Angelqueen.org

Philippines: Priest bans nude frat 'Oblation Run'

Sat Mar 06, 2010 1:01 am (GMT -5)

Priest bans nude frat 'Oblation Run'

GMA News.TV, Philippines
March 6, 2010
Link to original

A Catholic university chaplain has barred students in Malabon from re-staging their annual naked "freedom run" around the campus to mark their fraternity�s anniversary.

Father Salvador Curutchet of the Institute of the Incarnate Word (Instituto del Verbo Encarnado, or IVE) has banned students of De La Salle Araneta University (DLSU-Araneta) in Malabon City from conducting a nude run as part of their fraternity's traditional anniversary celebrations.

The traditional nude run of the Alpha Phi Omega (APO) fraternity is most closely associated with the organization's University of the Philippines chapter and is popularly known as the "Oblation Run."

'It does not show our Christian values'

"I do not feel that students from a Catholic school should be running around the streets naked. It does not show our Christian values in the community," he told the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN).

An article on the UCAN website said that the run was scheduled for Tuesday and had the approval of the Malabon City Hall.

The Argentinean Curutchet, who has been the school's chaplain for five years, said he felt that it was not appropriate behavior for students from a Catholic university.

Permit granted by City Hall

Members of the APO international students� fraternity staged a similar Oblation Run two years ago.

Randell Tupaz of the student affairs Office at DLSU-Araneta said that APO had a freedom run in 2008, marking the 50th year since the school charter recognized the fraternity.

"Just as they did in 2008, APO members went to the City Hall and applied for a permit to run naked around the streets outside the campus. The permit was granted by city officials again this year," he said.

He said that the run was canceled after Father Curuchet wrote a letter to the school administration advising them to stop it.

Luncheon instead

Tupaz said that the APO members did not fight the ban and pushed on with the 60th anniversary celebration by instead hosting a luncheon for its members and alumni. -TJD, GMANews.TV

Abbott/RenewAmerica Cover Golisano Controversy

Fri Mar 05, 2010 5:56 pm (GMT -5)
Abbott/RenewAmerica Cover Golisano Controversy

� Fri, March 5th, 2010
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Address for this article: http://avewatch.com/?p=695
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matt C. Abbott
Renew America; March 5, 2010
The Ave Maria University, Tom Golisano Controversy

Full Text [http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/abbott/100305] (Update: Abbott�s article was bumped to a link at USAToday [http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Tom+Golisano])

New information:

Just one week before Republican strategist Deal Hudson published his article endorsing Ave Maria University�s honoring of billionaire Golisano, Hudson wrote in an email that his �jaw dropped� to read of AMU�s decision:

�What makes AMU any different from ND [Notre Dame]? How do they defend this?�.

New points from Abbott�s article (excerpts):

If you read Golisano�s December 3, 2009 letter to Monaghan, he stated, �I am pro-life now and have always been pro-life.� By Golisano�s own admission, he has always been pro-life. The key word is always.

As such: When Golisano gave $1 million to Barack Obama in 2008, he did so having always been pro-life. When Golisano supported 50 NARAL-endorsed politicians, he did so having always been pro-life. When Golisano financed ads for NARAL-endorsed politicians, he did so having always been pro-life. When Golisano became the founding sponsor of, and gave between $10 and $25 million to, the Clinton Global Initiative, he did so having always been pro-life. When Golisano ran three times for governor of New York on an abortion-tolerant platform, he did so having always been pro-life.

Furthermore, Golisano has never recanted his breathtaking donations and endorsement of �pro-choice� politicians and �pro-choice� institutions. Golisano�s so-called pro-life record is so poor that Ave Maria University had to approach Golisano and ask him to clarify his position on abortion. It took 15 years for Golisano to claim that he was �misinterpreted� by The New York Times as being pro-choice � and he finally did, in his December 3, 2009 letter to Monaghan, because he was called on it. It is important to note that The New York Times has never retracted Golisano�s quote saying he is �pro-choice.�

Hudson ends by stating that Golisano gave his $4 million to Monaghan and AMU because he believed in them. Then it would follow that Golisano believed even more in Barack Obama, the 50 NARAL-endorsed pro-choice politicians, and the Clinton Global initiative � since he has been immensely more generous with them.

