Why Speculate About Pope Benedict XVI's Health

Just before Christmas our only Catholic newspaper in South Africa, The Southern Cross, chose to post, on its Facebook page, a random story from the Chicago Sun-Times about Pope Benedict XVI’s ailing health.

Frustrated At Inability To Get Marriage Annulled

Here is an extremely interesting post from Fr. Z’s Blog, one of the Blogs that I follow. It involves a topic that I have frequently encountered in discussion amongst Catholics and therefore I thought it would be useful to share it. You can read it below or at source here…

Pastoral Care Of Couples Who Are Cohabiting

Below is a copy of the pastoral letter from Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan regarding couples that are cohabiting. It dates back all the way to April 2011, so its not news, but it is still interesting reading.

Dangers Of Pretentiousness

A priest was due to be honoured at his retirement dinner after 25 years of service in the parish. A leading politician, and a member of the parish, was the self-appointed representative to make the presentation and give a little speech during the retirement dinner.

Satan's Silent Efficiency

"Roughly as many persons are aborted annually as were killed in all six years of World War II, combatants and noncombatants combined. But because soldiers aren't marching, tanks aren't rolling and cities aren't burning, few of us notice."

Read the blog, by John Borra, that was linked to this cartoon, here

Sacramental Mistaken Identity

I have just read this post on Patrick Madrid’s Blog. It is really good and I just had to share it.

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Defend Proper Marriage

In a recent letter to his flock, Archbishop John Nienstedt of St Paul and Minneapolis wrote of the duty incumbent upon Christians to defend the proper definition of marriage. The Archbishop also included this prayer in his letter:

Give Nuns The Pill

Remember my recent post about intellectuals falling into the stupidity trap. Well here we go again. You should make sure you are sitting down: “The Catholic Church should supply nuns with the oral contraceptive pill to reduce their higher risk of ovarian and uterine cancer, Australian researchers say.”[i]

God Particle Myth

Yesterday news broke about the fact that scientist may now have discovered the “God Particle”. Watching Sky News and reading other reports, I frequently came across the term “God Particle”.

Does God Exist?

Watch this video produced by New Moment New Ideas Company TV commercial for the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, Ministry of Education and Science. It is part of a social campaign aimed at promoting education. Religion is knowledge, too. Bring religion back to school.

Cut It Off And Throw It Away

“If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.”[1]

Archbishop Urges Non-Believing Catholics To Leave Church

Three cheers for the Archbishop of Dublin. Hip, hip, hooray!

Diarmuid Martin, the Archbishop of Dublin, has urged non-believing Catholics to have the maturity to leave the Church in an RTE documentary, ‘Would You Believe it’? Read at source, or below:

[My Inserts in Bold]

New Mass Translation

Here is a beautiful editorial, from “Catholic New York”, about the new English translation of the Mass. In the face of what has been predominantly negative reporting about the new English translation of the Missal, by media sources who often allege to be Catholic media, I believe that it is essential to promote positive articles like this. Read it at source here, or below:

Fear The Sin Of Fellow Catholics

Apostasy

I came across this article in the Catholic Herald. You can read it at source here, or below, but it is definitely worth reading.

CatholicQ Mass – Jesuit Folly

Is it possible to be so clever that you actually become stupid? I typed this question into Google and was surprised at the number of results I got. Obviously, I am not the first person to wonder how it is possible for obviously extremely clever people to behave so stupidly.

Six Precepts Of The Church

The six precepts of the Catholic Church is something all Catholics have, I am sure, learned verbatim and they are probably old hat to most. I was doing some reading of the Catechism of the Catholic Church today, researching another subject, when I came across the section about the precepts of the Church. I suddenly got the urge to post them to my blog. So here they are, straight from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Fr Barron On New Translation Of The Mass

I found this video clip on YouTube, about the New English Translation of the Mass, extremely good and decided that I would share it with those of you who may be interested.

Missing What Vatican II Tells Us About AIDS

Fr. Anthony Egan recently published an article in the South African Catholic newspaper, The Southern Cross, titled “What Vatican II tells us about Aids”. I was quite excited and was looking forward to some useful insights into what Vatican II has to tell us about HIV/AIDS. I was however soon disappointed when I found the article, as it sadly so often seems to happen, quickly digressed into a discussion about the controversy and moral dilemma caused by the Church’s teaching in Humanae Vitae. (To read Fr. Egan's article click on the link above.)

