interests of working people, and gives everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential.

Before anyone relaxes and concludes that all is well now that the Democratic Party Platform contains a single passing reference to God, the way that this was done should give us pause. Convention chairman Antonio Villaraigosa had to call for the voice vote three times because each time the sound level for the "ayes" and the "nays" sounded about even, far short of the two-thirds necessary according to convention rules to amend the platform. That did not stop the convention chairman from declaring, "The ayes have it!"

What is troubling about that is the blatant disregard for the rules and for the apparent wishes of about half the delegates. The reference to God is back in the platform apparently because President Obama wanted it back in. That may be fine for now, but if a future president wants references to God taken out, apparently that can be done regardless of the wishes of the delegates if that is what The Leader wants. That does not bode well for democracy in the Democratic Party.

Even more troubling is that this whole discussion about God in the platform is a distraction from more disturbing matters that have been included in the platform. In 1992 Presidential candidate Bill Clinton famously said that abortion should be "safe, legal and rare." That was the party's official position until 2008. Apparently "rare" is so last century that it had to be dropped, because now the Democratic Party Platform says that abortion should be "safe and legal." Moreover the Democratic Party Platform supports the right to abortion "regardless of the ability to pay." Well, there are only three ways for that to happen: either taxpayers will be required to fund abortion, or insurance companies will be required to pay for them (as they are now required to pay for contraception), or hospitals will be forced to perform them for free.

 

Moreover, the Democratic Party Platform also supports same-sex marriage, recognizes that "gay rights are human rights," and calls for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal law signed by President Clinton in 1996 that defined marriage as the legal union of one man and one woman.

FROM THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM

Freedom to Marry. We support the right of all families to have equal respect, responsibilities, and protections under the law. We support marriage equality and support the movement to secure equal treatment under law for same-sex couples. We also support the freedom of churches and religious entities to decide how to administer marriage as a religious sacrament without government interference.

We oppose discriminatory federal and state constitutional amendments and other attempts to deny equal protection of the laws to committed same-sex couples who seek the same respect and responsibilities as other married couples. We support the full repeal of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act.

Now, why am I mentioning these matters in the Democratic Party Platform? There are many positive and beneficial planks in the Democratic Party Platform, but I am pointing out those that explicitly endorse intrinsic evils. My job is not to tell you for whom you should vote. But I do have a duty to speak out on moral issues. I would be abdicating this duty if I remained silent out of fear of sounding "political" and didn't say anything about the morality of these issues. [Could all the rest of the bishops please have what Bishop Paprocki is having?] People of faith object to these platform positions that promote serious sins. I know that the Democratic Party's official "unequivocal" support for abortion is deeply troubling to pro-life Democrats.

So what about the Republicans? I have read the Republican Party Platform and there is nothing in it that supports or promotes an intrinsic evil or a serious sin. [Unfortunately, the GOP Presidential Candidate, Mitt Romney, does not fully support the GOP Platform, i.e., unlike the Republican platform, he supports abortion in cases of rape, incest and the health and life of the mother.]  The Republican Party Platform does say that courts "should have the option of imposing the death penalty in capital murder cases." But the Catechism of the Catholic Church says (in paragraph 2267), "Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor. If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity to the dignity of the human person. Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm — without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself — the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not practically nonexistent."

One might argue for different methods in the platform to address the needs of the poor, to feed the hungry and to solve the challenges of immigration, but these are prudential judgments about the most effective means of achieving morally desirable ends, not intrinsic evils.

Certainly there are "pro-choice" Republicans who support abortion rights and "Log Cabin Republicans" who promote same-sex marriage, and they are equally as wrong as their Democratic counterparts. But these positions do not have the official support of their party.  [What about Mitt Romney, who supports abortion in "certain instances."]

Again, I am not telling you which party or which candidates to vote for or against, but I am saying that you need to think and pray very carefully about your vote, because a vote for a candidate who promotes actions or behaviors that are intrinsically evil and gravely sinful makes you morally complicit and places the eternal salvation of your own soul in serious jeopardy.

VISIONS OF HELL FROM FATIMA

Lucia, the oldest of the three children, relates that the Blessed Virgin Mary opened her hands, and "rays of light seemed to penetrate the earth, and we saw, as it were, a sea of fire. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. (It must have been this sight which caused me to cry out, as people say they heard me.) The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals. Terrified and as if to plead for help, we looked up at Our Lady, who said to us so sadly: "You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go. Thus, when you say the rosary, say after each mystery: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy Mercy."