Catholic Bishops Would Promote Sidebar Abortion Funding Ban

Fri Mar 05, 2010 5:47 pm (GMT -5)
Catholic Bishops Would Promote Sidebar Abortion Funding Ban Bill in Senate

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 5, 2010

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A spokesman for the nation's Catholic bishops, who were instrumental in getting the Stupak amendment to ban abortion funding in the House health care bill, said they would work to get a sidebar bill through the Senate to offset the massive abortion funding in the Senate bill the House may approve.

A sidebar bill is a new concept Rep. Bart Stupak floated this week.

Stupak is the de facto leader of the pro-life Democrats in the House who are threatening to reject the Senate health care bill because of its massive abortion funding and other pro-abortion problems.

Stupak's idea of a sidebar bill would have the House and Senate okaying a separate bill to go along with the overall health care measure that bans abortion funding.

However, the Senate already defeated the Nelson amendment by 10 votes and there doesn't appear to be more support for banning abortion funding since then. On top of that, pro-abortion lawmakers could easily use a filibuster to stop the bill from advancing.

Late Thursday, Richard Doerflinger, an associate director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told Politico the bishops would help lobby the Senate for a sidebar bill.

�We would strongly urge everyone, Democratic and Republican, to vote to waive the point of order,� Doerflinger said of urging senators to support procedural rules necessary to approve a bill. �Whether it would be enough to get to 60 votes, I can't predict. We would certainly try.�

�If the Stupak amendment or something equivalent to it were in the reconciliation package on the Senate floor and it was necessary to get 60 votes to waive the point of order,� he said, �we would strongly urge everyone, Democratic and Republican, to vote to waive the point of order.�

Rep. Dale Kildee, a pro-life Michigan lawmaker who, like Stupak, opposes the health care bill over its abortion funding, also told Politico the idea has merit.

�I think it�s something we should explore,� he said. �It could be something that could carry out the bishops� objective.�

�That could be the key vote,� Kildee said of overcoming a filibuster against a sidebar bill. �The bishops could say, �Are you really with us?� That�s the key vote.�

Even if Congress approves both the pro-abortion Senate health care bill and the sidebar bill banning abortion funding, President Barack Obama is under no obligation to sign the sidebar bill.

In fact, he would face tremendous pressure from Planned Parenthood, NARAL and the abortion lobby to veto the bill -- leaving Americans obligated to pay for potentially hundreds of thousands of abortions under the health care measure the sidebar bill enabled.

For pro-life advocates, the main thrust continues to be focusing on defeating the pro-abortion Senate bill in the House. Pro-life groups continue to urge pro-life advocates to contact House members and ask them to vote no on it.

Polish Court Upholds Verdict for Calling Abortion �Killing�

Fri Mar 05, 2010 5:42 pm (GMT -5)
Polish Court Upholds Verdict against Catholic Magazine for Calling Abortion �Killing�

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

KATOWICE, Poland, March 5, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Katowice Appeal Court has today upheld the verdict of the Katowice District Court which ruled in September '09 that the Polish Catholic newspaper Gosc Niedzielny (Sunday Visitor) and its editor-in-chief Fr. Marek Gancarczyk were guilty of making offensive comments by saying abortion is the killing of an unborn child.

A further appeal is expected to go to Poland's Supreme Court.

Fr. Gancarczyk had appealed the earlier decision in the case brought against him by Alicja Tysiac, a woman who had previously won a "wrongful birth" suit against the Polish government at the European Court for Human Rights because she was refused an abortion. Poland permits abortion only in cases of rape, serious handicap in the baby, or serious health risk to the mother.

