Whether it's pro-life philosophy, activism or legislation, whether it's about a current topic or a situation pro-lifers face in their own lives and work, this is the place where we'll talk about it! Please forward any comments to me, Judie Brown. Thank you!
ROBERT SCHINDLER: WE LOVE YOU AND WE WILL MISS YOU! WE WILL NEVER FORGET YOU! Posted: Tuesday September 1, 2009 at 1:50 pm EST by Judie Brown
Terri Schindler Schiavo’s father, Robert Schindler, Sr., died this past Saturday, August 29.
There are many pro-life Americans who knew Robert Schindler far better than I, but I doubt there were many who respected him more than I did. As a mother myself, I had long been impressed by he and his lovely wife Mary’s undeniable desire to do anything possible to stand between Terri and her ultimate death by starvation. Robert and Mary Schindler were truly examples of heroism above and beyond the call, and now, as Mary grieves the loss of her husband, we all join with her in grieving at the loss of a man who lived his life out of love for his children, his faith and his most deeply felt convictions about the dignity of the human person.
It is with great sadness that we share the news that Bob Schindler, Sr., father of Terri Schindler Schiavo, passed away of a heart attack. I had spoken with him a few times this year, as he had many concerns about the advancing culture of death and the victimization of the vulnerable today. He and his family started the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation to fight against the victimization of so many who cannot defend themselves… It is still astounding to me to note that every Associated Press article about Terri Schindler Schiavo either lied or misrepresented what her condition was. She was not on life support. She never had a heart attack or heart condition, and she did not have an eating disorder. She was neglected and abused for years in the nursing homes where her husband/guardian forbade any rehabilitation to be provided for her. She did have a neck injury that prevented her from turning her head fully to one side. The AP never reported that.
Bob tried his best to save the daughter he loved, but the deck was stacked against him, with lawyers, judges and courts pre-determining the outcome of the long fight. Bob and his family suffered untold anguish through the years, as I heard in his voice when I spoke with him. To see the daughter he loved and would care for killed right in front of his eyes! Terri was chosen to be placed in a hospice, though she was not terminal at all. She was dehydrated to death, though she stated she wanted to live. Nurses who cared for her stated she had been able to communicate. She was executed to further an agenda of imposing death on the vulnerable within a hospice. Since that time, there have been many, many similar deaths in hospices reported to Hospice Patients Alliance and other patient advocacy groups.
Today is a sad day for everyone who is dedicated to preventing euthanasia by dehydration. Bob Schindler senior has died…
His daughter Terri was intentionally dehydrated to death, not because she was terminally ill and nearing death, but because she was cognitively disabled and her husband Michael wanted her to die. She died by a slow and horrific form of euthanasia.
The Schindler family and Bob need to be upheld for everything they had done to try to save the life of their daughter and sister Terri. The horrific reality of death by dehydration for those who are not otherwise dying was made known to the world by the courageous Schindler family who were led by their father, Bob.
I ask the question, when did it become acceptable to dehydrate someone to death simply because that person is cognitively disabled?
Bobby Schindler, Robert Schindler’s son, who has a personal commitment to helping anyone at risk of being killed by starvation or any act of imposed death, praised his dad with these words:
I am heartbroken over the loss of my father and yet I know at this moment he is rejoicing with my sister, Terri. My dad was a man of integrity, character and compassion who was blessed with a close and loving family. He taught all three of his children to respect and value life and to love our fellow man.
Even at the height of the battle to save my sister Terri’s life, when his patience and temperance was near exhaustion, he managed to display a gentleness of spirit. Yet it was his unfathomable strength that allowed him to shoulder up his own heartache and lead us through our darkest hour.
What greater legacy could a man leave behind?
