GULP Exam: Guess the liturgical color

Courtesy of the liturgical and theological shenanigan school called Euntes Mission Center in Zamboanga City.

I am banging my head thinking the liturgical color for this one.

And is that a Hindu or Buddhist pose?

Really banging my head.

How to celebrate Halloween, the Catholic way

Taylor Marshall of Cantervury Tales has an interesting post about doing the All Hallow's eve celebration....the Catholic way.

He posted this last year and still makes for a good read.

Click here for more.

You can also read this interesting post from the "Association of Catholic Women Bloggers" about the Catholic way of doing things in this highly secularized commemoration of All Saint's Day Eve.

The demonic forces are being paraded on the streets. Why not people worth emulating like the saints, eh?

A brief background, Halloween has its origins from the Celtic festival for Samhain, the Celtic god of the dead, or in some literature, a demon who roams the earth together with otehr vile creatures on Oct. 31. According to legend, people dress up looking like the dead or other scary creature to confuse Samhain, thinking that he is looking at one of his kind because if he sees a human being, he would kill the person or possess the person. So in a way, the festival of dressing up like scary creatures is a way of "escaping the wrath of Samhain", more like a paganistic ritual. The TV series, Supernatural, even had one episode about this.

So, if you want to teach a valuable Catholic lesson to your kids, dress them up as saints and angels. Not as demons or zombies.

You don't want your kids to know more about these vile creatures in exchange for sweets.

The bishop's conference of England and Wales also made the similar appeal last year.

Where's EWTN?

Is it just me and my subscription or ABS-CBN's Skycable just pulled EWTN from its service without notice?

Hmmm...

Hollywood to make Biblical movies

Interesting to know that Hollywood is once again looking to produce Biblical movies after media moguls who are mostly Jewish scorned Mel Gibson's epic "The Passion of the Christ".

Snapshot: The Pope arrives in Assisi

Stage dive!  Woohoo!

Jay Leno's wife: Koran is more liberal to women than the Bible

And it is not even part of the routine of Jay Leno on the Tonight Show.

Taken from the Examiner.

***

When asked about the role of Islam in the status of women in Afghanistan, Leno confirmed that “the Quran is more liberal with women than the Bible.” She added that Prophet Mohammad was married to a wealthy and powerful woman, implying that Islam has nothing against empowering women; on the contrary it is a religion that supports women’s rights. Culture, on the other hand, affects the interpretation of religious texts which results in assaulting women’s rights.

***

She thinks she is funny.

No, she was dead serious when she said it.

If she thinks that women in Islam are treated well, then why in 1999, the Leno couple, donated $100,000 to Feminist Majority Foundation's Campaign to Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan, a feminist organization Mrs. Leno supports since 1997 to further the cause of educating the public about the plight of Afghan women under the Taliban. So the Taliban was punishing Afghan women based on what?  Just pure gender issue and no influence from their religion?  Bin Laden was waging terror and mass murder on the world based on....?

No wonder we have these...

And they are not because of the book.

Wonder what drove them to do these to women?

Maybe, according to Mrs. Leno, the Bible has this.

Right. Because real feminists would be quick to bash Catholicism and Christianity and be coy and politically correct when it comes to Islam and Muslims.

Right, Beth Angsioco and Sylvia Claudio?

And It thought these women are women of courage.

Piffle!

By the way, the Leno couple do not have children and do not want to adopt.  But Jay Leno has 100 cars and more than 90 rare motorcycles.  He even has a website dedicated for it.  What "doting parents" they are, eh?

Episcopal Church - quality over quantity?

The Episcopalian Church in the US has its membership from 2,006,343 members in 2009 to 1,951,907 in 2010.

Why could they be losing members?

They allowed ordination of women.

Ordained openly and active homosexuals.

Blessed homosexual unions.

Allowed contraception. I dunno if they support early term abortion.

And all those "signs of the times" aggiornamento theology that unfortunately, some theologians at Loyola, most in Maryhill and St. Vincent and Euntes advocate, are the very reasons that sifts the membership coffers of the Episcopalian Church. Note to these "Catholic" theologians:  JUST STOP IT.  IT's NOT WORKING.

As this quote from the report says:

"Departures to other churches have fueled Episcopal decline, as have decreasing baptisms and its graying population.

"These statistics contrast sharply with more theologically conservative Anglican churches in the global south, many of which are witnessing skyrocketing numbers.

"Despite all its liberal cheer leading about inclusiveness, the Episcopal Church is a dwindling, nearly all white, increasingly gray-headed denomination with a grim future, absent divine intervention."

So what, they aim for quality of members over quantity?

Like this quantity?

Uhm, can I phone a friend?

Read about the shrinking number of souls professing the Episcopalian Faith here.

By the way, ever heard of ANGLICANORUM COETIBUS?

Muslim students want crucifix out of their classroom

But they are studying in the CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA for cryin out loud!

They were not forced to join the university!  They chose to!  And now they are crying religious persecution?

Let's try ask Saudi Arabia about their respect for other faiths eh?

You can read about this disturbing Islamization of America over here at Jihad Watch.

Fr. Frank Pavone and his bishop

I guess all of us knew international pro-life crusader Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life being asked by his bishop, Most Rev. Patrick Zurek.

As we analyze the reports, it seems like it was the Bishop who does now want to meet with Fr. Pavone without an arbiter.

You can read all about this in Sancte Pater.

Relics for Sale on the Web

I found this on the Web and PLEASEEEEE, don't ask me for the URL.

Vatican silver reliquary 2nd class relic Jesus Christ vestment purple cloak

Authentic official Vatican real second class relic “ex indumentis”, [from the clothing.] a small piece of the vestment of our Lord Jesus of Nazareth, in a stunning silver reliquary completely handmade in 1700s, an actual museum piece. The relic is part of the holy purple cloak worn by Jesus Christ during the passion, covered by an ancient glass [How would you know that it is...uhm...ancient?]  and with the original wax seal that assures the integrity of the relic. The silver reliquary showing the signs of old age, but the relic and the wax seal are perfect. Inside the reliquary some gilded paper decorations handwritten in Latin with the words “De Purpurae D.N.”. [ What?!?!  "from the PURPLE of Our Lord?]  Rare and unique item and available only to Vatican, lifetime guaranteed. ______ policy prohibits the sale of human remains and requires a disclosure of what the relics are: these relics are a piece of cloth, which are allowed by ______ policy. They are sacred and devotional relics of the Church.

The item will be shipped from Vatican City by Vatican Post Service. Standard registered airmail shipping is 8 USD. [Someone is sneaking something out of the Vatican?!?!  SISTER!!!]

US $3,600.00

If this is REALLY the cloak the Lord was wrapped around during the Passion, then it DEFINITELY must have His Blood, Sweat and Tears on it.

But......................

Has anyone really saved a first class relic of the Lord, other than the True Cross, which unfortunately has reportedly fakes going around and was even sold indiscriminately, along with other purported relics of other saints, during the time that Martin Luther threw a nutty?  This is one of the abuses that Luther "protested" (thus the term Protestant) and that the Council of Trent addressed appropriately.  But I digress.

An exorcist once told me that he has a relic of the True Cross with him. To test it's authenticity, he used it in one of the exorcism rites he performed and the possessed reacted violently when the relic was presented to it. Okay, it is true. :)

But this!

Geez!  Cloak of the Lord that was wrapped on Him during the Passion?!

Note to everyone!  Sale of relics is prohibited according to the Code of Canon Law!

Not of fake ones though, which obviously this one is.