Ms. Tysiac, who has an eye condition, had been denied an abortion because her doctors decided that the pregnancy would not seriously damage her health.

Following the European Court's ruling, Fr. Gancarczyk published an editorial condemning the court's decision, saying, "In consequence, Ms. Tysiac will receive 25,000 euro damages, plus the costs of proceedings, for not being able to kill her child. In other words, we are living in a world where a mother is granted an award for the fact that she very much wanted to kill her child, but was forbidden to do so."

Katowice District Court ordered Fr. Gancarczyk to pay $11,000 and publish a court-dictated apology, which Fr. Gancarczyk has refused to do.

Pointing out that the District Court judge said she deemed offensive Fr. Gancarczyk�s statement that in seeking to get an abortion, the woman sought to 'kill' her child, the Appeal Court judge said in her decision that she believed the Catholic press should refrain from using decisive and forceful language.

"Christianity is a religion of love and this is what the language used by Catholic press should be like" the presiding judge stated.

An observer at the hearing told LifeSiteNews his opinion of the proceedings: "The court was biased from the start. When the closing statements were heard in court, the judge could not sit still and listen to both sides, as is usually the case and a rule of good manners. The judge kept interrupting the speech of the defense, making faces and comments, indicating, that the case was already lost for Gosc Niedzielny."

Archbishop Damian Zimon of Katowice Archdiocese, upon hearing the verdict, commented in an email to LSN, "The atmosphere around the trial launched against Gosc Niedzielny indicates the activity of abortion circles, which want to change the law in Poland at all cost.

�No state law can undermine God's commandment and the order of Jesus Christ,� he said. �Abortion is the first cause of death in Europe, according to the newest report on Abortion in Europe and Spain presented in Brussels by a Spanish Institute of Family Policy. Let me remind the words of blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta: �the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion (...) if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?�

�Christ reminds us that �whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.��

Fr. Jozef Kloch, spokesman for Polish Bishops' Conference, added his voice to that of Archbishop Zimon, saying, "Christianity is a religion of love, which loves human beings from the first moments of life. It is also a religion which tells the truth, no matter how painful it is."

Gosc Niedzielny issued a statement following the verdict, saying, �We consider this ruling unjust and limiting freedom of speech.�

�The Appeal Court ruling,� said the magazine, �confirms a dangerous precedent, where it is the courts who freely interpret the �context� and �general impression� of articles and thus decide on the shape of opinion journalism in the delicate area of ethical and moral judgments. This constitutes a serious restriction not only of the freedom of speech, but also of the right of Catholics to participate in the public debate.�

The Catholic Association of Journalists in Poland issued a statement condemning the Appeal Court ruling and urging fellow Christian journalists not to be cowed into silence about abortion.

"We consider the verdict an attempt to gag Catholic media, also directed against freedom of speech in a wider sense," the group's statement said in part.

"We call on all journalists, who hold Christian values, not to be afraid to write the truth about abortion, about abortionists and about the supporters of the Holocaust of the 21st century. Because neither the appeal court in Katowice, nor the Strasbourg Tribunal, nor all the courts in the world have the right to forbid us from calling abortion a crime," the statement concluded.

Contact Information:

Justice Stanislaw Dabrowski, Head of the National Council of the Judiciary
ul. Rakowiecka 30
02-528 Warszawa, Poland
Phone: (22) 3-792-792
Fax: (22) 3-792-794
Email: biuro@krs.gov.pl

Send a CC of your letter to:

Archbishop Damian Zimon (Metropolitan of Katowice): kancelaria@kuria.katowice.pl
Archbishop J�zef Michalik (Head of the Polish Episcopate): skep1@episkopat.pl
The Katowice court which issued the verdict: informacja@katowice.so.gov.pl
Gosc Niedzielny newspaper: redakcja@goscniedzielny.pl
Janusz Kochanowski (Civil Rights Commissioner): rzecznik@rpo.gov.pl

