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I want you to meet a priest from Greenville, South Carolina named Rev. Jay Scott Newman.

He is the pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church in downtown Greenville.

And he has become my personal hero.

In a nutshell, Fr. Newman told his parishioners that if they voted for Barack Obama, they embraced “intrinsic evil” since Obama's opponent was a “plausible pro-life alternative.” And as a result, those Obama voters need to seek forgiveness from God before they receive Holy Communion again.

Does this guy have guts, or what?

Finally, a religious leader comes along and deals with the 800-pound elephant in the room: how do supposedly religious people reject the sanctity of life and support someone who voted against a “Born Alive Infant Protection” law which would protect babies accidentally born alive after a botched abortion?

Frankly, if that's not evil, I'm not sure what is.

And it takes a priest in Greenville, South Carolina to rise up against all the moral relativism we face in the world and speak the truth.

In a letter posted on the church website, Rev. Newman said that Catholics who voted for a pro-abortion candidate should seek penance for their sin before receiving the Holy Sacrament of Communion, “lest they eat and drink their own condemnation.”

Of course, he's not just making this up. He cites the Bible as the basis for his message, quoting from I Corinthians that forbids partaking of the body of Christ “without recognizing the body of the Lord.”

I'm pleased to report that the response from his congregation has been overwhelmingly positive. According to the priest, church members have approved of his message by a margin of 9 to 1, which leaves me to wonder why those in the minority would see fit to question their pastor.

When discussing this gutsy priest on my radio show this week, a few liberals called in and complained about him “mixing politics with religion.”

It seems to me that life and death issues aren't very political in nature. At least they shouldn't be.

And the fact that the left has managed to turn the issue of abortion into “politics” is simply a deceitful way to try and make the taking of an unborn baby's life something as mundane and ordinary as taxes or fixing potholes.

The Catholic Church has certainly had its hands full in dealing with controversies and ugliness. There is no question that many wish the church would have better handled the terrible scandal of sexually abusive priests over the years.

As a result of that scandal, many Christian- and Catholic-bashers saw fit to condemn the entire Roman Catholic Church with hateful and vicious attacks, despite the fact that millions of loyal, faithful Catholic churchgoers were as appalled by the abusers as anyone else.

But one thing that can be said with clarity and consistency: the Catholic Church has been a beacon in leading the fight against the destruction of the unborn.

Say what you will, but few religious faiths and organizations have had the rock-solid conviction to fight for unborn babies like the Catholic Church has had.

And judging by the actions of this one priest in South Carolina, they're just getting started.

I pray that more priests, ministers, and rabbis follow suit.

How can a spiritual leader stand at the pulpit every week and ignore the slaughter of millions of innocents?

Why would a pastor be inclined to defend an individual, politician or otherwise, who could support partial-birth abortion or the destruction of the life of an unborn baby at any stage?

May a hero like Rev. Jay Scott Newman of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville, South Carolina serve as a wake-up call to sleepy, lazy church leaders who don't want to address this issue, one of the most important issues of our lifetime.

If our church leaders don't fight for the unborn, who will?

Mike Gallagher - Copyright © 2008 Salem Web Network. All Rights Reserved.

Speaks for itself ...

Who said that?

Answers at the end

1. "You know, when you can't ask a question of your leaders anymore, that gets scary"
a) - Patrick Henry
b) - Joe 'The Plumber' Wurzelbacher
c) - Thomas Paine
d) - Ronald Reagan

2. "The meaning of peace is the absence of opposition to socialism."
a) - Karl Marx
b) - Barack Obama
c) - Daniel Ortega
d) - Ho Chi Minh

3. "As a general principle, I believe that the Constitution confers an individual right to bear arms. But just because you have an individual right does not mean that the state or local government can't constrain the exercise of that right"
a) - Gus Hall, former Chairman of the Communist Party, USA
b) - Rosie O'Donnell
c) - Barack Obama
d) - Ted Kennedy

4. "Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas?"
a) - Joseph Biden
b) - Josef Mengele
c) - Joe Mama
d) - Josef Stalin

5. "I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody"
a) - Barack Obama
b) - Nikita Khrushchev
c) - Fidel Castro
d) - Mao Tse-tung

6. "The goal of socialism is communism."
a) - Barbara Streisand
b) - Frederick Engels
c) - Pat Buchanan
d) - Vladimir Lenin

7. "You go into these small towns... they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion"
a) - Fredrick Engles
b) - Leon Trotsky
c) - Barack Obama
d) - Nancy Pelosi

8. "God is dead."
a) - Barack Obama
b) - Friedrich Nietzsche
c) - Christopher Hutchins
d) - Carl Sagan

9. "I've got two daughters. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby."
a) - Faye Waddleton
b) - Dianne Feinstein
c) - Margaret Sanger
d) - Barack Obama

10. "It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."
a) - Pope St. Pius X
b) - Mother Angelica
c) - Mother Teresa
d) - St. Pio of Pietrelcina

1-b
2-a
3-c
4-d
5-a
6-d
7-c
8-b
9-d
10-c

H/T The Lair of the Catholic Cavemen

The Catholic Vote 2008

Catholic travesty ...