I pray that God will give you the wisdom and guidance to make the morally right choices.

May God give us this grace. Amen.

* * *

So we know for certain that as Catholics, we can have no part in supporting the Democratic Party, which has made itself into the party of death.  And as His Excellency said, voting for a politician who supports intrinsic evil could actually result in loss of our salvation.

His Excellency has also told us that the Republican platform contains nothing objectionable as far as the Catholic Church is concerned.  But we must still judge each individual politician on his or her own merits.  And now even Paul Ryan has given us pause, as he has said that it would be wrong to reinstate "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."  As Rep. Ryan says, “I think this issue is past us,” he added. “It’s done. And I think we need to move on.”  How do we support that?  What is it that Rep. Ryan expects us to move on to?   Approving of open homosexuality in the military?  How do we support the fact that Rep. Ryan recently voted to fund Planned Parenthood and the pro-abortion Obamacare?  What of Mitt Romney, who supports homosexuals in the boy scouts, supports abortion in cases of rape, incest and life and health (whatever that means) of the mother, supports same sex civil unions as long as they are not called marriage?  Why did Mitt Romney have a fundraiser at the home of the manufacturer of the morning after pill?  I don't think the Church would consider it sinful to vote for Romney/Ryan because they are "basically" pro life and against the homosexual agenda, but in my opinion, they do not pass the smell test.

I can only repeat what I have posted here time and time again.  There is no salvation in politics.  Prayer and faithfulness to the Church and her teachings, which is faithfulness to Jesus Christ, is the only thing that will save us. 

s

Ann Romney: Birth Control Mandate and Same Sex Marriage Distract From Real Issues

“This election is going to be about the economy and jobs.”Ann Romney

The Democrats made it very clear at their convention that they consider the most important issues in this 2012 presidential campaign to be the social issues, specifically abortion and same sex marriage.  Almost every speaker at that convention included these topics in their speeches.  Those who support Barack Obama will not be supporting him for his stand on the economy.  It is obvious that he has no idea what he is doing as far as the economy is concerned.  Supporters of Barack Obama stand behind him because he is bringing about the radical social changes that they want.

But now we have the wife of the Republican candidate, Ann Romney, telling us these social issues, such as same sex marriage and the birth control mandate, are "hot button issues" that detract from the "real issues" of the campaign, namely, the economy.  Oh, really?  Maybe someone should tell the Democrats this, because they clearly haven't gotten that message.  They have told us plainly and clearly that if they win the presidency, these "hot button" issues will be front and center as they complete the radical transformation of our society. 

Can we who are pro life really trust Mitt Romney to take on these most important issues? Will he stand up to the Democrats who want to destroy all traditional values and implement a secular humanist society in which belief and obedience to God is thrown into the trash bin? 

As Ann Romney said:  "This election is going to be about the economy and jobs."  Any thinking, alert Catholic knows our Church is under siege by the Democrats.   Yet Mitt Romney and his wife tell us that the only issue we should be looking at is the state of the economy.  Ann Romney would not even touch the question about the contraception mandate. 

Here is the article from LifeSiteNews:

Ann Romney: marriage, birth control mandate ‘distract’ from real voting issues

by Kathleen Gilbert

Tue Sep 11, 2012 09:25 EST

DAVENPORT, Iowa, September 11, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s wife last week refused to answer questions on the Obama administration’s birth control mandate and the redefinition of marriage, saying such social issues “are not about what this election is going to be about.”



KWQC TV6 of Davenport asked Ann Romney on Friday about the marriage debate, noting that gay ‘marriage’ is currently legal in the Hawkeye State.

Mrs. Romney responded that she would let her husband speak to “the specific issues.” “Those are hot-button issues that distract from what the real voting issue is going to be at this election. That, it’s going to be about the economy and jobs,” she said.

Not to be deterred, KWQC anchor David Nelson asked, “Do you believe that employer-provided health insurance should be required to cover birth control?”

“Again, you’re asking me questions that are not about what this election is going to be about,” replied Romney. “This election is going to be about the economy and jobs.”

Nelson countered that a Pew poll had found that many women called such issues “important” or “very important,” but Mrs. Romney continued to stonewall, saying that wasn’t what she heard on the campaign trail. “If you want to try to pull me off of the other messages it’s not going to work because I know because I’ve been out there,” she said.