See previous LSN coverage:

Polish Magazine Fined for Calling Abortion �Killing� becomes #1 Weekly
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/feb/10020206.html

Former John-Paul II Secretary Condemns Ruling against Polish Priest over Abortion Statements
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/sep/09092509.html

Polish Priest Fined for Comparing Abortion to Holocaust, Saying Abortion is "Killing"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/sep/09092508.html

URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10030506.html

'Catholic' King of Spain Signs Abortion Bill into Law

Fri Mar 05, 2010 5:38 pm (GMT -5)
'Catholic' King of Spain Signs Abortion Bill into Law

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

SPAIN, March 5, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, has signed a bill into law legalizing abortion on demand for the first fourteen weeks of pregnancy.

The law, which was recently passed by the Spanish Congress and Senate, also declares abortion as a "right," allows minors as young as 16 to obtain abortions without their parents' consent, and requires abortionist and homosexualist education in the nation's schools.

The king, a professed Catholic, ignored pleas from a number of theologians and pro-life activists to withhold his signature from the bill, which would have prevented it from being promulgated and applied.

Over 62,000 Spaniards signed a petition asking the king to withhold his approval to the law, through the website www.majestadnofirme.com/ ("majestydonotsign.com").

Although the Spanish constitution apparently requires the king to sign and promulgate laws that are passed by the Parliament, it is unclear if any mechanism can force him to do so.

Catholic moral doctrine prohibits any cooperation in the procurement of abortions, under pain of excommunication.

Human Life International, the world's largest pro-life organization, has condemned the act and said that the king excommunicated himself by signing the law.

Previous LifeSiteNews coverage:

�The world is watching!� Pro-Life Leader Warns Spanish King
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10030203.html

Catholic Theologians Say Spanish King Should Refuse to Sign Pro-Abortion Legislation
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/feb/10021008.html

Proposed Abortion Law Strikes at Legitimacy of the Government: Spanish Catholic Bishops
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09061914.html

URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10030502.html

No Church position on genetically-modified potato

Fri Mar 05, 2010 3:18 pm (GMT -5)
Vatican newspaper: No Church position on genetically-modified potato

Catholic World News
March 05, 2010
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=5631

Following the European Commission�s approval of a genetically-modified potato for industrial purposes, the Vatican newspaper has explained that the Church has taken no position on the issue of genetically-modified produce.

�There has been talk of an explicit 'yes' to the use of genetically modified organisms in agriculture, confusing once again personal commentaries of ecclesiastics with 'official' statements attributed to the Holy See or the Church,� L�Osservatore Romano noted.

Vatican commission to probe Medjugorje?

Fri Mar 05, 2010 3:12 pm (GMT -5)
Vatican commission to probe Medjugorje?

Catholic World News
March 05, 2010
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=5639

Pope Benedict XVI has set up a special commission to weigh the authenticity of the reported apparitions by the Virgin Mary at Medjugorje, according to Italian media reports.

The commission will reportedly be chaired by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the retired vicar of Rome, who has been a trusted ally of the Pope. The investigation would be carried out under the auspices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Bishop Ratko Peric of the Mostar diocese in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where Medjugorje is located, has strongly discouraged pilgrimages and warned the faithful against accepting the reality of the reported apparitions. Bishop Peric was openly dismayed when Vienna's Cardinal Christoph Scho�nborn made a "private" New Year's visit to Medjugorje and made statements that were widely interpreted as encouraging belief in the apparitions. The conflict between the two prelates revived calls for a definitive Vatican pronouncement on "the Medjugorje phenomenon."

Abortion & the Catholic Church: Randall Terry @ the Vati

Fri Mar 05, 2010 2:08 pm (GMT -5)
Abortion and the Catholic Church: Randall Terry Leads Delegation to Vatican From March 17-24. Participants Will Ask Vatican Officials: 'Do Vatican Officials Stand by the Words of Cardinal Ratzinger (Now Pope Benedict XVI) to American Bishops in 2004?'