When I first heard this news on Saturday, I went immediately to a very dear friend, sister in Christ and pro-life leader, Debi Vinnedge, founder of Children of God for Life. Of all our nation’s pro-life leaders, she is the one who knew Robert and Mary most intimately. I know this for a fact, as I witnessed their admiration for her during a personal visit to their home after Terri’s death. What Debi has written for me to share with you is from the depths of her grief-stricken heart. I pray it touches you as deeply as it has touched me:
We Will Never Forget
Bob Schindler, Sr., was the patriarch of the Schindler family and loving father of Terri Schindler Schiavo. Terri’s untimely death on March 31, 2005 in a Pinellas Park, Florida, hospice left an indelible sorrow in the hearts of millions. Allow me to share with you what I know of this man, who, throughout the years of valiantly trying to save his daughter’s life, had become like a father to me.
If someone had asked me to paint a symbolic picture of him, it would have to be that of an oak tree. He was strong beyond what any man should have to endure, providing his “shade” of comfort to all who leaned on him. He stood proudly and staunchly, seemingly untouched by the torrential downpour of assaults from all sides.
His quiet, unexpected humor in the darkest moments masked the pain he kept well hidden from the eyes of the press. And when he watched his sweet daughter Terri deteriorating in the final days of her life, still he never wavered. On one such day, his wife, Mary, collapsed helplessly in his arms after her own final visit with Terri, unable to bear any longer the horror she was witnessing as Terri’s body gave in to the ravages of dehydration and starvation.
His eyes turned downward, his heart broken, yet his voice never faltered for the press clamoring around him. And despite the needs of his own family, he even had time to hold me as I sobbed. It didn’t seem right then – that the father of this dying child should somehow comfort me in my own sorrow, when I should be the strong one comforting him. But Bob took me aside and told me that my own tears for Terri and his family were the greatest comfort he could be given; just knowing that others loved and cared so much was enough for him.
On another occasion, when I had injured my back pretty badly from the endless hours of standing daily in vigil at the hospice, I was unable to be with the Schindlers. It was on that fateful day that Terri’s feeding tube was ordered to be removed for the third and final time. From my bed, I helplessly watched the news broadcast – with horror. When I was finally able to return two days later, I sank to the floor in tears once again at Bob’s feet, telling him how sorry I was that I couldn’t be there when he needed me most. And Bob, in his gentle, fatherly way, held me close, apologizing that I had hurt my back over all this. I was dumbstruck that here I was, with a little back pain, while his daughter lay dying, and yet Bob was concerned about me. Such was his way.
Bob aged rapidly after Terri’s death. Unable to save his daughter, he felt he had failed her and the rest of the family. But it was quite the opposite … Bob taught each and every one of us to remain strong, to never give up hope even after hope was clearly gone. Sometimes he would steal away for a few moments to be away from the crowds, and we would talk about his family … about how much he loved them … about how worried he was about Mary – this despite the fact that endless nights of sleeplessness had taken their toll on him.
No, Bob Schindler did not fail Terri. Instead, he helped create a legacy in her honor by founding the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, an organization that has helped thousands of others in similar situations worldwide. Terri will never be forgotten and neither will Bob, who is, at last, at peace with the precious daughter he so loved.
I can well imagine the words he must have heard as he departed this life for a far better place: “Well done, my good and faithful servant… Come, share your Master’s joy” (Matthew 25:21).
Condolences may be sent to the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, 5562 Central Avenue, Suite 2, Saint Petersburg, FL 33707, phone 727-490-7603.
THE KENNEDY FUNERAL: SPITTING ON CHRIST Posted: Monday August 31, 2009 at 2:46 pm EST by Judie Brown
Each of us who believe in the justice and mercy of God are called, as an act of charity, to pray for the repose of the soul of the deceased. However, there are some rubrics of decorum that should – at the very least – have been respected over this past weekend. I speak, of course, of the grandiose funeral ceremonies, particularly the Catholic funeral Mass, for Senator Edward M. Kennedy.