* * *

As I have repeatedly said here, nothing will change under Mitt  Romney as president.  Those who think that the moral decline of our society will be halted with a Romney presidency are deluding themselves.  Romney just this past week said on Meet the Press that he "prefers" Roe v. Wade  be overturned.   He also said that there are parts of Obamacare he does support and will not overturn.  Does that sound like someone who is committed to pro life causes?  We know that he supports same sex civil unions as long as they are not called marriage, and that he supports abortion in cases of "rape, incest and the health and life of the mother."  He supports homosexual Boy Scout leaders. 

I've written it so often here that it sounds like a mantra, but nothing will change under a Romney presidency.  We need to stop hearing what we want to hear and face up to reality.  We don't have a choice in this campaign. 

Kudos to Cardinal Dolan: Prayer at the DNC

Thumbs up to
Cardinal Dolan

"We ask your benediction on those waiting to be born, that they may be welcomed and protected"
Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Prayer at the DNC 

I have been really hard on Cardinal Dolan, going after him recently for inviting Obama to the Al Smith Dinner.  But you gotta give props where they are due, and Timothy Cardinal Dolan deserves them for the great prayer he gave at the Democratic National Convention.  An exorcism would not have been out of place, given the promotion of abortion with no restrictions and same sex marriage, the omission of God from the DNC platform only to be put back in, with great reluctance, after the nation expressed its shock, and Caroline Kennedy telling us that "as a Catholic woman", it is important to her to have access to "reproductive health services", i.e., abortion, to name just a few of the atrocities committed at the 2012 DNC. 

But His Eminence closed the convention with a strong and brave prayer.  He was a wonderful witness to all who heard him.

The Huffington Post gives us the full text of both of the Cardinal's prayers at the DNC and RNC. 

Cardinal Timothy Dolan's Benedictions At RNC And DNC (FULL TEXT)

 Posted: 09/06/2012 11:51 pm Updated: 09/07/2012 1:07 am

Offering a benediction to close the Democratic National Convention, Cardinal Timothy Dolan largely stuck to a similar script as he did when praying in front of Republicans at their convention last week, with two notable exceptions.

Proudly supporting abortion
at the Democratic Convention

"We ask your benediction on those waiting to be born, that they may be welcomed and protected," Dolan, who as the Archbishop of New York and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has spoken out strongly against abortion, said at the DNC.

And making what seemed to be a allusion to same-sex marriage, which President Barack Obama and the DNC have endorsed, Dolan said: "Show us anew that happiness is found only in respecting the laws of nature and of nature’s God. Empower us with your grace so that we might resist the temptation to replace the moral law with idols of our own making, or to remake those institutions you have given us for the nurturing of life and community."

While Dolan prayed for the "sacred and inalienable gift of life" at the Republican National Convention, he did not ask specifically for protection for the unborn. At the RNC, he said, "We ask your benediction upon those yet to be born, and on those who are about to see you at the end of this life."

Dolan mentioned morality at the RNC, but not remaking "institutions [God] has given us." At the RNC, he said, "May we know the truth of your creation, respecting the laws of nature and nature’s God, and not seek to replace it with idols of our own making."

Dolan, who spoke for 700 words at the DNC and 544 at the RNC, also prayed for Mitt Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan by name at the DNC, in addition to Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. At the RNC, he prayed for the Republican candidates by name and prayed for Obama and Biden when he mentioned the "president and vice-president."

Dolan also prayed for religious freedom at both conventions.

The phrase applies broadly to the constitutional freedom of religion, but it also relates more specifically to a fight Dolan and Catholic bishops have led against the Obama administration. The Archdiocese of New York is one of dozens of Catholic organizations suing federal government because of a portion of his health care overhaul that requires employers, including Catholic schools and hospitals but not houses of worship, to provide free contraception as part of employee health plans.

While it's customary for local Catholic bishops to speak at political conventions, it's rare to have someone of Dolan's stature come from out of town to speak. The most recent exception was in 1972, when Philadelphia Cardinal John Krol was president of the Catholic bishops' conference and flew to Miami to pray at the Republican convention the year Richard Nixon was nominated.