So, wanna buy, Joe?

I am coming to Cebu!

MANILA, Oct. 26, 2011—The Queen City of the South plays host to the next big gathering of luminaries, workers and newcomers in the pro-life movement as the National “Philippines for Life” Congress 2011 happens on Nov. 16-18 at the Summit Circle Hotel, Cebu City.

Organized by Human Life International (HLI) Pilipinas, the conference gathers pro-life leaders from the government, the Church and the private sector to impart their knowledge and insight on varied topics. Among the speakers are Senate Majority Leader Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Davao Representative Karlo Nograles, former senator Francisco “Kit” Tatad, former Manila mayor Jose “Lito” Atienza, Jr., economics expert Dr. Roberto de Vera of the University of Asia and the Pacific, businessman and The Philippine Star columnist Valeriano “Bobit” Avila, HLI Asia and Oceania Director Dr. Ligaya Acosta, Antipolo Bishop Gabriel V. Reyes DD, Bacolod Bishop Vicente M. Navarra, DD, and Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (CBCP-ECFL) Executive Secretary Fr. Melvin Castro.

Mass will be celebrated daily during the three-day conference, with Cebu Archbishop Jose S. Palma DD, Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, and Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios M. Pueblos DD presiding.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia will likewise grace the conference.

“Every year, there are always new topics to be discussed and a new set of speakers who will deliver their important pieces. These are among the reasons why our participants coming from different parts of the country are always enticed to come to hear, listen and meet with the speakers, especially if there are new insights and new challenges in the pro-life crusade,” said Rene Josef Bullecer, M.D., HLI Pilipinas director, who has been organizing pro-life conferences, symposia, rallies and other such activities for the past 15 years.

“This is the best venue for the exchange of ideas where any ordinary delegate can ask the experts directly,” he said.

“Also all our regular delegates who are mostly lay leaders in the many archdioceses and dioceses all over the country use this event to meet their other counterpart workers, receive more challenges and as a way for much-needed rest and recreation before returning to their respective areas of concern,” Bullecer added.

This year’s HLI-sponsored conference – titled “Surrender is not an Option, Compromise is not the Solution” – also serves as a show of force for pro-life and pro-family organizations and to let others know that they are “very much alive, moving, growing and gaining ground…especially now that we are in the middle of the battle against the anti-life bills in [the legislature],” Bullecer enthused.

The fee for the National “Philippines for Life” Congress is P1,400 per participant (excluding hotel accommodations), but those who wish to avail of a discounted fee may do so by registering before November 1. The early registration fee of P1,100 may be deposited to the following: Metrobank Account # 3083308078818, Account Name: Rene Josef Bullecer.

For more information, please send an email to renejosef@yahoo.com (CBCP for Life)

***

Don't try to ask me to meet you.  I'll remain incognito for obvious reasons.  :)

I'll definitely visit the Señor!

Viva!

Images of the New Liturgical Movement in the Philippines

Emailed to me by a couple of friends.

At the Cathedral of Cubao with the Bishop of Cubao celebrating and Fr. Jojo Zerrudo as MC in amaranth cassock, proper for an MC of a bishop.  Note the Benedictine altar arrangement.  Cubao is one of the beautiful cathedrals in the country I love to visit.

The Ateneo Latin Mass Society (ALMS)with the highly respectable liturgist, Jesuit Father Tim Ofrasio celebrating.  Happy to know that ALMS is growing!  Kudos to the Monk's Hobbit.

Benedictine Altar Arrangement and traditional altar linens in the Cathedral of Novaliches.  One of the rare times that the huge candelabra on the floor near the altar is not.  FYI to those in Novaliches who worship in the Cathedral, those are not real candles!

Keep those photos coming in!

Thank the Lord for Pope Benedict XVI, Redemptionis Sacramentum and  Summorum Pontificum!

Bring back the sense of the sacred in our public worship and in our churches!

***

PS:  When can I post these kinds of pictures....uhm....about the Manila Cathedral?  Will Archbishop Tagle have this?  I did not see that in Imus Cathedral?  Wait and see!

The Liturgy Exposed!

Ha!

Can't help it.

American Catholics surveyed, and the results are in!

And they are not surprising

From the Washington Post.

***

WASHINGTON — American Catholics have by and large remained loyal to the core teachings and sacraments of their faith, but increasingly tune out the hierarchy on issues of sexual morality, according to a new study released Monday (Oct. 24)  [Relativism anyone?]

That trend holds true across generational and ideological divides, and even applies to weekly Mass attenders, according to the survey, which has been conducted every six years since 1987.

“It’s the core creedal sacramental issues that really matter to American Catholics, more than the external trappings of church authority,” said Michele Dillon, a sociologist at the University of New Hampshire and a co-author of the report, in releasing the report at the National Press Club.

At the same time, the authors note, Catholic loyalty and identity remain remarkably strong, even as 83 percent of Catholics say the clergy sexual abuse scandal has hurt the bishops’ moral and political credibility.

“By and large, Catholics like being Catholic,” said co-author Mary Gautier of Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.

The report identified two-thirds of U.S. Catholics as “moderately committed,” a group that inched up in size as the share of “highly committed” has shrunk from 27 percent in 1987 to 19 percent this year.

More than half (56 percent) say they would “never leave” the Catholic Church, and one in three say it is unlikely they would leave. Three-quarters of respondents said “being Catholic is a very important part of who I am.” [As some of the dissidents say.  They would stay Catholic but would not agree with the teachings of the Church.  I recall having a nun for a theology professor and she is openly for women's ordination.]

Across the board, Catholics tend to agree on four key markers — the resurrection of Jesus (73 percent), helping the poor (67 percent), devotion to the Virgin Mary (64 percent), and the centrality of the sacraments (63 percent) — as core to their Catholicism.

Opposition to abortion (40 percent) and to same-sex marriage (35 percent), and the authority of the Vatican (30 percent) and support for a celibate, all-male clergy (21 percent) were further down the list.  [Choose your own Church?  Cafeteria Catholics?  Hodge podge Catechism?  What do you expect?  We had these hippie type ever since we showed how it can be done to our highest form of worship and public expression of our Faith, the Holy Mass.  If we can do that to the Mass, then it is open season for everything that the saints and martyrs lived and died for.]

The issue of homosexuality showed one of the largest gaps between the pulpit and the pews. The portion of Catholics who say church leaders have “the final say” on homosexuality has plunged by half, from 32 percent to 16 percent, over the past 25 years, while those who say individuals make the final call has shot up from 39 percent to 57 percent.  [Situational morality anyone?  I was thought that too by priests.  If you think at that time it is ok, then it must be ok!]

Dillon noted that other issues have remained relatively stable, which leads her to conclude that Catholics are taking their cues from the larger culture, much like they did on birth control.  [Catholics are being shaped by the media as well.]

“They’ve made up their own minds on that issue and I think they see same-sex marriage in the same way,” she said. “It’s reflective of the culture but also indicative of Catholic autonomy.”

The survey also confirms that American Catholicism is also increasingly Latino, with about a third of Catholics in the United States identifying as Hispanic — a figure that has tripled in size in the past 25 years.

Even as Catholic loyalty persists, weekly Mass attendance continued to decline, from 44 percent to 31 percent. Those who go less than once a month grew, from 26 percent to 47 percent.  [I guess why?  Priest not too entertaining?  Mass is said in archaic language?  English used is too Shakesperean?  Liturgical dancers not too uplifting?  Not enough women on the altar?  Mass readings not too relevant to the modern age?]