The entire travesty, from the television cameras to spectacle itself, goes beyond anything I have witnessed in my more than 65 years of life. In fact, while we all thought the appearance of President Barack Obama at the University of Notre Dame was a scandal, the very idea that he offered a eulogy in a basilica, while the real presence of Christ was in the tabernacle, is perhaps the most dastardly thing I have ever seen. America witnessed this nation’s most avid supporter of abortion on demand, standing in a Catholic basilica, during the Mass, speaking of a fellow pro-abort in glowing terms! That alone is such an insult to Christ that words simply cannot express my sorrow. Yet a greater source of sadness is that the Cardinal Sean O'Malley, of the Archdiocese of Boston, looked on as though insulting Christ Himself were an everyday occurrence.
Oh yes, there will be those who will excoriate me for saying such a thing, but please, let’s get to the heart of the matter, shall we?
I am a practicing Catholic. I understand the laws of the Church as they relate to funerals, public figures who persist in supporting grave moral evils while calling themselves Catholic and the proper type of funeral for someone who did not publicly repent of such actions.
As the Reverend Thomas Euteneuer explained in his reflections on the Kennedy funeral prior to the event,
Senator Kennedy needs to be sent to the afterlife with a private, family-only funeral and the prayers of the Church for the salvation of his immortal soul. He will not be missed by the unborn [whom] he betrayed time and time again, nor by the rest of us who are laboring to undo the scandalous example of Catholicism that he gave to three generations of Americans.
Father is right. Not a single one of us knows the state of Senator Kennedy’s soul at his death, but his public record is sufficient to clarify for one and all the myriad reasons why such a Mass, presided over by a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, was a total, absolute insult to Christ the Lord.
A learned gentleman, who has written at length about problems in the Catholic Church over these past 40-plus years, told me that the funeral Mass was the “inversion of all things Catholic.” It is a perfect example of what many describe as bowing to human respect rather than abiding by the laws of God and serving Him first without counting the cost.
Clearly, Saint John Vianney was correct when he said, “Do you know what the devil’s first temptation is to the person who wants to serve God with dedication? It is human respect!” Senator Kennedy devoted a great deal of his public life to assuring the deaths of millions of human beings – members of the human family who happened to reside in their mother’s wombs. He repeatedly defied Catholic teaching, arrogantly receiving the body and blood of Christ when he knew as certainly as he knew his name that aborting a child is an act of murder and a grievous crime defined in precisely those terms by the Catholic Church. And the hierarchy looked on.
By presiding at the funeral Mass and subsequent burial service, prelates of the Roman Catholic Church created much more than a scandal. Now millions of Americans are totally confused about what it means to be Catholic. The words that were uttered by these prelates prove that they did, in fact, ignore the dead babies in order to give glowing words of praise to the man who sanctioned their killing.
Cardinal O’Malley said of Kennedy, "Senator Kennedy was often a champion for the poor, the less fortunate and those seeking a better life. Across Massachusetts and the nation, his legacy will be carried on through the lives of those he served."
Cardinal O’Malley, what about the millions of preborn babies – the lives he failed to serve and, in fact, helped to condemn to death? What about them?
At the grave site at Arlington National Cemetery, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, “lauded Kennedy, making mention that he was known as the ‘Lion of the Senate’ for his zeal in championing the causes of people whose needs and rights have often been overlooked by some.”
Cardinal McCarrick, what about the millions of babies whose human rights, equal rights and civil rights were denied by the senator from Massachusetts? Why didn’t you have a word for them?
It seems to me that the words of these prelates smacked of as much hypocrisy as the events they permitted.
Spitting on Christ Himself at His crucifixion could not have been any more disdainful than what we witnessed Saturday.
As I have read the reactions of Catholics responding to what I had to say, I have, at times, been exposed to some pretty hefty insults. There was the person who wrote, “You are the best example of a right-wing extremist I know. You are, in my mind, very much like the terrorists and a dangerous nut job.”
I responded by explaining that while some prefer to ignore the events and therefore succumb to the evil that resulted, I cannot. The ramifications of such ignominy are not slight. We are sickened by it and cannot remain silent. We reject the gospel of so-called tolerance and we refuse to accept the state of denial that many Catholics are living in at this moment in history.
