Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Gays Targeting Knights of Columbus

Lesbians Want More Than Just Fine for Knights of Columbus: Launch Appeal
Blogger captures “travesty” K of C v. lesbians Human Rights tribunal decision

Homosexual Advocate Lawyer Barbar FindlayEDMONTON, December 2, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Two lesbians, Tracey Smith and Deborah Chymyshyn, said yesterday that they are appealing a BC Human Rights Tribunal decision that granted $2,000 in damages for the “humiliation” they suffered for being denied a hall to celebrate their same-sex “wedding” from the Knights of Columbus.

“This is going to be the first real legal test of the (same-sex marriage law),” said the couple’s homosexual advocate lawyer, Barbara Findlay. Findlay is the founder of both provincial and federal “national queer lawyers’ groups” at the Canadian Bar Association. “We want the court to make the call – how far does freedom of religion extend under the charter? Where do we draw the line?”

“Basically the Knights were punished for bad manners, not discrimination,” Findlay emphasized. “We won the battle. We’re nowhere near winning the war.”

read full story here


Here's the deal. The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic religious organization. These two lesbians deceived the knights by reserving the knight's hall for a wedding reception. The knights were under the impression that this was a typical wedding between a man and a woman, and made the reservations for them. When it later came out that the wedding was for two lesbians, the knights returned their money and politely told them they could not host the event in good conscience because the hall is a Catholic religious facility, and homosexuality defies the teachings of the Church. So these two lesbians did what any good homosexual activist would do -- they sued! Thanks to Canada's liberal court system, they won the lawsuit -- sort of. They were awarded two-thousand dollars for the inconvenience placed on the lesbian couple. But like any good homosexual activist would do -- they appealed the decision because that wasn't good enough for them. They want to use Canada's new gay anti-discrimination law to bring the Knights of Columbus to its knees. They want bigger fines, more money, and perhaps even a chance to bring down the whole organization in Canada.

I submit to you the following. It is the opinion of this blogger that this was the intention of these lesbian activists all along. They intentionally hid the nature of their wedding from the knights, so they could get the reservation. Then they intentionally let the cat out of the bag, knowing the knights would cancel the reservation, so they could bring the lawsuit. This isn't about their stupid perverse "wedding" reception. This is about making an "example" out of the knights. They intended to bring this lawsuit from the very beginning, and they intend to take it as far as it will go. Their intention is to destroy the Knights of Columbus in Canada, and then as soon as they're done, other homosexual activists will go after other religious organizations. All other Christian organizations in Canada beware. You're next!

Monday, December 12, 2005

Pope says materialism pollutes Christmas spirit

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict warned on Sunday against rampant materialism which he said was polluting the spirit of Christmas...

read full story here

No kidding!

This is one reason why I love this pope. He's not afraid to just tell it like it is. For such a long time I actually dreaded the holidays, and in some ways I still do. They've always left me feeling tired and drained. Stress levels seem to go through the roof this time of year. Why is that? I was talking with an older gentleman the other day on this very topic. He was a self described scrooge. "Bah humbug!" he muttered in a half-joking, half-serious way. I stopped and thought about it for a few seconds and said: "You know I agree with you to a certain degree, but I don't hate Christmas. I just hate what they've done to it." When I say "they" I mean retailers. The older gentleman's eyes lit up like he knew exactly what I was talking about, and he snapped his fingers. "That's it!" he said. "You've nailed it."