“Monthly Mass has become the new weekly,” Dillon said. “Catholics are still remaining in touch with the sacraments and the Mass even though they’re not saying they need to go because it’s an externally imposed mandate from the hierarchy.”

Ironically, while the bishops may not appreciate the growing distance between the pulpit and the pew, that gap may have helped shield American Catholicism from some of the fallout from the abuse scandal. [?]

Roughly one in three Catholics give the bishops good-to-excellent marks in handling the crisis, with everyone else giving them poor-to-fair marks. Those numbers are only slightly better for weekly Mass-goers.

The loosening ties to the authority of the hierarchy may also parallel a diminishing commitment to the poor and to parish life.

In the 2011 survey, 60 percent of Catholics said you could be a good Catholic without donating time or money to help the poor, up from 44 percent in 2005. Similarly, three-quarters (74 percent) said you could be a good Catholic without donating time or money to a parish, up from 58 percent six years earlier. [Uhm...how do you prove you "Love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and your neghbor as yourself."?  Faith alone?]

Even among the “highly committed” Catholics, the importance of helping the poor fell from 39 percent to 30 percent in the past six years, which co-author William D’Antonio of Catholic University attributed to a “recession that they weren’t confronting in 2005.”

The survey also shows U.S. Catholics to be as discerning about their political leaders as they are about their bishops.  [Though Catholic bishops are not elected by the people like political leaders or Episcopalian bishops.]

Some 57 percent of Catholics say they identify to some degree as Democrats, compared to 40 percent for the GOP. In recent elections Catholic voters have alternately backed George W. Bush and Barack Obama, confirming them as a large and crucial swing vote.  [And thanks to Barack Obama, his anti-Catholic policies are drawing the Catholic vote away for the Democrats.]

The new survey indicates that Catholics in the pews will continue to make up their own mind in the ballot box, as well as the bedroom.

Views on abortion and care for the poor continue to be the chief markers dividing Catholic Democrats and Catholic Republicans; nearly half (48 percent) of Republicans said the church’s teaching against abortion was very important, compared to just 35 percent of Democrats.  [Democrats are hungry for dead babies, eh?]

Catholic Democrats, on the other hand, were more likely than Republicans to say helping the poor was a religious priority, by a 72-61 percent margin.

The online survey of 1,400 adult Catholics (with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points) was conducted by D’Antonio, Gautier and Dillon in cooperation with the National Catholic Reporter, an independent newsweekly.


***

And I thought Vatican II will usher in a new springtime, a new Pentecost?And I thought that a new vernacular Mass, where priest becomes Bob Barker would usher in more Catholics?

Is it just me or did the Vatican II maniacs sounded like they are a bunch of mall guys in tie?

Simply irritating.  More of the talk, less of the results you'd expect.

With RH, you're dead, boy!

Click the photo for a larger view. WAAAAYYYY larger.

The poster was designed by the Knights of Columbus in partnership with Teodora: In Defense of the Authentic Woman.

Communion on the Hand? Really?

CBCP Official Statement on the murder of Fr. Fausto Tentorio, PIME

ON this World Mission Sunday, October 23, 2011, we acknowledge our great indebtedness to all foreign missionaries. They are friends of our people. In great sacrifice they have strengthened our faith and assisted the poor and the needy. We pray for them today.

We pray for Fr. Fausto Tentorio, PIME, a missionary for more than 30 years. His brutal murder outside the parish rectory in Arakan, Diocese of Kidapawan has shocked everyone.

We condemn and denounce in the strongest possible terms the heinous and monstrous crime against the life of Fr. Fausto.

Simple and humble in life, Fr. Fausto was deeply esteemed by the indigenous peoples whose cultural and territorial rights he promoted and defended. He was deeply loved by the people whose spiritual welfare he looked after.

How long will evil men continue to plot against those who courageously protest against the sufferings of the poor and the degradation of God’s creation? How long shall they continue to snuff out the lives of those who dare to speak against injustices and imbalances in our society? How long will they continue to roam around freely without being brought to justice?

The government must act decisively and swiftly. It must investigate thoroughly every angle of the murder of Fr. Fausto. It cannot simply point at the usual scapegoats.

We express our deep sympathy with the missionary community of the PIME, to the Bishop, clergy, religious, and laity of the Diocese of Kidapawan and to Fr. Fausto’s relatives in Italy. Our grieving with them goes beyond words.

Fr. Fausto strove throughout his priestly and missionary life to walk humbly, act justly, and love the Lord and his people passionately. May Mary our Blessed Mother lead him to the fullness of life given by Jesus her Divine Son.

+NEREO P. ODCHIMAR, D.D.
Bishop of Tandag
President, Catholic Bishops’ Conference
of the Philippines
October 23, 2011

One financial authority

VATICAN CITY, 24 OCT 2011 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office, a press conference was held to present a note from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace entitled: "Towards reforming the international financial and monetary systems in the context of a global public authority". The document was presented by Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson and Bishop Mario Toso S.D.B., respectively president and secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and by Leonardo Becchetti, professor of political economy at the Roman University of "Tor Vergata".

Cardinal Turkson mentioned the sixth summit meeting of heads of government of the G-20 nations, due to take place in Cannes, France, on 3 and 4 November to discuss issues related to finance and the global economy. "The Holy Father and the Holy See", he said, "are following these matters with particular concern, constantly calling not just for 'joint action', but for 'examination of every facet of the problem: social, economic, cultural and spiritual'. It is in this spirit of discernment that the Holy See, with the note of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, wishes to make a contribution which might be useful to the deliberations of the G-20 meeting".  [what we have now is not only a failure to communicate, but a failure to see the immorality of doing business in today's capitalistic society!  Ever heard why we have "Occupy Wall Street", huh?]

Bishop Toso explained that the aim of the note is "suggest possible paths to follow, in line with the most recent social Magisterium, for the implementation of financial and monetary policies ... that are effective and representative at a global level, and which seek the authentic human development of all individuals and peoples". [No other religion or church made this stand.  I am pretty sure the Iglesia ni Cristo would not issue any statement about the global crisis, because they are practically running the pockets of their believers DRY!  Isn't that a form of capitalism?]

The Church does not wish to enter into the technical issues behind the current economic crisis, but remains within the ambit of her religious and ethical functions. [Which is where the Church always talks out loud.]  Thus she [She] highlights not just the moral causes of the crisis but, more specifically, the ideological causes. Old ideologies have been replaced by new ones, "neo-liberalist, neo-utilitarian, and technocratic which, by reducing the common good to economic, financial and technical questions, place the future of democratic institutions themselves at risk".

Bishop Toso spoke of the need to overcome these ideologies by "a new global humanism, open to transcendence, ... an ethic of brotherhood and solidarity, and by subordinating economy and finance to politics, which is responsible for the common good".  [The greed of modern day society perpetrated by Hollywood is what is causing all of this!]

The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, drawing from the social Magisterium of recent Pontiffs particularly John XXIII and Benedict XVI, proposes "that globalisation be regulated by a global public authority", Bishop Toso explained. [The UN is doing that but they prioritize the killing of human babies first and the sterilization of the colored race!]  The council also suggests the reform of current international institutions. They "must become an expression of free and shared agreement among peoples; more representative, and with greater levels of participation and legitimacy. ... They must be 'super partes', at the service of the universal good, capable of offering effective guidance and, at the same time, of allowing each country to express and pursue its own common good, according to the principle of subsidiarity and in the context of the global common good. Only in this way will international institutions manage to favour effective monetary and financial systems; in other words, free and stable markets regulated by an appropriate legal framework and working towards sustainable development and social progress for everyone".