Dolan was first invited to speak at the RNC and accepted an invitation to the DNC afterwards. Through his spokesman, he has said that both benedictions were not endorsements or meant to be political. In a tweet on Thursday, Dolan said he would be in Charlotte "as a pastor. Not to endorse any party, platform, or candidate."  [And he was a wonderful pastor.]

The Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition and senior pastor of Lamb's Church in New York City, also offered an invocation to before main events on Thursday evening. In his remarks, he prayed for God to "guide this great nation" and "help us all, Republicans, independents, and Democrats, never to tire in the work of justice and mercy." Salguero also prayed for God to "help us always to be mindful of the most vulnerable among us: the child, the widow, the orphan and the stranger." 

Cardinal Dolan's Benediction at Democratic National Convention 2012

With a “firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence,” let us close this convention by praying for this land that we so cherish and love:

Let us Pray.

Almighty God, father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, revealed to us so powerfully in your Son, Jesus Christ, we thank you for showering your blessings upon this our beloved nation. Bless all here present, and all across this great land, who work hard for the day when a greater portion of your justice, and a more ample measure of your care for the poor and suffering, may prevail in these United States. Help us to see that a society’s greatness is found above all in the respect it shows for the weakest and neediest among us.

We beseech you, almighty God to shed your grace on this noble experiment in ordered liberty, which began with the confident assertion of inalienable rights bestowed upon us by you: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Thus do we praise you for the gift of life. Grant us the courage to defend it, life, without which no other rights are secure. We ask your benediction on those waiting to be born, that they may be welcomed and protected. Strengthen our sick and our elders waiting to see your holy face at life’s end, that they may be accompanied by true compassion and cherished with the dignity due those who are infirm and fragile.

We praise and thank you for the gift of liberty. May this land of the free never lack those brave enough to defend our basic freedoms. Renew in all our people a profound respect for religious liberty: the first, most cherished freedom bequeathed upon us at our Founding. May our liberty be in harmony with truth; freedom ordered in goodness and justice. Help us live our freedom in faith, hope, and love. Make us ever-grateful for those who, for over two centuries, have given their lives in freedom’s defense; we commend their noble souls to your eternal care, as even now we beg the protection of your mighty arm upon our men and women in uniform.

We praise and thank you for granting us the life and the liberty by which we can pursue happiness. Show us anew that happiness is found only in respecting the laws of nature and of nature’s God. Empower us with your grace so that we might resist the temptation to replace the moral law with idols of our own making, or to remake those institutions you have given us for the nurturing of life and community. May we welcome those who yearn to breathe free and to pursue happiness in this land of freedom, adding their gifts to those whose families have lived here for centuries.

We praise and thank you for the American genius of government of the people, by the people and for the people. Oh God of wisdom, justice, and might, we ask your guidance for those who govern us: President Barack Obama, Vice President Joseph Biden, Congress, the Supreme Court, and all those, including Governor Mitt Romney and Congressman Paul Ryan, who seek to serve the common good by seeking public office. Make them all worthy to serve you by serving our country. Help them remember that the only just government is the government that serves its citizens rather than itself. With your grace, may all Americans choose wisely as we consider the future course of public policy.

And finally Lord, we beseech your benediction on all of us who depart from here this evening, and on all those, in every land, who yearn to conduct their lives in freedom and justice. We beg you to remember, as we pledge to remember, those who are not free; those who suffer for freedom’s cause; those who are poor, out of work, needy, sick, or alone; those who are persecuted for their religious convictions, those still ravaged by war.

And most of all, God Almighty, we thank you for the great gift of our beloved country.

For we are indeed “one nation under God,” and “in God we trust.”

So dear God, bless America. You who live and reign forever and ever.

Amen!

Cardinal Dolan's Benediction at the Republican National Convention 2012

With firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, let us pray:

Almighty God, father of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus, we beg your continued blessings on this sanctuary of freedom, and on all of those who proudly call America home. We ask your benediction upon those yet to be born, and on those who are about to see you at the end of this life. Bless those families whose ancestors arrived on these shores generations ago, as well as those families that have come recently, to build a better future while weaving their lives into the rich tapestry of America.

We lift up to your loving care those afflicted by the recent storms and drought and fire. We ask for the grace to stand in solidarity with all those who suffer. May we strive to include your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, in the production and prosperity of a people so richly blessed.