The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales are planning a “Youth Sunday” next month which is so politically correct, patronising and biased to the Left that it is beyond satire. It is also beyond Catholicism, playing barbarous tricks with the liturgy that break the Church’s rules governing the celebration of Mass.

Among the highlights:

• A "litany of penance" that asks God's forgiveness "For over-filling our kettles" and "For wasting paper"

• A prayer "that the tyranny of profit be quelled"

• The distribution at Mass of Fairtrade chocolates wrapped in paper carrying an exhortation to switch to energy-saving lightbulbs

• Persuading the priest to wear a chasuble stitched together from recycled material

See what I mean about being beyond satire? “Youth Sunday”, on 23 November, is devised by environmental ideologues and climate-change activists well to the Left of the political spectrum - but funded, needless to say, by ordinary churchgoers. Most Catholics in their teens and twenties are sick to the back teeth of this sort of drivel, but I'd be surprised if many of the Church employees running this stunt were actually young.

But the real scandal is what Youth Sunday plans to do to the celebration of Mass, which is to turn it into a propaganda exercise punctuated by comedy turns. It suggests following the Gospel reading, about the Last Judgment, with a sketch about sheep and goats. Let me quote from the author of the document on the Bishops' website. (Hat tip to James Preece, who has some powerful things to say about this travesty here.)

I couldn't possibly reproduce the whole sketch here, so I've simply taken the parts with my favourite puns - it is puntastic and you know how I like my puns.

News Reporter: This is the Good News. The headlines at six o'clock. Bong! Feeling sheepish? It's eternal life for the nation's favourite animal. Bong! Get your goat up! Gruff news for selfish beasts. Bong! It's the end of the world as we know it. Which side will you end up on?

Larry: Well, Sue, Jesus certainly wasn't pulling the wool over our eyes. He didn't mince his words; he told us quite clearly that we had to do good things for one another. They flocked to see him ... The crowd were pretty divided really. I have to say that some of the goats looked a little sheepish, funnily enough.

Sue: I bet the goats didn't like that.

Larry: No, Sue, they were baaa-rking mad. Especially when he told them they'd be for the chop

This is during the Mass for the Solemnity of Christ the King. And its performance is not just permitted by the Bishops of England and Wales: it is suggested by them. These are the same bishops who would not dream of suggesting a Mass using the ancient Latin liturgy of the Catholic Church - indeed, who do everything in their power to block its celebration.

One final touch. At the offertory, bread and wine are brought to the altar to be consecrated by the priest. But Youth Sunday doesn't want to stop there. The organisers have some further suggestions for "gifts" to be presented at the altar. You can probably guess what they might be, but let me confirm your suspicions: "Energy saving lightbulbs, recycling containers, fairly traded goods..."

How about an extra gift of sick bags for the congregation? But I'm confident that any orthodox Catholics would have left the church by this stage.

Quote - Unquote

''A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury.'' -- Unknown

The Dial Tone of Deep Concern

Disgrace ...

Obama & Ayers

You’ll want to double-check the logo at the bottom left corner during this report. It really is CNN and Anderson Cooper fact-checking Barack Obama’s claims to have barely known William Ayers — and calling it dishonest. Stanley Kurtz even gets to make an appearance on a network other than Fox for this report (via Dirty Harry’s Place):

Here you have it ...

From "Taxes and tax cuts in terms of beer" (Posted, September 24, 2008):

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the
bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill
the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite
happy with the arrangement until one day the owner threw
them a curved ball (or is that a curved beer!).
'Because you are all such good customers,' he
said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily
beer by $20.'

Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay
our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They
would still drink for free. But what about the other six men
- the paying customers? How could they divide the $20
windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if
they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the
fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to
drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to
reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and
he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay. And
so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first
four continued to drink for free. But once outside the
restaurant the men began to compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20,' declared
the sixth man.. He pointed to the tenth man, 'but he
got $10!'