This global authority "must see its power to lead and to deicide - and to impose penalties on the basis of the law - as a form of service to the various members States, a way of ensuring that they possess efficient markets".

To this end, Bishop Toso concluded, "it is necessary to restore the primacy of ethics and, therewith, the primacy of politics, which is responsible for the common good".
CON-IP/ VIS 20111024 (610)

***

In short, the World Bank should be doing this but what the WB is doing is to slowly kill smaller and poorer countries.

Holy Mother Church speaks on the moral and ethical side of economics.

And She will not be silenced.

New saints!

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI named three new saints for the Catholic Church during Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square that was disrupted by a man who climbed out onto the upper colonnade and burned a bible.

Vatican gendarmes, a bishop and the pope's own bodyguard talked the man back from the edge of the colonnade after he shouted, "Pope, where is Christ?" in English and threw the burned bible to the crowd below.  [imagine if this wacko did this in Medina or during the Haj? I read in some reports that he is an Easterner, but we cannot be sure about that, eh?]

Benedict and the thousands in the square appeared unfazed by the incident and carried on with the Mass.

The disruption came toward the end of the two-hour service Sunday to canonize three 19th-century founders of religious orders: Italian bishop and missionary Monsignor Guido Maria Conforti, Spanish nun Sister Bonifacia Rodriguez de Castro and an Italian priest who worked with the poor, the Rev. Luigi Guanella.

St. Guido Maria Conforti

St. Bonifacia Rodriguez de Castro

St. Luigi Guanella

On hand in the crowd was William Glisson Jr., from the Philadelphia area in the U.S., whose cure from a 2002 head injury was declared the miracle needed to canonize Guanella.

Glisson, then 21, had gone into a coma after falling while in-line skating without a helmet; he had two brain surgeries but his doctors didn't give him much hope, according to Guanella's biography. A friend of the family who worked at a Guanella center for the handicapped gave Glisson and his mother two of Guanella's relics, and the family prayed fervently to the Italian priest.

After nine days, Glisson came out of the coma and today works in the family construction supply business.

***

Pray for the Pope.  Ask for the intercession of these new saints for his protection.

KC pray novena prayer to JPII in defense of life

MANILA, Oct. 22, 2011—The Knights of Columbus in the Philippines are united in praying with Blessed John Paul II to Mary, Mother of Life, for the promotion of the “Culture of Life.”

Upon the invitation of the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines and Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar the K of C prayed the novena prayer to Pope John Paul II in time for the celebration of his feast day on Oct. 22.  [today is his feast day!]

“May we invite therefore all our sisters and brothers, who in one way or another were touched by the charisma of Blessed Pope John Paul II, to say this novena prayer,” Bishop Odchimar said in his circulated invitation.

The K of C at the main office conducted the novena prayer with the help of its Spiritual Committee in-charge Ms. Resty Yenzon from Oct. 13-21.

The nine-day prayer ended with a Eucharistic celebration at the San Agustin Church on Oct. 21.

“It is our ardent desire that through the intercession of the amiable Pope, the Reproductive Health Agenda would not pass and be entirely scrapped in the Philippine Legislature,” Bishop Odchimar added.

The late Pope John Paul II was beatified on May 1, 2011 (Divine Mercy Sunday) by Pope Benedict XVI at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, witnessed by a multitude of the faithful.

Blessed John Paul II is also known as “Pope of Life” because of his passionate teachings on the defense of human life, especially in his Encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), which provides a strong foundation for the defense of human life and the promotion of the “culture of life” against the “culture of death.” (KC News)

***

Unfortunately, I do not have a copy of the novena yet.  I will post it here as soon as I get hold of a copy.

New English translation of the Missal presented to the Pope

From Catholic Herald.

***

Bishop Arthur Roche of Leeds [In the photo with the Pope below.] yesterday presented Pope Benedict XVI with a specially made white version of the new Roman Missal.  [is that Peter Jackson?  :D]

Bishop Roche, chairman of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL), [pronounce "I sell"] opened and showed the missal to the Pope, who then leafed through it, pausing on the illustrated pages.

The missal was a specially bound version of the Catholic Truth Society (CTS) altar missal used by priests in Britain.

Accompanying Bishop Roche was Mgr Bruce Harbert, former executive director of ICEL, Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne and Pierpaolo Finaldi, [oh, that's the Peter Jackson lookalike.] commissioning editor at the CTS.

According to Mr Finaldi, the Pope immediately asked how the new English translation had been received in parishes and remarked on the importance of beauty in liturgical books. Bishop Roche said the translation had been received well.  [Well, except for those trapped in the '70s.]

Mr Finaldi, who oversaw the production of all the new CTS missals, said it was “like handing in your homework after 10 years”.  [Except for those who wanted 10 years more!]

He said: “It was John Paul II who set the ball rolling in 2001 [with Liturgiam authenticam], so it was great to be able to bring it back with the job done.”  [Read the document folks and you'll see why we need to re-translate the Missal.]

The altar missal, which costs £230, contains illustrations from the Ingeborg Psalter, a 12th-century illuminated manuscript.

The Pope’s version is bound in top-grade white leather, using a technique known as German binding.  [I've got to study this technique.]

Earlier in the year Mr Finaldi said that CTS had for a long time sought to improve the aesthetic value of its books.

“The most beautiful thing in the world is the love of Christ for us, for his Church. So things presented for the Church should always be beautiful. They are made for God – to raise people’s spirits to God,” he said.

***

But the hippies would say:  "But Christ was simple. He did not emphasize on the externals. See how he hated the Pharisees and their long robes!"

Don't be fooled folks.  Christ condemned the incongruity of what is outside from what is inside the Pharisees.  Christ was a faithful and devout Jew.  He wore what the Pharisees wore in the proper occasion. The Pharisees wore the Jewish prayer garments to attract attention, not as a witness of what they really have inside.

So, wearing a religious item, beautifying our churches, celebrating our liturgy with pomp and reverence is not being Pharisaical.  It is giving what is due to God.

If theses hippies continue saying this, ask them:  "Can we take a look at your room?"

Chances are they are anything but SIMPLE.

Now who is the Pharisee?

Pope: New translation can help us pray better

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The new English translation of the Mass is the result of a long process of international cooperation and is meant to help Catholics pray better, Pope Benedict XVI told Australia's bishops.  [I wonder if the old translation is anything close  to this one.]

The new translation, which most Australian dioceses began introducing in parishes on Pentecost in June, "is intended to enrich and deepen the sacrifice of praise offered to God by his people," the pope said Oct. 20. [And here in the Philippines, the third largest English speaking country in the world...we would have to wait til next year for the translation to take effect.  Makes you wonder.  Is it really for the proper catechetical training of the people or just plain theological agenda?]

The morning after joining the bishops for the inauguration of the Domus Australia, a pilgrim center in Rome, the pope welcomed the bishops to the apostolic palace for the main talk of the "ad limina" visits, which bishops make to report on the church in their dioceses.

Pope Benedict said the new liturgical translation was "the fruit of a remarkable cooperation of the Holy See, the bishops and experts from all over the world."  [Except the one I knew of!]

He asked the bishops to help their priests appreciate the new text and help catechists and musicians do their part to make the Mass "a moment of greater grace and beauty, worthy of the Lord and spiritually enriching for everyone." [Except that some bishops take their cue from a Benedictine monk, who has a dissident liturgical agenda than the Pope, which unfortunately we see him, the monk, playing delaying tactics in CBCP.  Well,  except for Archbishop Soc Villegas who implemented the translation in his Archdiocese, marking the first bishop to not listen to the monk.]