The commercialization of Christmas has always been a problem, but in the early 20th century it rose to new levels unprecedented in history. The once beautiful holiday of evergreen and candlelight has been transformed into the commercial extravaganza of inflatable Santa Claus and plastic reindeer. The once pleasant custom of exchanging small gifts has morphed into the spoiling of young children with budget-busting toy binges. A holiday season that used to last a whole month, has now been truncated to just 25 days. While the true meaning of Christmas (the birth of Christ) has been relegated to secondary status, trumped by the fabled tale of a jolly old elf and his eight flying reindeer. Er, excuse me, I mean nine flying reindeer. We can't forget Rudolph and his glowing red nose. Christmas at my parents' house has become the epitome of this. Practically the whole month of December is spent trying to get everything ready for this one special night -- Christmas Eve. As guests arrive, the presents under the tree pile up one by one, until there is barely enough room to walk around it. The whole evening is spent in anticipation as the nieces, nephews and grandchildren stuff dinner down their throats as fast as they can so they can hurry up and get back to the tree. The adults spend the second half of their dinner subjected to the whining of their children coming from the living room -- "Awh! Come on everybody. Can't you eat any faster?" Then, once everyone is done with dinner, and all are seated around the tree, a site unlike any other is witnessed. The children are unleashed! Like ravenous animals they leap toward the tree, each turning over boxes, and pushing the other out of the way, until they find a package marked for them. Then the shrill sound of paper ripping fills the room. Amidst all this ruckus an adult voice can occasionally be heard crying: "Wait! Who was that from?" Soon the living room is filled ankle deep in torn paper, and the kids go crazy with their new toys. Sometimes a "thank you" can be heard, sometime not. The ritual will be repeated one more time the next day in their own homes, and then it will be over. The radio stations will stop playing Christmas music. Retail stores will take down their Christmas displays. The decorations on the streets are removed, and the beautiful lights that filled our neighborhoods go off. Christmas is over, and we can all finally breath a sigh of relief.

Somehow, in the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, we seem to forget the whole point. We hear the occasional mantra of "keep Christ in Christmas," but it's kind of hard to do that when you're having to navigate traffic while trying to get to the next shopping center. What is gift giving good for when the whole reason for giving is a fat elf in a red suit? We can fool ourselves and say there's more to it than that, but when you really stop and think about it, that isn't the message our kids are getting. To them; it's all about the toys, and the man of the hour is Santa Claus, not Jesus Christ. Retailers get the picture all too well. It's the most profitable time of the year. Their Christmas decorations aren't designed to make the neighborhood beautiful. They're designed to get you into their stores. Those who have the most elaborate Christmas displays can look forward to the most business, and that's what they're really after. To the children it's all about toys, but to the retailers, it's all about money. That's the spirit of Christmas folks. It's also the reason why so many retailers have tried to take the word "Christmas" out of Christmas. It's too sectarian, so they think, and they believe they can get even more business with the generic greeting of "Happy Holidays!" It seems the only people still fooled are the parents, who close their eyes, and keep telling themselves there's a deeper meaning. How many people really think about it though. I once randomly stopped a lady in a department store and asked her. (Don't ask me why I do these things, I'm just funny that way.) With a package of lights in hand, and plastic reindeer under her arm, she was yelling at her kids to hurry up. "We have to get these things up before it's too late!" Her strong accent gave her away. This was all somewhat new to her. I asked; "Hey, do you know what Christmas is all about?" She nodded her head quite firmly and replied; "Oh yes, I know all about it. My kids heard about it at school, and I asked my neighbors. We need to get these lights up quickly so Santa Clause will come to our house." Then she lowered her voice and whispered: "But I know he's not real. It's just to get the kids to be good. Then we'll reward them with their gifts. It's a great holiday. For three weeks my kids have behaved like little angels." "Funny you should say that," I responded, "because it was 2,000 years ago real angels announced the birth of Christ on Christmas Day." Suddenly she looked confused. She repeated back to me; "birth of Christ?" I could tell she wanted to ask me about it, but was quickly distracted by her kids waiting to check out at the cash register. She apologized for leaving so quickly and then scurried off. I wonder if she ever figured out what I was talking about.

C.S. Lewis wrote a short article about the commercialization of Christmas in England during the early 1950s. Europe was much more secularized than America, and so the story goes that he was riding in a bus when the two women seated in front of him were commenting on all of the beautiful Christmas decorations on the city streets. As they rounded a corner, they came upon a church, and there in front was a large nativity scene. Upon seeing it, the one lady turned to the other and said: "Oh gawd! Do they have to bring religion into everything!"

