Church issues bioethical document.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has issued a bioethical document addressing many of the current problems and trends in our present times.

It addresses things like:

- Embryonic and adult stem cell research

- Contraception, especially oral contraceptives

- Receiving vaccines which were derived from aborted fetuses

- In vitro fertilization and test tube babies.

- Frozen embryos.

- Gene therapy

- Human cloning

The document can be found here:

Dignitatis Personae (The Dignity of a Person) at the USCCB website. (document in pdf format)

A VERY important document for our times. President-elect Obama needs to read this if he's as open minded as he says he is.

It's also Providential to find the document on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who is the patroness of the unborn and who helped convert a nation which practiced human sacrifice. Maybe this document can be a help in converting our own nation of the Untied States from it's human sacrifice of abortion and euthanasia.

Our Lady of Guadlupe, ora pro nobis!


RS

White suprimacists against Obama?

I saw an article in the news yesterday, which honestly surprised me.

Alleged white supremacist plot to kill Obama is foiled

I do not support racism, so my thoughts are just imagining what a white suprimacist would think. My conclusion was that if anything, white suprimacists should love to have Obama as president. Obama has the potential to kill more Blacks, Hispanics, and other minorities than the KKK has done in the last 100 years. Obama supports abortion "rights" so vehemently. And that support means lots and lots of funding for Planned Parenthood. I don't think it's any surprise that abortions are highest among poor minorities, and with Obama's push of things like the "Freedom of Choice Act" it will only increase how many abortions are being done, especially on poor minorities.

Many unborn girls will also be more likely to be aborted by those who hold "values" that they should have more boys than girls. Certain extremist Hindu and extremist Muslim sects, as well as some seculars, hold these views.

I just find it odd that given the views of white suprimacists, they would be against Obama. Because of his proposed legislation, millions of Blacks, Hispanics, and other minorities will die, which puts Obama's agenda of the legalization and encouragement of the killing of minorites in line with those of white supremacists.

For me, I refuse to support Obama's agenda to legalize abortion which hurts and ends human lives especially those of minorites and women. You don't think it does? Hang out in front of an abortion clinic sometime and see how happy all the people are who go in. See who goes in and see how they act. Everyone knows what is going on in there, they just refuse to face the truth.

May God have mercy on all their souls.

RS

Abortion and Politics

The US Bishops have an excellent article addressing the issue of abortion and the political sphere in responding to Senator Biden's recent erroneous statements.

I recently had a small argument with a Catholic friend of mine who kept approaching the abortion issue from the angle of Church teaching. However, the abortion issue falls under natural law. Abortion isn't wrong just because the Church teaches it's wrong. Abortion is wrong because it is an intrinsic evil, that is, it is the termination of an innocent human life. Murder, the killing of an innocent human being, is something that all persons intrinsically know is wrong. The stage of development does not make a person any less human or alive. Thus the Church's teachings on abortion affirm this natural order. Abortion is not a religious issue per se, it is a human rights and justice issue.

Senator Biden was acting like abortion was an issue similar to the Immaculate Conception. A Catholic can't make laws that say everyone has to believe in the Immaculate Conception. But Catholics as well as any human person are obliged to follow the natural law and work to stop the killing of innocent human lives which happen in abortion. This is also why abortion is never morally permissible.

The US Bishop's article follows [with my emphasis]

Bishops Respond To Senator Biden’s Statements Regarding Church Teaching On Abortion

WASHINGTON—Cardinal Justin F. Rigali, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop William E. Lori, chairman, U.S. Bishops Committee on Doctrine, issued the following statement:

Recently we had a duty to clarify the Catholic Church’s constant teaching against abortion, to correct misrepresentations of that teaching by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on “Meet the Press” (see http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2008/08-120.shtml). On September 7, again on “Meet the Press,” Senator Joseph Biden made some statements about that teaching that also deserve a response.

Senator Biden did not claim that Catholic teaching allows or has ever allowed abortion. He said rightly that human life begins “at the moment of conception,” and that Catholics and others who recognize this should not be required by others to pay for abortions with their taxes.

However, the Senator’s claim that the beginning of human life is a “personal and private” matter of religious faith, one which cannot be “imposed” on others, does not reflect the truth of the matter. The Church recognizes that the obligation to protect unborn human life rests on the answer to two questions, neither of which is private or specifically religious.