Australian Cardinal George Pell [ad multos annos!] of Sydney is the chairman of the Vox Clara Commission, an international body established by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, to assist in the evaluation of English liturgical translations.

The cardinal told Catholic News Service Oct. 19, "I think a goodly percentage of the people didn't notice the difference" when he began using the new text at the Sydney cathedral. "There are pockets of dissatisfaction, [noisy and nutty ones.] but overwhelmingly the priests and people are happy and they will get used to it. The prayers are immensely richer and there's much less banality."  [Well, not to those who trumpet "active participation" for the sake of banality!]

Some critics have said the new translation has archaic language, clumsy sentence structure and a lack of sensitivity to inclusive language.  [Because you pray to check grammar, to feel women are empowered by saying "Glory to God in the highest and peace to God's people on earth."  when the Latin original is "Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax homonibus.", and when "ineffable" is too ineffable you call it archaic, and when you want to speak the "language of the times", so you opt for "Jejemon" or "Bekimon" language, right?]

Cardinal Pell said some of the vocabulary in the new translation is a bit challenging. For example, the new translation of the creed describes Jesus as being "consubstantial with the Father." The cardinal said, "One gentleman wrote to me and said he didn't understand 'consubstantial,' and I wrote back to him and suggested that he find out."  [That becomes a point where the laity begin studying their Faith!  Lex orandi, lex credendi.]

"One comparison I like to make is that -- although it's a mature, adult English -- (the translation) is a tiny bit like children's literature, because in good children's literature, every couple of pages there's probably a word the children don't understand, that expands their knowledge, and they have to either gather the meaning from the context or enquire about the meaning," the cardinal said.  [Beautiful analogy!   Let's ask literature professors if they want a new translation of Shakespeare or Tolkien books, eh?  Let's see how they rant about this one.]

In his speech to the bishops, Pope Benedict also spoke about the hurt and damage caused by the clerical sex abuse crisis and other failures of church members.

"Yours is a pastoral burden which has been made heavier by the past sins and mistakes of others, most regrettably including some clergy and religious," the pope told the bishops. "The task now falls to you to continue to repair the errors of the past with honesty and openness, in order to build, with humility and resolve, a better future for all concerned."

***

Pray for good bishops that they continue doing good.

Pray for lukewarm bishops that they get back to doing the job they are expected to do.

Pray for the Holy Father that he may have more years in the Chair of Peter!

To Bl. Calungsod Canonization skeptics: Read this!

From UCANews.

Thanks for the tip Jared!

***

A cardinals’ decision this week to approve a decree for the canonization of Blessed Pedro Calungsod means his elevation to the sainthood is imminent, a Church official said today.

Calungsod, who was beatified in 2000, is just waiting formal declaration by Pope Benedict XVI.

Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu [Cardinale subito!] said the cardinals had voted “unanimously in the affirmative” for Calungsod’s canonization.  [Do I hear laughter somewhere?]

He said that after passing investigations made by doctors and theologians, the cause for canonization of Calungsod had also passed the review conducted by the cardinals.

“This means that Blessed Pedro Calungsod has already passed the third and final stage,” Palma said.

He said the declaration will now be submitted to the pontiff.

Another source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it is expected the Pope would formally declare Calungsod a saint before by December.  [Do I hear laughter somewhere?]

“I think that would also be the time that the Pope will announce the date of Blessed Calungsod’s canonization ceremony,” the source said.

The teenager from Cebu was martyred in Guam in 1672 with a Spanish Jesuit priest, now Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores.

Palma earlier said the Offices of the Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints told him the documents on Calungsod are “number one” on the list.

Calungsod, if canonized, will be the first Visayan saint and second Filipino saint in history following San Lorenzo Ruiz who was canonized in Rome in 1988.

***

Skeptic still, Li?

St. Pedro Calungsod...soon!

My good friend, Carlos Antonio Palad of Filipino Catholicism, posted a breaking news about the impending approval of the decree of canonization of the second Pinoy saint, Blessed Pedro Calungsod!

You can read more about it here.

Don't try Googling it. You won't find it yet. Mr. Palad has a great network in the Church, here and abroad.

Message of the Grand Master Mason of the Philippines

Here is an excerpt.

Finally, we hope that the contents of Section III will stimulate all of us Craftsmen, and not only the leaders of the Fraternity, to seek more and more light in Masonry, to live its precepts and principles consistently in daily life, and to disseminate them as widely as we can among our countrymen, particularly those who come under the pale of our influence each day.

Let us all work together in close harmony toward recapturing the spirit of the founding fathers and pioneering members of the Fraternity, so that our non-Mason countrymen will recognize Philippine Masonry as a science of character building and an art of high ethical living that walks arm in arm withscientific and technological advances toward evolving in Philippine society a more just, wiser, more merciful, more peaceful, and more harmonious order.

***

The full text of the message is here.

Uhm...to seek more and more light in Masonry, to live its precepts and principles consistently in daily life?

Why not just try this, eh?

See why Masonry is a religion in itself. It belies their claims that they promote the worship of God among their members and that they encourage their brother Masons to be better members of their individual churches.

No "Ecumenical Prayer" at Assisi

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI has invited Hindus, Jews, Taoists and Muslims to join him next week for a peace pilgrimage to the hilltop town of Assisi — but they won't pray together because Benedict doesn't want to show different beliefs and rituals mixing.  [And I think that this is the right way to go.  You do not pray with pagans and heathens!]

The Oct. 27 event marks the 25th anniversary of the first such interreligious prayer for peace, which was promoted by Pope John Paul II and held in the town known for its native son St. Francis.

Benedict, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, didn't attend that first 1986 meeting and later criticized it as an example of religious relativism — the idea that there are no absolute truths and that all religions are somehow equal — [Ask some of priests and sisters and they will tell you that it is a harmless thing to have an ecumenical prayer service.  And if you say anything to the contrary or will not be amenable to holding such a service, be sure to be labelled a zealot!  This cannot be done by a Catholic.  The god of Islam and Buddhism is NOT and WILL NEVER BE ON THE SAME LEVEL as the God of Catholics, because JESUS CHRIST, true God and true Man, is the GOD of CATHOLICS]

In 2000, when he was head of the Vatican's doctrine office, Ratzinger issued a controversial document in part as a response to the Assisi meeting, which suggested the fullness of human salvation was found in the Catholic Church alone.  [Does not only suggest but explicitly says so.]

Now Benedict is presiding over his first Assisi interreligious gathering, and the decision to eliminate the common, public prayer is being seen as his way of further correcting the wrongs from the 1986 event, which was repeated in 2002, albeit with changes.

Vatican officials outlined the day's schedule Tuesday and released the guest list, which includes a record 300-plus delegates representing dozens of faiths — and even four people who profess no faith, a new feature this year.

Some of the big names include Rajhmoon Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, who will head a Hindu delegation; the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams; a delegation from Israel's rabbinate authority; a Bahai, a Zoroastrian, three Jains, five Sikhs, and a Yoruba.

The Dalai Lama had a scheduling conflict and is sending an envoy, and Russia's Orthodox Church — with which the Vatican is trying to improve ties — is dispatching a representative from Kazakhstan. For the first time, a Buddhist from mainland China is coming.