Oh God of wisdom, justice, and might, we ask your guidance for those who govern us, and on those who would govern us: the president and vice-president, the Congress, the Supreme Court, and on all those who seek to serve the common good by seeking public office, especially Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan. Make them all worthy to serve you by serving our country. Help them remember that the only just government is the government that serves its citizens rather than itself.

Almighty God, who gives us the sacred and inalienable gift of life, we thank you as well for the singular gift of liberty. Renew in all of our people a respect for religious freedom in full, that first most cherished freedom. Make us truly free, by tethering freedom to truth and ordering freedom to goodness. Help us live our freedom in faith, hope, and love; prudently, and with justice; courageously, and in a spirit of moderation. Enkindle in our hearts a new sense of responsibility for freedom’s cause. And make us ever-grateful for all those who, for more than two centuries, have given their lives in freedom’s defense; we commend their noble souls to your eternal care, as even now we beg your mighty hand upon our beloved men and women in uniform.

May we know the truth of your creation, respecting the laws of nature and nature’s God, and not seek to replace it with idols of our own making. Give us the good sense not to cast aside the boundaries of righteous living you first inscribed in our hearts even before inscribing them on tablets of stone. May you mend our every flaw, confirming our soul in self-control, our liberty in law.

We pray for all those who seek honest labor, as we thank you for the spirit of generosity to those in need with which you so richly blessed this nation.

We beseech your blessing on all who depart from here this evening, and on all those, in every land, who seek to conduct their lives in freedom.

Most of all, Almighty God, we thank you for the great gift of our beloved country.

For we are indeed “one nation under God.”

And “in God we trust.”

Dear God bless America. You who live and reign, forever and ever,

Amen!

The Democrats Celebrate Death

Forget the donkey, this is the real symbol
of the Democrat Party 

Blessed John Paul II often warned the world of the culture of death.  What is the culture of death?  Pope John Paul II wrote the following in EVANGELIUM VITAE, released on March 25, 1995, the Feast of the Annunication of the Lord:

[W]hile the climate of widespread moral uncertainty can in some way be explained by the multiplicity and gravity of today's social problems, and these can sometimes mitigate the subjective responsibility of individuals, it is no less true that we are confronted by an even larger reality, which can be described as a veritable structure of sin. This reality is characterized by the emergence of a culture which denies solidarity and in many cases takes the form of a veritable "culture of death". This culture is actively fostered by powerful cultural, economic and political currents which encourage an idea of society excessively concerned with efficiency.

Looking at the situation from this point of view, it is possible to speak in a certain sense of a war of the powerful against the weak: a life which would require greater acceptance, love and care is considered useless, or held to be an intolerable burden, and is therefore rejected in one way or another. A person who, because of illness, handicap or, more simply, just by existing, compromises the well-being or life-style of those who are more favoured tends to be looked upon as an enemy to be resisted or eliminated. [We saw this played out in the tragic murder of Terry Schiavo, who, by order of a court, had food and water withheld until she died because she was considered a "useless life".  We would not treat mass murderers this way, yet Terry Schiavo was sentenced to die a long torturous death merely for the crime of being useless to the State.] 

Terri Schiavo, who died almost 14 days after
her feeding tube was forcibly removed and she was not even
allowed water by court order

In this way a kind of "conspiracy against life" is unleashed. This conspiracy involves not only individuals in their personal, family or group relationships, but goes far beyond, to the point of damaging and distorting, at the international level, relations between peoples and States. 

The Democrats have announced their speakers for the upcoming convention, and these include some of the biggest "stars" of the Culture of Death.  The Democrats are going to be celebrating abortion, believe it or not.  What is this really?  Take a look at this picture:

What you are looking at are pieces of an unborn baby that was aborted at 10 weeks old.  This is what the Democrats will be celebrating when they talk of a woman's "right to choose." The "right to choose" means the right to choose to kill your baby, plain and simple.  You can be sure that the devil will be dancing in the rafters at the Democrat Convention this year. 