I shared some of these stories with the old man, the self-described scrooge, I was talking to the other day. I told him what I've done to remedy this situation in my own home, which is a work in progress. For the last five years or so I've resolved to do everything I can to celebrate Christmas like they did one-hundred years ago. The inflatable Santa and plastic reindeer are gone. What has replaced them is a glowing nativity scene, and I hope to replace it someday with a nice wooden one and small spotlights. The Christmas lights have come off the house, and have been placed in small evergreens planted in our front yard. The interior of my house is always dimly lit with candlelight, and decorated with evergreens. The Christmas tree is always lit with tiny white lights, creating a soft glow in the corner of the living room. The Advent wreath enjoys a prominent location. Each Sunday leading up to Christmas is marked with the lighting of a new candle, which we continue to light every night, until the next Sunday. The Christmas music played in our home is almost always classical. The sound of boys' choirs and instrumentals fill our house. In the days leading up to Christmas, and after, sacred scripture is read after dinner. Texts are selected based on their relevance to the season. When Christmas comes, we continue to celebrate it all the way through to January 1st. Because of the way commercialism has ruined Christmas, most Americans don't even know that Christmas is supposed to be a week long holiday, from Christmas Eve to New Years Day, not just one day (December 25th). So we stretch it out. The Christmas decorations stay up, and eight white candles are placed among the pieces of a beautiful nativity scene. Starting on Christmas Eve, one candle is lit for every night of the Christmas Octave until New Year's Eve. During that eight day period, we have guests over for dinner, attend mass regularly, and listen to Christmas music in the car and at home. We've tried to keep the gift giving down to a minimum. Each child gets one toy from each parent and relative, and most importantly, we tell them about the REAL Santa Clause -- who was the medieval St. Nicholas. We don't deprive our children of pictures with Santa or the Christmas specials that come on television. But at the same time, we let them know that the Santa Clause they see on television and in department stores is just for fun. There are no flying reindeer or toy-making elves, and Santa doesn't leave presents under our tree. Jesus is the reason for our season, and we make sure our kids know that. For us, Christmas is a truly CHRISTIAN holiday, and we try to make sure it stays that way. Each year I try to make it a little more authentic, and a little less plastic. Of course, this is all still a work in progress, and each year, I start to love Christmas just a little more.

Friday, December 2, 2005

The Nightmare World of Jack T. Chick






You’ve seen them.

Perhaps left in a phone booth, Laundromat, or other public place. Maybe a Fundamentalist coworker or a street evangelist gave one to you. Perhaps a child gave one to your child at school. They have titles such as Are Roman Catholics Christian?, The Death Cookie, and Why Is Mary Crying? They are Chick tracts—tiny cartoon booklets produced by Jack T. Chick ("J.T.C.") and his publishing house, Chick Publications.

You’ve seen them . . . but have you read one? Do so, and you step into the nightmarish world of Jack T. Chick.

In this world, few things are as they appear. It is a world of shadow and intrigue, a world of paranoia and conspiracy theories, a world where demons haunt people sincerely trying to follow God, and the Catholic faith is the devil’s greatest plot against mankind....

Saturday, November 5, 2005

The MYTH of Hitler's Pope

It's hard to believe it now, but there was once a time when Pope Pius XII was loved and admired by the world. Chief among his admirers were European Jews. That's because Pope Pius XII single-handedly orchestrated the exodus of some 800,000 Jews from Hitler's Third Reich. As early as 1937, working with his predecessor (Pius XI), he drafted the only papal encyclical ever written in German -- Mit Brennender Sorge. "With Burning Sorrow" was the first blanket condemnation of Nazism ever published by the Vatican. Hitler responded by unofficially declaring war on the Catholic Church, and his subsequent treatment of Catholics became evidence of that. In his inaugural encyclical, Summi Pontificatus, published in 1939, Pope Pius XII made it clear that National Socialism (i.e. "Nazism") was completely and totally incompatible with the Roman Catholic faith. During World War II, allied aircraft even dropped some 88,000 copies of the document over Germany in order to undermine the Nazi government. So serious of a threat was Pius XII to the Reich, that Hitler even launched a failed attempt to kidnap the pope in 1943. The litany of praise for Pius XII from the Jewish community of that time was enormous. Even the chief rabbi of Rome, Israel Zolli, decided to take Pius XII as his baptismal name upon converting to Roman Catholicism. The following is just a small sample of quotes from the Jewish community after the war's end...