Some 48 Muslims are expected, but none from Cairo's Al-Azhar institute, the pre-eminent school of Islamic learning in the Sunni Muslim world, which cut ties with the Vatican over Benedict's call for Christians to be better protected in Egypt.  [You issue a call to protect Christians being persecuted in a Muslim land, and the Muslim "school" protests!  Geez!]

The delegates will travel together with the pope aboard a train leaving from the Vatican's train station and will sit together for speeches in Assisi's St. Mary of the Angels basilica. They'll have a "spare" lunch together — obviously heavily vegetarian — and then they will go to pray privately, separately in rooms of an Assisi convent.

They'll come back together for a wrap-up session and light candles as symbols of peace.
Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, head of the Vatican's justice and peace office, confirmed that the "novelty" of this year's agenda is that there is no common, public prayer for peace as there had been in previous Assisi encounters.

"The emphasis is on the pilgrimage, not on the common prayer," he said. But he denied the change represented any negative judgment on past meetings, saying it was merely "a way to try to improve the character itself of inviting exponents of other faiths together."

"It's an exercise of dialogue, and dialogue always respects the specific identity of the people, of individuals," he told reporters.

Traditionalist Catholics, in particular, were horrified at some of the images broadcast from the 1986 event, where non-Christians were seen praying in Catholic churches and in one, a small statue of a Buddha was reportedly placed on an altar.  [others are saying that it is on top of a tabernacle!]

Turkson said he had received e-mails from concerned Catholics, including one promising that the sender would celebrate 1,000 Masses of reparation for the harm done in Assisi.

To counter the criticism that the pope was hosting yet another Assisi gathering, the Vatican newspaper has for months been featuring essays by top Vatican cardinals who have sought to put the 2011 Assisi edition in the correct light: That it is merely a pilgrimage of people of different faiths, and that it in no way will involve any religious syncretism, or combining of different beliefs and practices.

***

And ain't it a good thing that more concerned Catholics now are getting heard?

Catholic Tea Party?

Count me in.

And by the way, who do you think started the "We all worship the same god." thing?

Look for the compass and square.

Let me quote from an address by De Witt Clinton, before Holland Lodge, the evening of his installation, Dec. 24, 1793

The Religion Of Masonry

As Christian Masons, acknowledging the divinity of Christ, we have introduced the Bible into our Lodges, to manifest our belief in the doctrines which it inculcates. In like manner the followers of Moses, Mahomet and Burmah may introduce into their Masonic assemblies their Pentateuch, their Alcoran, and their Vedan; and yet the unity of Masonry would remain – the essential principles on which she moves would be the same; she would still declare to her votaries, I regard not to what sect you attach yourselves; venerate the popular religion of your respective countries; follow the light of your understanding; forget not, however, the doctrines of the religion of nature; adore the Great Architect of the Universe, acknowledge the immortal soul, and look forward to a state of future retribution when the virtuous of all religions and countries hall meet together, and enjoy never fading bliss.

As a Christian and a Catholic, it is easy to know that there is something wrong there.

GULP Exam: Greeting the Bishop of Rome

Or any bishop for that matter.

My answer tomorrow.

In the meantime, chime in your guesses.

The Preface chanted in Latin

By a PINOY BISHOP!!!

His Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, archbishop emeritus of Cebu. And the Sanctus is in Latin also!

Shall we expect the same in the near future in Manila?

Stay tuned!

Thank the Lord for Summorum Pontificum!

Bring back the sacred in the liturgy!

Catholic priests honoring a pro-RH journalist

No not Kara David. I do not know if she is pro or anti but she did one sloppy job tweeting about a news on RH until I called her attention.

Asuncion David-Maramba is a pro-RH advocate who stupidly claimed that "the Church has never explicitly claimed to speak infallibly on a moral question". She stupidly used the book written by a dissident who is long-overdue with a canonical censure as her reference, Richard McBrien's "Catholicism". By the way, that book has neither Nihil Obstat or an Imprimatur, which means there are a LOT of objectionable things in that trash bin called a book!

And here are the Carmelites (O.Carm.) giving an award to this old cranky woman, who like Miriam, wants to lecture us about the Catechism.  The award is "instituted in memory of Blessed Titus Brandsma, the award honors journalists, publishers, professors of communication, publications or institutes who have suffered threats or persecution because of their engagement in the media on behalf of an important human or Christian issue."  So Maramba, attacks the Church's moral authority on the RH issue, and then the Carmelites gave her an award?!?!?

Who are the members of the Board of Judges?

Dr. Florangel Rosario Braid (one of the CCP Board Members who supported the trash of Mideo(cre) Cruz) Business World Chair Vergel Santos (nothing against him), Prof. Bobbie Malay (communist), Rev. Bernard Roosendaal, (Carmelite) and Rev. Christian Buenafe (Carmelite also).

Maybe the award named after a Catholic Blessed and staffed by Catholic priests does not take into consideration whether the person being HONORED attacks the Church or not!

So who's next?

Carlos Celdran?

Pope wheeled on a platform...Sedia Gestatoria anyone?

The aisle of St. Peter's from the sacristy to the High Altar is 100 meters long. An 84-year old man is not supposed to walk that far.

The Holy Father used this platform in as he leads the Mass for the New Evangelization.

This is the same platform that Blessed John Paul used during the final years of his life.

No cause for alarm, says Fr. Lombardi, as this is not for any medical reason.  It is there to help reduce the stress of the Pontiff.

You can read more about Benedict's use of the platform here.

PRAY FOR THE HOLY FATHER!

***

Time for the sedia gestatoria?

Justice for Fr. Fausto!

MANILA, Oct. 17, 2011— Catholic Church officials are calling for justice for an Italian Catholic priest who was shot dead in Arakan, North Cotabato on Monday.

Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo strongly condemned the killing of Fr. Fausto Tentorio and prays that the priest’s untimely death would be given justice.

“...But in the spirit of forgiveness, we ask for prayers for Fr. Tentorio, for the people of Arakan and for his family,” Bagaforo said.

Tentorio, 59, succumbed to several gunshot wounds on different parts of his body and was declared dead upon arrival at a nearby hospital in Arakan.

The priest from the Rome-based Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) was about to board his pickup truck when the gunman shot him.  [Contrary to two initial reports I heard on GMA NewsTV and DZMM that he was either inside the rectory or saying Mass.]

Local police are now investigating the incident to determine the perpetrator and the motive for the crime.

Tentorio was the priest of the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Arakan and heads the Kidapawan diocese’s Ministry for Indigenous Peoples.

“We have a second martyr for Kidapawan as the Church is steadfast in her work for justice, peace and liberation,” said Bagaforo.

In a statement, the missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) also denounced the incident.

Fr. Lauro de Guia, OMI provincial director, said that Tentorio has selflessly worked to help the IPs and the poor farmers of Arakan Valley.

“…To die in such a manner, we are saddened by the fact that there are sectors in our society who are against our work to help bring about peace in Mindanao,” de Guia said.  [Because there is money with war dear Father.]

“We appeal to the peace-loving people to help in giving light to the death of Fr. Fausto and bring the perpetrators before the bar of justice,” he added. [CBCPNews]

***

Part of my job takes me to Arakan Valley to work with the Manobos.

And these poor people there have been abandoned by the government while the militia take advantage of their innocence.

Only stupid people risk their lives helping them just because they are humans just like you and me.

And one of them is Fr. Fausto.

Fools for Christ anyone?

And those who think that they can live the life they want, getting money from others, always pulling a fast one over another...

There is life after this folks.