Another wrote me, “Whatever Senator Kennedy’s flaws and sins, it is not your place to judge the status of his grace. The Lord says remove the log from your own eye before you see the twig in another’s. In reality, I believe, it is you who [are] spitting on his casket.”
Truly, nobody has made a subjective judgment about the state of the senator’s soul; only God can do that and He already has. What we have called attention to is his public record, which speaks for itself and which the cardinals should have spoken to as well.
Perhaps the most troubling letter is the one my friend, Peter Comaskey of Idaho, sent me. He wrote it as a letter to the editor of his local paper. It says, in part,
Today I am totally sick at heart, along with many others who have contacted me on this day of infamy, by the huge public display and mockery of a so-called funeral Mass for a mass murderer of the unborn where his personage was glorified next to sainthood… I could almost feel the rage of the pro-life orthodox faithful, weekly Mass-attending Catholics through my TV screen and the amount of confusion this is going to cause the faithful laity. In a sad way I feel that the Basilica can only be cleansed by being destroyed, it will never be the same… I believe today’s actions in Boston have provoked a great, so far, restrained anger within the Church, which will now be released as this [event] broke the camel’s back. …[W]hat is the point in trying to follow God’s laws and the teachings of the Church after today’s farce made it seem to be a meaningless path to follow. One can do whatever he likes, living it up, apparently like Kennedy, disregarding God and the Church, pushing mass homicide of the unborn, and then moments before death call in a priest in order to pass go, free. Why go to Mass, confession, Communion, all the other sacraments, as today’s debacle lowered their apparent value to real devout Catholics?
This letter begs for a response from those who will probably remain silent. The hierarchy has a habit of doing that when tough questions are asked. I know that from experience.
But the fact is, what this man has written encapsulates what I heard from many, many people, including members of my own family. His angst is not a singular expression made by a single human being who loves Christ and His Church. Many, many Catholics feel the same.
I pray that the suffering this debacle has caused faithful Catholics turns into a renewal of commitment to Christ, His Church, His real presence in the Eucharist and His little ones. Finally, in response to the Saturday disgraces, I do not hesitate to quote Pope Benedict XVI (then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger), who, in his 1997 book, Salt of the Earth: Christianity and the Catholic Church at the End of the Millennium, wrote of the state of the Church, including the “lowering of moral standards even among men of the Church”:
The words of the Bible and of the Church fathers rang in my ears, those sharp condemnations of shepherds who are like mute dogs; in order to avoid conflicts, that let the poison spread. Peace is not the first civic duty, and a bishop whose only concern is not to have any problems and to gloss over as many conflicts as possible is an image I find repulsive.
I agree with you 100% I will not miss kennedy at all. The priests that spoke about him as far as i am concerened are the devils workers. They are not Catholic Priests donna swartz | August 31, 2009
I am struggling with confusion and anger over this too. When a Catholic injures someone in any way, a good priest will insist that an act of reparation be performed on the injured party. So in order to obtain absolution, the penitent must have this intention. It is clear from reading Kennedy???s letter and the "cool" Vatican reply, that Mr. Kennedy was obstinate in avoiding repentance on that issue of abortion. Since Kennedy was a public figure, he had a moral obligation to denounce his support of abortion in public - clearly he did not do so. We will never know if he did so at the end, but he could have, or told his priest to announce it for him. Even greater that the wealth of Kennedy's sins is the font of Christ's mercy, His greatest attribute, and that through which we all hope to gain Heaven. I want Kennedy saved as a testament to God's mercy, and because I desire to see no one in Hell, but not for anything Kennedy said or did at the end. The faithful be reassured that no one comes out of purgatory "until he has paid the last penny." G. Destefano | August 31, 2009
Thank you Judie for expressing what Catholics should be saying. Unfortunately, our Catholic Bishops are giving mixed messages on Abortion. If all Catholics and Catholic Bishops believed in the protection of all innocent human life, then legal abortion would be ended in our country.