We share in the grief of humanity [at the death of Pius XII]…. When fearful martyrdom came to our people in the decade of Nazi terror, the voice of the pope was raised for the victims. The life of our times was enriched by a voice speaking out on the great moral truths above the tumult of daily conflict. We mourn a great servant of peace.
~ Golda Meir

No keener rebuke has come to Nazism than from Pope Pius XI and his successor, Pope Pius XII.
~ Rabbi Louis Finkelstein, chancellor, Jewish Theological Seminary of America

In the most difficult hours of which we Jews of Romania have passed through, the generous assistance of the Holy See…was decisive and salutary. It is not easy for us to find the right words to express the warmth and consolation we experienced because of the concern of the supreme pontiff, who offered a large sum to relieve the sufferings of deported Jews…. The Jews of Romania will never forget these facts of historic importance.
~ Rabbi Alexander Safran, chief rabbi of Romania

The people of Israel will never forget what His Holiness and his illustrious delegates, inspired by the eternal principles of religion, which form the very foundation of true civilization, are doing for our unfortunate brothers and sisters in the most tragic hour of our history, which is living proof of Divine Providence in this world.
~ Rabbi Isaac Herzog, chief rabbi of Israel

I told [Pope Pius XII] that my first duty was to thank him, and through him the Catholic Church, on behalf of the Jewish public for all they had done in the various countries to rescue Jews…. We are deeply grateful to the Catholic Church.
~ Moshe Sharett (Israel’s first foreign minister and second prime minister)

But all of that changed in Berlin 1963. The left-wing socialist writer, Rolf Hochhuth, opened a fictional play entitled "The Deputy" in which he portrayed Pius XII as callous and indifferent to Jewish suffering under the Nazi Third Reich. Within just three years, books began to appear that were critical of Pius XII in his dealings with the Jews during Hitler's reign of terror, as if Hockhuth's fictional play were some sort of documentary. Almost immediately Jews came rushing to Pius XII's defense, including the American based 'Anti-Defamation League.' But forty years of bad press can do a lot of damage. By the 1990s Pius XII's reputation had come under serious fire. In 1999 author John Cornwell published a book entitled "Hitler's Pope," in which he gave credence to Hockhuth's fiction as if it were historical fact. "Hitler's Pope" was a best seller. This smear campaign was so successful, that most people today accept Hochhuth's fiction as the truth, and Pius XII's memory is virtually lost to an alternate history of fiction and fabrication.

All of that is about to change. Rabbi David G. Dalin has written a book debunking the lies of Cornwell's "Hitler's Pope." Rabbi Dalin's book is entitled simply "The Myth of Hitler's Pope." This will come as a bombshell to those who've subscribed to Hochhuth's fiction, and a disappointment to those who regularly use Cornwell's book as a challenge to Roman Catholicism. (I'm thinking of a Jehovah's Witness who came knocking on my door about a year ago.) All together Rabbi Dalin has shed some light on this topic and exposed the venomous lies for what they are. I have nothing to benefit from recommending this book here. I make no profit from its sale. My sole interest here is in promoting the truth. It is for this reason I recommend you purchase a copy of Rabbi Dalin's book from Amazon.com or some other retailer. When you're done reading it, please pass it on to a friend, or at the very least, donate it to a local library.

Wednesday, November 2, 2005

The New Anti-Catholicism

An anti-abortion demonstrator rallies in front of the U.S. Supreme Court

An anti-abortion demonstrator rallies in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Oct. 31 after President George W. Bush nominated Judge Samuel Alito Jr., a Catholic, as a justice of the Supreme Court. If confirmed, Alito would replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. (CNS photo from Reuters)...
{Read Full Story Here}

Alito would be fifth Catholic on Supreme Court

By Jerry Filteau

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- If Judge Samuel Alito Jr. is confirmed as a U.S. Supreme Court justice, it would be the first time in history that the majority of justices on the nation's highest court are Catholic.

President George W. Bush Oct. 31 nominated Alito, a former U.S. attorney in New Jersey and for the past 15 years a judge on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He is widely regarded as a strong conservative on an appellate court that is considered among the most liberal in the country.

The 55-year-old judge is likely to face strong Democratic opposition because on the appellate court he opined that it was constitutional to require wives to notify their husbands before having an abortion. That opinion came as a minority dissent in Planned Parenthood vs. Casey, a landmark case contesting Pennsylvania's 1989 Abortion Control Act....