John Paul II wrote:

"To claim the right to abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia, and to recognize that right in law, means to attribute to human freedom a perverse and evil significance: that of an absolute power over others and against others. This is the death of true freedom."
John Paul II, The Gospel of Life

Many will point to Adolph Hitler as the face of evil, but he had nothing on what is happening today in the American culture.  We celebrate death in a way that no one in history has ever done so.  Many in our society proudly proclaim their "right" to kill their unborn children.  But as Blessed Pope John Paul II told us:

 "While it is true that the taking of life not yet born or in it’s final stages is sometimes marked by a mistaken sense of altruism and human compassion it cannot be denied that such a culture of death, taken as a whole, betrays a completely individualistic concept of freedom, which ends up by becoming the freedom of " the strong" against the weak who have no choice but to submit".
~Evangelium Vitae

And in a few weeks we will see this "right" being proudly proclaimed at the Democrat National Convention, along with the celebration of same sex marriage.  Below is an article from catholicvote.org:

Abortion and Gay Marriage to Be Centerpieces of Democrat Convention

by Thomas Peters

Remember that line we’ve all been fed by the media that the “social issues” don’t matter and that Americans have “moved on” past those pesky debates about abortion and gay marriage?

That was a lie.

Or at least, we know for sure now that its actually the Democrats who care about abortion and gay marriage.

How do we know? In two weeks we will be treated to a pro abortion and pro gay marriage extravaganza in Charlotte, North Carolina brought to us by the Democrat party’s convention.

Pro-abortion after pro-abortion advocate, from Cecile Richards the President of Planned Parenthood to Nancy Keenen the head of NARAL, to Sandra Fluke of HHS Mandate fame — they’ll all be there. Not to mention a host of Democrat politicians whose signature issue is pro abortion (Sen. Mikulski) and pro gay marriage (Rep. Baldwin).
 

 

From the early reports, the Democrat machine is remaking the face of their convention as we speak to be an “anti-Akin affair” in addition to issuing a casting call for this set of characters:

“Don’t Ask Don’t Tell: Gay soldier and fellow (straight) soldier who served together in Iraq or Afghanistan (ideally the straight soldier was helped by the gay soldier, i.e., medic, in fire fight) … Planned Parenthood: Husband who talks about how a PAP smear saved his wife’s life and his spouse … Choice: A couple who has children, but wants to make their own decisions, not have the government do it for them (or who has confronted a difficult medical situation).” [Politico]

On the gay marriage issue, though, they’re going to pull their punches a bit:

“…the [planning] documents state the participants should be “not a gay couple” — but a “parent and gay son or daughter.”

Evidently the organizers think America is “not there yet” when it comes to gay marriage (and no wonder, a plurality of Democrats in North Carolina just voted in May to define marriage as the union of husband and wife!). But we all can be pretty sure this hesitancy of theirs will be discarded by the 2016 convention, unless we intervene.

But just step back and consider for a moment what all this means. This is the face the modern democrat party wants to project: pro planned parenthood men (which really means pro planned parenthood women) and parents with gay kids (which really means gay parents) as the centerpiece of their convention.
 

 "It is legitimate and necessary to ask oneself if this [same sex marriage] is not perhaps part of a new ideology of evil, perhaps more insidious and hidden, which attempts to pit human rights against the family and against man."     Blessed Pope John Paul II

In other words, people whose very identity is tied up with progressive politics. People who look to the government to secure their “right” to have government pay for their contraception and (when that fails) abortions and who demand government redefine marriage according to their definition and then force that definition upon the rest of society. That’s who the Democrat party wants to cater to.

Trampled underfoot in both these actions is, of course, religious liberty. It is, after all, only the Christian (and often particularly Catholic) witness in defense of the dignity of every human person and in defense of marriage and family that stands in the way of the sweeping social changes championed by the modern progressive movement. For the DNC to reach its public goals it must undermine and discredit the public witness of people of traditional faith and Catholics in particular. That’s an astonishing state of affairs, but I’m convinced it’s the reality we now inhabit. 

So don’t believe what the media tells you, that abortion, threats to religious liberty, and gay marriage aren’t important issues and that we shouldn’t care about them.

Just listen to the Democrat party — they couldn’t be more clear about what they care about.

At least they have the courage of their convictions.

Do we?

* * * 

You can be sure that the devil will be dancing and celebrating at the Democrat National Convention.    If you watch the Democrat Convention, you will be looking straight into the face of evil, into pure hatred of God and all that is good and right.  The Republicans at least put on a face of some civility, some respect for life.  The Democrats have shed every vestige of the culture of life and completely taken on the culture of death.  To support them in any way is to support the devil and his assault on humanity.



"When freedom does not have a purpose, when it does not wish to know anything about the rule of law engraved in the hearts of men and women, when it does not listen to the voice of conscience, it turns against humanity and society."
Blessed Pope John Paul II