Jesuit University: Dissent, Sacrilege, Support for Same-Sex Marriage

In a special investigative report released today, The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) provides evidence of “a well-orchestrated attempt to undermine the Church’s doctrine and its stand against homosexual ‘marriage’” at a series of conferences co-sponsored by two Jesuit universities and funded by a radical foundation. 

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Apple May Cause “Steve Jobs” Execution

Business Journal recently published an article titled “Siri's pro-life 'bias' is beta glitch”. This appeared after a number of pro-choice bloggers began to blog about their concerns that Siri would not locate abortion centres when it was requested to do so.

Stop Holding Hands At Mass

I have to say that I loved reading this Decree, issued by the Bishop of Covington, the Most Reverend Roger J. Foys. I have little doubt that this Decree will push up the blood pressure of the modernists, to levels dangerously close to causing a stroke. So, if you’re one of those modernists, who finds obedience to the Church so insufferable, and you also happen to suffer from blood pressure problems, either don’t read this or take your blood pressure medication first.

Pope Benedict XVI: Prayer Intention – December 2011

General intention: 

That all peoples may grow in harmony and peace through mutual understanding and respect.

Mission intention:

That children and young people may be messengers of the Gospel and that they may be respected and preserved from all violence and exploitation.

Wonderful Gift Of Apostolicity

In the face of so many critics of the Church hierarchy and calls to change it, by for example ordaining women, or removing the distinction between the priesthood of the laity and the ministerial priesthood of the clergy, I thought it would be good to share these intercessions, from the Office of Lauds of the Divine Office, for todays feast of St Andrew the Apostle.

Savage Dismissal of Monogamy

It really is hard to believe that this guy, Dan Savage, is considered America's leading sex advice columnist. The fact that anyone takes Dan Savage seriously explains what is so dreadfully wrong with our world and the direction we are going in, and its not a good place.

Truth Is Negotiable?

Surely one the biggest dangers we face as Christians today must be the mistaken belief that there is no absolute truth. We have become convinced, as our level of knowledge of our universe has increased, as our scientific capabilities have improved, that life is not as simple as it may always have seemed. We have fallen into the trap of believing that life is more complicated and that there are no longer simple and clear right or wrong answers. Truth is now negotiable and subjective.

How To Form A Catholic Conscience

I came across this excellent document on "How to form a Catholic conscience". You can read it at source or read it below.

Hacking Inquiry Hacked?

In the UK, the Leveson Inquiry, named after the chairman of the inquiry, Lord Justice Leveson, is revealing just how unethical journalists can be in their pursuit of “news”. I say “news” because, frankly, in my opinion, some of the things that are reported by journalists cannot be classified as news. Malicious gossip is probably a more appropriate term.

Church Fails To Implode

Here are some comments extracted from a report by the Catholic News Association[i] on the new English translation of the Roman Missal. I am pleased to read that on the whole the official introduction of the new English translation of the Roman Missal appears to have gone quite well.

Confession Prepares Us For The Coming

Today is the first day of the season of Advent. The season is a fantastic opportunity to remind myself that I must be constantly preparing for the second coming of our Lord Jesus. “His (Christ’s) first coming was to fulfil his plan of love, to teach men by gentle persuasion. This time, whether men like it or not, they will be subjects of his kingdom by necessity.”[1]

Some Facts About Advent

The season of Advent begins the ecclesiastical year in the Western Churches. The season of Advent always starts on the Sunday of the year that is the closest Sunday to the feast day of St. Andrew, the Apostle. The feast day of St. Andrew is on 30 November.

Priesthood of the Laity - Another Perspective

Fr. Anthony Egan recently published an article in the Southern Cross about the “Priesthood of the Laity”. It was a good article but I could not help wonder why more was not made of the important role that the laity has to play in the ordinary everyday circumstances of their normal daily lives.

Is Embryonic Stem Cell Research Done?

“Has research on embryonic stem cells come to the end of the line” is the first line in an article, by Alessandro Speciale, published earlier this week in the Vatican Insider. The article is titled “The end of the line for stem cells”. I obviously got really excited because we all know what the Catholic Church’s position is on the subject of embryonic stem cell research and this is therefore potentially really good news.