The first is a biological question: When does a new human life begin? When is there a new living organism of the human species, distinct from mother and father and ready to develop and mature if given a nurturing environment? While ancient thinkers had little verifiable knowledge to help them answer this question, today embryology textbooks confirm that a new human life begins at conception (see www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/bioethic/fact298.shtml). The Catholic Church does not teach this as a matter of faith; it acknowledges it as a matter of objective fact.

The second is a moral question, with legal and political consequences: Which living members of the human species should be seen as having fundamental human rights, such as a right not to be killed? The Catholic Church’s answer is: Everybody. No human being should be treated as lacking human rights, and we have no business dividing humanity into those who are valuable enough to warrant protection and those who are not. This is not solely a Catholic teaching, but a principle of natural law accessible to all people of good will. The framers of the Declaration of Independence pointed to the same basic truth by speaking of inalienable rights, bestowed on all members of the human race not by any human power, but by their Creator. Those who hold a narrower and more exclusionary view have the burden of explaining why we should divide humanity into those who have moral value and those who do not and why their particular choice of where to draw that line can be sustained in a pluralistic society. Such views pose a serious threat to the dignity and rights of other poor and vulnerable members of the human family who need and deserve our respect and protection.

While in past centuries biological knowledge was often inaccurate, modern science leaves no excuse for anyone to deny the humanity of the unborn child. Protection of innocent human life is not an imposition of personal religious conviction but a demand of justice.

RS

Requéscat in pace Dom Gerard Calvet

I am a couple of days late on this only because I just found out.

Please pray for the soul of Dom Gerard Calvet, OSB. He is the founder of the community that is now Le Barroux in France.

Dom Gerard during the Canon of his jubilee Mass
I had the opportunity to meet him while on retreat at Le Barroux during Lent of 2002. He was an extremely warm and humble man, very devout and traditional, but never "rigid" or cold as many people tend to stereotype traditional Catholics.

He was also very involved in the pro-life movement in France, as evidenced here:

Renowned French Pro-Life Abbott Dies at Age 80

He has definitely been a great instrument of God's grace. Please remember him in your prayers.

Requéscat in pace.

RS

Prayer request for dadwithnoisykids and his family

Please pray for dadwithnoisykids and his family. This family is amazing not only in their openness to life, but also in their courage and faith in the midst of difficult times.

Mother Mary, Queen of Heaven and earth, pray for us.
Saint Therese of Lisieux, pray for us.
Saint Catherine of Siena, pray for us.

Tomb of Saint Catherine of Siena at Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, Italy.
(click picture to embiggen)
RS

Scripture for Catholic Schools

Today's Office of Readings had the Second Epistle of Saint John, which has an interesting quote that Catholic schools should remember when choosing commencement speakers:

Anyone who is so "progressive" that he does not remain rooted in the teaching of Christ does not possess God, while anyone who remains rooted in the teaching possesses both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you who does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house; do not even greet him, for whoever greets him shares in the evil he does.

Yes, and that is even the I.C.E.L. translation.

RS

Two Pro-Life Videos

Way back in April, The American Papist posted these two videos, and I thought, now that I have my own blog, I would also post them here.
His original posts are at these two links:
Partial-Birth Abortion "Demo"
and
Rap video

The first is a doctor giving "demonstration" (using a doll) to a group of studens on what actually happens in a partial-birth abortion. Even though many know, it somehow drives home the point seeing it this way. The video in his link still works, so you can watch the video there.

The rap video "Can I Live?" is based on rapper Nick Cannon's true life story where his mother seriously considered aborting him, but decided to not to. It is well done and the video is very powerful. Apparently this was a rather popular video on B.E.T. as well.

EDIT - Links to the rap video have been removed. Nick Cannon's website no longer exists and any links to that bring up links to extremely inappropriate sites instead.

These are definitely videos to "pass around."

Embryonic Stem Cell Research

I found two excellent articles regarding religion and embryonic stem cell research, they are definitely worth the read.

Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk speaks about "imposing our beliefs"

and

The Blog "Cosmos-Liturgy-Sex" talks about how Germany may have learned something from its past mistakes.

Pro Life Search Engine

With the Fourth of July in full gear, I'll just post this quick note.

I found a search engine with donates money to Pro-Life organizations. I have been using it for a few months now, and from what I have seen everything looks to be trustworthy and moral. It is powered by Google, so your searches won't be limited to some small mom & pop search.
Another nice thing is that it has the Google SafeSearch filter already turned on.

Anyway, spread the word and make ProLifeSearch.com your new homepage.