{Read Full Story Here}

Welcome to 21st century America! My how things have changed! In the early 20th century American Catholics were discriminated against in the workplace, looked down upon in society, and viewed as a threat to the American political system. Among the most militant anti-Catholics were Protestant Fundamentalists, who saw the pope as the Antichrist, and the Church itself as an anti-Christian "cult." Catholics were viewed as nothing more than whitewashed pagans, both ignorant and amiable. Fundamentalists worried that Catholics in high government offices might be too easily influenced by the pope and the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Now it's a full century later. America still has it's old anti-Catholic Fundamentalists, but they are a dying breed, forced by progress into the attic of irrelevancy. Today, Catholics dominate the mainstream of American politics. But in the 21st century, a new form of anti-Catholicism has risen to the mainstream. It's not based on the old sectarian differences between Catholics and Protestants. Rather, it's based on the ideological differences between conservatism and liberalism. Now we live in a world where Catholics can be good Catholics, or they can be good liberals (Democrats), but never both as the same time. That's because the liberal establishment has created a mindset within the Democratic Party that when it comes to politics, the only good Catholic is a bad Catholic, meaning a Catholic who doesn't practice the teachings of the Church.

Liberal Democrats generally don't have a problem with Catholics, so long as they deny the Church's teachings on moral issues like abortion, euthanasia and homosexuality. Catholics have no problem ascending to the highest ranks of the Democratic Party so long as they are good liberals and bad Catholics. Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Mario Cuomo and Nancy Pelosi; are examples of this. Their religious beliefs are considered untouchable by the mainstream liberal establishment. But when it comes to good practicing Catholics, like Supreme Court nominees John Robers and Sam Alito, their faith is "fair game." Consider the following remarks about John Roberts by liberals in the mainstream media and the Democratic Party...

Larry King (CNN, 8-4-2005): "Anyone have a problem on him being a devout Catholic?"

Bill Press (Sun-Sentinel, 8-2-2005): "It is absolutely essential to explore Roberts' religious beliefs as part of the confirmation process."

John MacArthur, publisher of Harper’s Magazine, (Providence Journal, 8-2-2005): "The Roberts couple seem to be very well-educated; I wonder whether in their high-minded socializing with Clarence and Virginia Thomas (at the College of the Holy Cross) and Robert and Mary Ellen Bork (at the lay Catholic John Carroll Society), they find time for informal book chat…."

Dahlia Lithwick, legal analyst for Slate, (NPR, 8-2-2005): "And I wouldn’t underestimate the influence of his religion, that Scalia and Thomas, one of the reasons they may not have drifted leftward has a lot to do with very, very strong religious views that pull them to the right. And I think that probably John Roberts will fall into that camp in that sense."

Christopher Hitchens (Slate, 8-1-2005): "If Roberts is confirmed there will be quite a bloc of Catholics on the court. Scalia, Kennedy, and Thomas are strong in the faith. Is it kosher to mention these things?"

Frances Kissling (NPR, 8-1-2005):
"If this pope will intervene in the ways he has already in Europe, it certainly raises questions for us in the immediate sense in terms of whether he thinks he can tell John Roberts how to vote when he gets on the Supreme Court."

Mario Cuomo (Meet the Press, 8-7-2005): "Are you (John Roberts) going to impose a religious test on the Constitution? Are you going to say that because the pope says this or the Church says that, you will do it no matter what?"

Tony Harris (CNN, 7-24-2005):
"Roberts is a Roman Catholic and a political conservative. This week on our ‘Faces of Faith’ segment we’re going to examine how his faith might influence his profession."

Nina Totenberg (NPR, 7-23-2005): "Don’t forget his wife was an officer, a high officer of a pro-life organization. He’s got adopted children. I mean, he’s a conservative Catholic."

Brian Mitchell (Investor’s Business Daily, 7-21-2005): "The left has other reasons to fear Roberts. Roberts is a Catholic. His wife Jane is a former executive vice president of Feminists for Life."

Jonathan Mann, (CNN, 7-20-2005): "He is a Catholic. His wife…is involved with a group called Feminists for Life, it’s an anti-abortion group."

Barbara Walters (ABC, 7-20-2005): "John Roberts is a, a Roman Catholic. How important to him is his religion? Do you think that it might affect him as a Supreme Court justice?"

We can expect more of the same on Supreme Court nominee Judge Sam Alito. Already the fossilized CBS reporter Mike Wallace snidely referred to Alito as a "nice Catholic boy" on Larry King Live (10-31-2005). To be sure, liberals will be more guarded on their comments this time around after being called on the carpet for their careless remarks on Judge John Roberts. But after all is said and done, they just won't be able to stop themselves from leaking their true anti-Catholic feelings from time to time. Make no mistake about it. The liberal template of the mainstream media and the Democratic Party is as follows. When it comes to politics and high government office, the only good Catholics are bad Catholics -- those who deny the teachings of the Catholic Church.