Thanks to the Freemasons, you think there is nothing.

***

Pray for the eternal repose of the soul of Fr. Fausto and please pray for the end of religious violence in Mindanao and the rest of the world.

UK taking a second look at Anti-Catholic law

They finally noticed!

***
London, England, Oct 14, 2011 / 08:11 pm (CNA).- The Catholic Church in the United Kingdom is giving a mixed reaction to plans to reform the centuries old law that prevents the British monarch from being Catholic or marrying a Catholic.

“The Act of Settlement amounts to iniquitous anti-Catholic discrimination,” said Peter Kearney, spokesman for the Catholic Bishops of Scotland. [At least they finally noticed!]

The U.K. Prime Minister, David Cameron, revealed this week that he has written to the 15 other Commonwealth states where Queen Elizabeth is head of state with a view to reforming the Act of Settlement, which has been in force since 1701.

“This rule is a historical anomaly - it does not, for example, bar those who marry spouses of other faiths - and we do not think it can continue to be justified,” wrote Cameron.

However, the proposal does not include lifting the ban on Catholics ascending to the throne. The reason offered for this is that, upon coronation, the British monarch automatically becomes the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.  [unless the monarch avails of the provision of Anglicanorum coetibus.]

“While a partial repeal is welcome, the continuing ban on a Catholic becoming head of state remains state-sponsored sectarianism,” Kearney told CNA Oct. 14.

Prime Minister Cameron is due to discuss his proposal with fellow Commonwealth leaders when they meet at a summit in Perth, Australia, later this month. Already the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, has said he will support the reform.

The Act of Settlement was originally passed to prevent the descendants of the Catholic King James II from ascending the throne. He was deposed in the 1688 “Glorious Revolution” by supporters of the Protestant William and Mary. Mary was the eldest Protestant daughter of James II and was married to William of Orange, who later became William III.

In recent years, the Act has affected several members of the British royal family.

In 2001, Lord Nicholas Windsor, the youngest son of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, permanently forfeited his right to the royal succession by converting to Catholicism.  [But for Wales?!]

In 2008, Autumn Kelly, the Canadian fiancée of the Queen’s grandson Peter Philips, renounced her Catholicism in favor of Anglicanism, thus preserving her husband’s slim chances of becoming king. He is currently 11th in line to the throne.  [But for Wales?!]

The U.K. Prime Minister’s other proposals for reforming the monarchy include ending the current preference given to male heirs over their older sisters.

“We espouse gender equality in all other aspects of life and it is an anomaly that in the rules relating to the highest public office we continue to enshrine male superiority,” wrote Cameron.  [how about homosexual Prince of Wales?  Shall he be Queen regnant soon?  Bad joke.]

***

Because it is ok to be prejudiced against Catholics.

Hmmm....just in case the monarch converts to another religions like Catholicism, what happens?

Hmmm...Head of the Church of England and subject to the Pope?

What you don't know won't hurt you.

That is why, they don't want you to know!

***

MANILA, Oct. 14, 2011–Despite the celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month every year in October, the connection between cancer and oral contraceptives use is never addressed, a Cebu-based physician said.  [Well, will you expect pharmaceutical companies to talk about this when in fact non-education of the risks of artificial contraceptives gives them more money?]

Cebu-based Human Life International (HLI) Pilipinas director Dr. Rene Josef Bullecer pointed out that it is ironic that the celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month only focuses on its campaign on the cause, prevention and treatment of the disease, and patently ignore the connection between cancer and oral contraceptives.  [Well, I guess we can expect Elizabeth Angsioco and her minions to deny this.  What if we see them gobbling up a bottle of contraceptives on live TV, eh?]

Major events such as seminars, fun runs/walks, free clinics and features on breast cancer survivors have been lined up to mark the month-long celebration, and “of course these activities are very commendable,” he said.  [But where is the talk about contraceptives playing a part in breast cancer?]

“But I was viewing a local TV program several nights ago where the guests — obstetricians and an event director — discussed the signs and symptoms of breast cancer, how to avoid breast cancer and the contributory factors on how women may be afflicted with breast cancer. I was shocked that they never mentioned the role of oral contraceptives in triggering breast cancer. One of the doctor-panelists even denied the pill-cancer connection,” Bullecer related.  [Ask that doctor-panelist where he/she goes for vacation and who pays for that.  :D]

“As a doctor of medicine and a pro-life fighter, I cannot afford to just close my eyes and ears to the truth that the use of oral contraceptive pills as well as Depo-Provera injectables can cause cancer, as the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared on July 29, 2005 that ‘artificial contraceptives’ are ‘carcinogenic,’ at par with cigarettes and asbestos,” he pointed out.  [Even after the studies were released by the IARC and WHO, the pro-RH people still call the evidence myths!  Where is Big Foot when you needed him?]

“Artificial contraceptives can trigger cancer of the breast, cervix and liver,” he added.

Besides the WHO declaration, Department of Health (DOH) former chief Dr. Esperanza Cabral also admitted in an April 2011 interview over DZIQ that contraceptive pills increase the risk of breast cancer.  [And yet Cabral is still all for OCPs!]

“I really pity our women — for more than 40 years since the artificial family planning program started in 1967, women were never told about the horrible medical side-effects of these pills,” Bullecer said.  [And since 1967, the contraceptive agenda is a dismal failure.  And their solution?  MORE CONTRACEPTIVES!]

“How many hundreds of thousands of Filipina mothers have died because of cancers, stroke, hypertension, diabetes triggered by oral contraceptive use? Who will speak for these helpless victims?” he said further.

“I am challenging all doctors, nurses and midwives in this country, particularly those working in the government or NGOs who vigorously promote these products in their day-to-day campaign, and I dare them to speak up for the truth (or they are themselves traitors to their own patients and countrymen) and expose the hidden agenda of the multi-billion peso pill manufacturers at the expense of the health and lives of Filipino women,” the doctor said.

“With the sinister RH Bill pushed in both chambers [of Congress], can the proponents say we never knew about these? And then even proudly declare that the RH Bill is pro-women?” he asked. (CBCP for Life)

***

KUDOS to Dr. Rene Josef Bullecer!!!


***

Ever wonder what your medical history case files really mean?

I got this from friends in the pharmaceutical industry and doctors themselves.

LOYALTY CARDS!

Remember SM Advantage Cards?

They work the same.

Even before SM got the idea, the pharma companies were doing that to doctors.  It is a simple case of the med rep is the salesman and the doctor the distributor.  Hit your target, you get your rebate or reward.  Simple.

I got a doctor to admit to me that her trip with his husband was shouldered by the pharma company who made the infant formula she recommends to my baby.  And not only that, she got to buy a whole new set of luggage from a "Travel Club" thingy, all paid for the pharma company PLUS pocket money.

Now you know why, even after the government goes after doctors for their income taxes, some doctors still would not want to issue receipts?

And this whole RH thing.

It's all about the money, money, money.  They need our money, money, money.

BOYCOTT SWATCH!!!

And those who are connected with this project!

Ugh!

Hey, Lee!

Are you with us on this one?

Breaking: Statement of Archbishop Luis Tagle

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI appointed me, a humble servant to succeed His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales to the Metropolitan See of Manila. I face this heavy responsibility with much trepidation. Leaving the Diocese of Imus, my beloved our home, at the threshold of its Golden Jubilee is not easy. But faith in our gracious Lord and love of the Church give me strength. I know that I would find much good will and zeal for mission in the clergy, religious and lay faithful of the Archdiocese of Manila. In our openness to the Holy Spirit, we could render a joyful and robust witness to Jesus Christ, all for the glory of the Father and the good of the Church and of society, especially of the poor. I entrust the Archdiocese of Manila and my ministry to the loving care of Our Lady, Mary Immaculate.