'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth
man. 'I only saved a dollar too. It's unfair that
he got ten times more than me!'

'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man.
'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two?
The wealthy get all the breaks!'

'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in
unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The
system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth man and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks,
so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when
it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something
important. They didn't have enough money between
all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college
professors, is how our Tax System works. The people who
pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax
reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy
and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might
start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat
friendlier.

This video about the Poor Clares is connected to the sermon of Sunday, October 5.

I hope you will consider watching and listening to this resource with care which has a running time of ten minutes. Here is yet another example of the young turning to Christ and his service with deep commitment. Listen to their testimony of God's love. I find them inspiring. The post 60's leadership is fading - and orthodoxy is rooting itself in meaningful ways. Please, God, may it continue by your grace. GRL3

Bias anyone?

You've got to watch this video. CNN's Soledad O' Brien ran a focus group of self declared Republicans, Democrats and undecideds during the Palin/Biden debate.

Soledad asked them immediately after the debate, "How many thought Joe Biden won the debate tonight?"

I'd say about half the hands go up. O'Brien then inexplicably says, "So, looks overwhelming." Then she asks who thought Palin won. Again, about half the hands go up and she describes it as "small hands." Then she quickly declares Biden the winner and calls it a day.

My Must See ...

This is my next "must see" film - I believe it opens on Friday. Thus far, my very best recommendation for a western is Tombstone. Perhaps this will be better. GRL3

Lager-loving punk who dresses as a dominatrix is appointed village Anglican curate

Some days she strides up to church wearing hot pants and biker boots. Or she might opt for dominatrix-style red leather high heels to go with her six piercings including a nose stud.

Not the apparel you would normally expect from a Church of England curate.

But punk rocker Skye Denno insists it is her way of serving God.

Miss Denno, 29, who admits to a taste for lager and the Sex Pistols, is two weeks into her appointment as curate at the Church of St James the Great in Dursley, Gloucestershire.
'It's been great,' she said. 'My clothes and how I look haven't been a problem.

'I think it makes me more approachable and I haven't heard any grumbles. At the most people have been a little surprised. [more]

Food for thought

Much is made of McCain's age. Has anyone brought up the fact that Obama smokes and both of his parents died at an early age. Plus Biden has had two brain aneurysms which could have killed him. If they both died while in office that would leave Nancy Pelosi as president. I can't think of a better reason to vote for McCain & Palin.

"Broadly speaking, the Episcopal Church is in conflict with Scripture. The only way to justify it is to say, well, Jesus talks about the Spirit guiding the church and guiding believers and bringing to their awareness things they cannot deal with yet...this has led the church to in effect contradict the words of the Gospel..." -- Frank Griswold, while Presiding Bishop, 1997

Infants Born Alive Protection Act - nixed by Obama

Some have sought to defend Senator Obama's votes against the Born Alive Infants Protection Act by explaining the reason/argument he advanced against it. But actually, Obama has offered 10 different reasons for his opposition. Jill Stanek--the nurse who started the national discussion about this act--has an article with quotes explaining the various reasons. Here they are in outline form--but for more detail and documentation, read the whole thing.

10. Babies who survive abortions are not protected by the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.

9. A ban to stop aborted babies from being shelved to die would be burdensome to mothers.

8. Aborting babies alive and letting them die is a doctor's prerogative.

7. Anyway, doctors don't do that.

6. Obama apparently read medical charts and saw no proof.

5. Aborting babies alive and letting them die is a religious issue.

4. Aborting babies alive and letting them die violates no universal principle.

3. Introducing legislation to stop live aborted babies from being shelved to die was a political maneuver.

2. Sinking Born Alive was about outmaneuvering that political maneuver.

1. Introducing Born Alive was a ploy to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Read it carefully

Catholics Returning to GOP Fold. Why?

Catholics Returning to GOP Fold. Why? (click here)

Nancy Pelosi vs. The Catholic Church!

Nancy Pelosi's recent comments on Meet the Press are completely opposite of Catholic Church teaching. Catholics and other Christians planning to vote for Obama and Pelosi in the future should know this.

August 8, 2008: A man knew he had been to church when ...

1908 Picture at the Wailing Wall (Western Wall) ...

This picture was taken in 1908, and shows two men and two women praying at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. It was on this day in 1967 that the Six Day War ended, with Israel gaining control of the Wailing Wall and other parts of Jerusalem.

Source: Old Picture of the Day Blog