Also: Bishop Rene Henry Gracida writes letter of introduction, encouraging Vatican Officials to meet with Mr. Terry and The Vanguard of St. Catherine of Siena. See letter: http://www.ahumbleplea.com/Docs/vanguard.pdf

WASHINGTON, March 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by Randall Terry, Director, Insurrecta Nex.

In 2004, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (now Pope Benedict XVI), issued an instruction to American bishops that a "Catholic politician" who is "consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws..." must be "denied the Eucharist." See Cardinal Ratzinger's two page instruction at: http://www.ahumbleplea.com/Docs/WorthinessToReceiveHolyCommunion.pdf

In his clear instruction, entitled,

Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion

General Principles

Cardinal Ratzinger stated:

5. Regarding the grave sin of abortion or euthanasia, when a person's formal cooperation becomes manifest (understood, in the case of a Catholic politician, as his consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws), his Pastor should meet with him, instructing him about the Church's teaching, informing him that he is not to present himself for Holy Communion until he brings to an end the objective situation of sin, and warning him that he will otherwise be denied the Eucharist.

6. When "these precautionary measures have not had their effect or in which they were not possible," and the person in question, with obstinate persistence, still presents himself to receive the Holy Eucharist, "the minister of Holy Communion must refuse to distribute it" (cf. Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts Declaration "Holy Communion and Divorced, Civilly Remarried Catholics" [2002], nos. 3-4). This decision, properly speaking, is not a sanction or a penalty. Nor is the minister of Holy Communion passing judgment on the person's subjective guilt, but rather is reacting to the person's public unworthiness to receive Holy Communion due to an objective situation of sin.

Members of The Vanguard of St. Catherine of Siena will ask for an affirmation from Vatican officials about Cardinal Ratzinger's (now Pope Benedict) statement regarding Communion and Catholic politicians who promote child killing.

Randall Terry states:

"Our quest is for a simple answer from every Vatican official we meet: 'Do you stand by the words of Cardinal Ratzinger in 2004? Is this the teaching of the Church?'"

Background:

In March of 2009, the Vanguard made their first journey to Rome to talk with Prefects and representatives about the crisis in the episcopacy of the Catholic Church in America concerning child killing, and the reception of the Eucharist by politicians who promote child killing.

Vanguard representatives delivered Oves Sine Pastore [Sheep Without a Shepherd]; A Plea to Vatican Officials to Restore Faithful Catholic Leadership in America, and urged Vatican Officials to take specific actions regarding American bishops, and to change the process by which new bishops were selected.

See Oves Sine Pastore at: http://ahumbleplea.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/to_the_bishops.pdf.

See www.AHumblePlea.com for more.

SOURCE Randall Terry, Director, Insurrecta Nex

Late Pope to be Beatified on April 2, 2010?

Fri Mar 05, 2010 8:20 am (GMT -5)
Blessed John Paul II? Late Pope to be Beatified on April 2, 2010
By Deacon Keith Fournier

...and old article but still interesting to consider how sainthood appears to be headed for the man-centered democratic process.

ROME (Catholic Online) � It began with a Polish News Report in the Polish daily �Dziennik� and spread throughout the blogosphere within hours, the late beloved Servant of God John Paul II will be beatified on April 2, 2010. He died on April 2, 2005 at 9:37 p.m. in his private apartment shortly after asking �Let me go to my Father�s House�.

The whole world wept.

At the funeral of this extraordinary 'Servant of the Servants of God' the faithful shouted and carried signs. Both expressed the same "sense of the faithful", "Santo Subito" - a saint immediately.