+ Luis Antonio G. Tagle
13 October 2011

This day in 1917

The Blessed Mother appeared to 3 young shepherd children at Fatima.

What an opportune date to announce the name of the new archbishop of Manila!

Pray for the new archbishop.

Consecrate him to the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

Unusual and unprecedented

MANILA, October 13, 2011— Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Imus Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle, a known theologian, [ugh] as the new archbishop of Manila.

At 54, Tagle will succeed Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales who served the influential post for eight years.  [he is as young as Cardinal Sin!  Cardinal Sin was 53.  Well, prepare for 20 years!  Brrr!]

Archbishop-elect Tagle’s appointment was officially announced in Rome on October 13 at 12:00 noon (6:00 pm, Manila time).

The information was officially received by the Media Office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Thursday in a communiqué from the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila.

“I write to inform you that the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has appointed His Excellency Most Reverend Luis Antonio Tagle, until now Bishop of Imus, as Archbishop of Manila,” said Monsignor Gabor Pinter, Charge D’ Affaires.

Rosales, who just turned 79 years old last August 16, earlier said that the Vatican has already accepted his resignation early this year and was just waiting for his successor to be named.

The cardinal submitted his resignation in 2007 when he turned 75, the mandatory retirement age for prelates, but the pontiff extended his term indefinitely.

Born in Manila on June 21, 1957, Tagle took his Philosophy and Theology at the Ateneo De Manila University’s San Jose Major Seminary.

He was ordained to the priesthood on February 27, 1982, at the age of 25.

From 1985 to 1992, he was sent for further studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. where he earned his Doctorate in Sacred Theology.

Since 1997, Tagle is a member of the International Theological Commission of the Vatican. [where he met Cardinal Ratzinger.] In 1998, he was an expert at the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Asia that took place in Rome.

On December 12, 2001, he was ordained Bishop of Imus. Since then, his activities have been as numerous as in the past. He travels throughout the country in answer to many invitations as a speaker. [not as bishop of his diocese?]

At the Synod of Bishops held in Rome in 2005, he was elected member of the post-synodal Council and assistant to Cardinal Angelo Scola, general reporter of this Synod.

Tagle is currently the chairman of the Commission on Doctrine of the Faith of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).  [Which did not even come out with a statement against Miriam Santiago's self-deprecating statements about the Church's moral teachings against contraception.]

No date yet has been set for the installation of the new Manila archbishop. (CBCPNews) [Hopefully he does not accept.  Ha!]

***

I am literally rolling over the place where I am now when I received the very sad news, by lots of email and by lots text of Bishop Tagle getting appointed as the new archbishop of Manila.

It is unusual and unprecedented since in the past only sitting archbishops get appointed to the See of Manila.  Tagle is NOT an archbishop.

Second, Tagle is a liberal.  He is a very great politician when it comes to international theological settings.  His views about the Eucharist and the Mass are LUTHERAN. Ask his students at LST.

Third, he spends much of his time outside of his diocese, teaching, giving retreats, taping TV shows. He is the Bishop of the Diocese of Imus, most of the time in absentia.  I even heard stories of the faithful of the Cathedral get so irritated with how his dad runs the show in the Cathedral, they called him Father Cardinal.

Well, I guess Chupungco and his minions still have the political clout.  I can give you my day's salary as a bet that the wishes of Cardinal Rosales was acceded to by the Pope.

If there is one decision by the Holy Father I don't like, this is it.  Number one!  Guess the rumor mill in the Vatican is that the Holy Father wants to keep his loyal subjects close to him is TRUE.

But I submit in obedience.

Let us see what he'll do.  Tagle I mean.

More TV shows?

Ha!

Bishop Tagle permitted the TLM in his Diocese in obedience to the Pope, unlike Cardinal Rosales.

Will we see the Traditional Mass make a comeback in the Manila Cathedral?

Wait and see...

To defend the Church...how low shall we go?

Or do we have to?

Does the end justify the means?

To convince people of the truth, shall you insult them?

Will you?

As an apologete myself, I make sure that when I engage people of other faiths in the discussion about the fallacy of their beliefs and the beauty of the Faith I profess, I make sure to remember what I learned as a debater in college.  TO NEVER COMMIT ANY LOGICAL FALLACIES, one of which is to result in name calling.

It saddens me to read and learn of how one apologete, a PRIEST, at that, results in NAME CALLING and CURSING just to get his point across.  And he does not even know proper Net-iquette.

And it is even sadder to know, that this priest has even fallen into the same criticism of the Traditional Mass, as if he took it out of the books of Fr. Anscar Chupungco!

The last thing you would want to see is a priest cursing a fallen away Catholic or Christian.  Aren't priest taken from the people of God, "Shepherds after the Lord's Heart?"  I know that Christ publicly condemned the Pharisees because they were obstinate.  But for Christ's sake, it was in a blog!  I can imagine how he dispenses the graces in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Does he bad mouth his penitents before he absolves them?  As far as I could remember, Christ would say "Your sins are forgiven. Go and sin no more."

Never read in the Gospel, curses and name calling  in ALL CAPS!

It was said before that in ancient Sparta, the man who wins his case is the one who shouts the loudest, not the one who presents and defends a logical case.

Dear Father, tell me if cursing, bad-mouthing, and hot heads ever work in converting people, of bringing them back to the One Fold of Christ?

I learned in history that St. Paul and St. Francis Xavier did not employ such tactics.

Hitler did, and look at his results.

UPDATE in Rumor has it...in RCAM...

Look at the Update I posted on this post.  Something fishy is going on eh?

Maybe someone really wants to be in Manila.

Rumor has it...in RCAM...

Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, SJ is being considered for the Archdiocese of Manila?!?!?

So......

The liturgical shenanigans in Manila are going to continue like the one here?



But...but...

Manila has never had an archbishop who is not a member of the secular clergy since Bernardino Nozaleda, O.P. stepped down in 1902.

Well, we should not let our guards down. religious or secular as long as he is not as hostile to the Traditional Community and will give the pink slip to the Benedictine monk and his cohorts at the Arzobispado, MST and San Beda, the better!

***

UPDATE:   Hmmmm.... The videos of Masses from Cagayan de Oro Archdiocese that was uploaded in Gloria.TV are now unavailable.  Did someone delete it from Gloria.TV?  Hmmmm.....Conspiracy?  Or someone was tipped off so Rome would not see it.  Hmmmm....

UN Agencies are the ones pushing Abortion as a "Human Right"

How can you have rights when you are not even allowed to be born?



And you know which UN agencies push the RH Bill here in the Philippines?

Yup, UN agencies like the CEDAW commission and the UNFPA!

A beautiful video about the ultimate Pinoy Catholic

He is one of my patron saint and the patron of this blog...

because...

When the opportunity presents itself for you to stand up for your Faith and for the Lord... ask San Lorenzo's advice.

His decision led him to a horrible death but brought him to eternal salvation!

To die for the faith is a gift to some; 

to live the faith is a call for all.

That is the theme of the Beatification Mass of St. Lorenzo and companion martyrs, the first one outside of the Eternal City.

And that is the call for every Christian by virtue of his Baptism and strengthened through his Confirmation.

San Lorenzo, ipanalangin mo ang iyong minamahal na Bayan!