His beloved friend Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakowwho co-authored the touching book �Let Me Go to the Father's House: John Paul II's Strength in Weakness�, told reporters that the process of beatification would be over soon. His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI has also indicated his desire to conclude the rigorous process soon because that �is what the world is asking for.�

The reliable Polish Daily report indicates that the Congregation for the Cause of the Saints has already concluded the process. It began by special dispensation on June 28, 2005, a mere two months after John Paul's death rather than the standard five years. The "sense of the faithful" concerning the sanctity of the late Pope is clear. The miracles attributed to his intercession are multiple.

The Polish newspaper was not the only print source to make this claim of a pending beatification. The Italian Daily �La Stampa�, another reliable source, in an article written by Giacomo Galeazzi, carried a similar report. It indicated that the position paper has already been forwarded by the theologians who carefully examined the life, message and alleged miracles.Msgr. Tadeusz Pieronek is the polish priest who served as the postulator for the cause of the late pope at the Diocesan level. He commented to La Stampa, �This is very good news�.

Indeed it is! April 2, 2010, five years after the Servant of God John Paul II went to His Father�s House, the world may once again pause to remember a life well lived and a death that opened the portal of heaven to the eyes of a watching world.
_________________
http://www.traditionalcatholicradio.org

Filipino Bishops Demand Ban on Condom Ads, Advocate Warning

Fri Mar 05, 2010 1:27 am (GMT -5)
Filipino Bishops Demand Ban on Condom Ads, Advocate Warning Labels

By Patrick B. Craine

MANILA, Philippines, March 4, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Catholic Bishops of the Philippines have called on the government to ban advertisements for condoms, arguing that condoms promote promiscuity and thus damage marriage and family life as well as contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Bishop Nereo Odchimar, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), stressed that “formation in authentic sexual values, more concretely expressed in premarital chastity and fidelity to spouse, is the only effective way to curb the spread of AIDS.”

On February 13th, the country's Department of Health (DoH) distributed free condoms en masse in the poorer areas of Manila and other regions as part of their campaign to fight the spread of AIDS. Numerous Catholic bishops rebuked the government; some even called for Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral to be fired. The DoH, however, has defended their actions.

In Tuesday's statement, Bishop Odchimar pointed out that “given its high failure rate, the condom cannot really put a stop to AIDS.” The condom “encourages promiscuity,” he said, “by creating a false sense of security” and thus further contributes to the spread of AIDS."

The resources used to promote condoms should instead be used “to fight diseases that afflict millions of people in our country each year,” he said, as well as to provide “food, medicines, education and work.”

“The condom business is a multi-million dollar industry that heavily targets the adolescent market, at the expense of morality and family life,” the bishop continued. “Condom advertisements should be banned in television, radio, movies, newspapers, magazines, and public places, as they desensitize the youth’s delicate conscience and weaken their moral fibers as future parents.”

He goes on to advocate warnings on condom packages such as those found on cigarettes. The warning, he says, should read: “Condoms may fail to protect from AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.”

There were only 629 confirmed new cases of HIV/AIDS in the country of 88 million people last year, and the nation boasts one of the lowest infection rates in Asia. About 80% of the population is Catholic, and the bishops exercise considerable influence.

Dr. Ligaya Acosta, Regional Coordinator for Asia with Human Life International, also decried the DoH for its promotion of condoms.

“We condemn the Department of Health for advocating the use of condoms when they know that based on abundant scientific researches, does not prevent pregnancy and actually increases the risk of HIV, which leads to AIDS and dozens of other sexually-transmitted diseases,” she told Inquirer.net. “They are lying to the people."

Dr. Acosta worked with the DoH for 28 years as a firm believer in the benefits of contraceptives and population control before her conversion to the pro-life perspective in 2004.

She told Inquirer.net that the best way the government can prevent sexually transmitted diseases would be to promote "abstinence until marriage and being faithful to your partner."

“Abstinence is the only foolproof way of preventing the spread of HIV-AIDS and maintaining a monogamous relationship, being faithful to your partner,” she said.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Filipino Bishops: "Condoms and Irresponsible Sex Increases Spread of AIDS"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/feb/10021604.html