These mixed messages that the Bishops are giving only feeds the culture of abortion.
The preborn only have voices like you & I to speak for them. You truly are doing God's work. Craig Bozzacco | August 31, 2009
Judy,
As we read in today's gospel, Jesus suffered rejection too! So disregard all those mean spirited letters, as I know you will!
You always seem to express my sentiments exactly. There are still a number of us "right wing extremest, terrorists" around.
Don't ever give up!
"Give'm Hell Harry!"
Nancy Jaeger, M.E.V.
Roswell, GA
Nancy Jaeger | August 31, 2009
Judie,
Your zeal for truth has me perplexed. I am not Catholic, as a matter of fact I'm not Protestant either. A short short clarification on who is commenting, 2001, at 26, Bio-Chem student, evolution believing, licentious frat boy, I literally "reaped what I had sown", and found no where to hide surrounded by a mirror of Justice...that somehow was filled with the fragrance of love, great love for an unlovable fool worthy of destruction. Needless to say, I was drawn to search out the One behind it all, and my world was never the same, each correct step toward reality magnified The HOLY One, so Mighty, Sovereign, Gentle, Fierce, RIGHTEOUS (undefinable by human words), HOLY ( a word I heard but never understood, and maybe still fully do not). HE is Salvation, HIS name even, as a man, was literally "Salvation I AM" Aramaic Hebrew "YESHA-YAH" now called Jesus.
I was guilty of allowing my high school girl friend of murdering our child, my shame and sorrow in regards to my complete failure toward her, still stings 14 years later, even though I have repented, been restored, and by grace married for years.
I ignored HIS majesty, and seemingly was justified by the obvious travesties of every form or religion. But allowing men's failure to judge GOD was great folly. Even when after I was reproved by The KING, I despised men like Ted Kennedy, and believe he represented Catholicism, blindly trusting is rituals of what I see as "spiritual jumping jacks" to somehow appease The HOLY One's Wrath against sin, in place of the cross, while at the same time expressing through his walk his blatant hate for HIM. Likewise, I despised the protestants, for acknowledging what the Bible defines as grace, but mixing it with true Faith, and not only avoiding change, but falsely representing HIM.
I am perplexed by your fire against a soiree of lies, with courage I recognize. You are one of a handful of people I have seen, who have been touched, but seem to be pouring HOLY Love, taking a stand to battle darkness at the broken ramparts of Spiritual Babylon whose foundation was laid in defiance against The KING, giving vain refuge to the lost.
I am nothing, and may be guilty of meddling...I just hoped Quinn Griffith | August 31, 2009
President Barack Obama delivered the eulogy, in which he alluded to Kennedy's support for gay rights. One of the Prayers of the Faithful was a petition to end divisions ???between gays and straights???. Larry Cirignano | August 31, 2009
Who the heck do you think you are to set yourself up a spokesperson for the Roman Catholic Church?
TWO CARDINALS were involved in the Kennedy funeral, They recognised that a man like us, a fellow human being was trying to make a diffence for the poor and marginalized. Ted Kennedy might not have been perfect but at least he tried. Thank God with me for the good he has done. Stop being like chicken little and yelling, 'the sky is falling." You really are a one issue fanatic and perhaps as the gentelman man you quoted, a right wing nut job.
Stop it already. Jimmy | August 31, 2009
Wow, Judie, what a powerful article! Thank you for expressing my, and my family's feelings. I, too, was sickened by the cannonization of this person who was not only responsible for the murder of millions of preborn Americans but who also led the souls of their parents to be placed in eternal peril. Sarah Heil | August 31, 2009
Judy:
Thank you for this article.
You are "right on" about the continued heresies in our church (my church).
Its simply disgraceful. Dick Whitehead | August 31, 2009
Judie Thank you 50 million times. Tommorow at PP Boston I will say a prayer for you & that other so-called Catholics will be infused by the Holy Spirit to gain your courage. Agape Love in the name of Christ. Ray Neary | August 31, 2009
Dear Judie,
I couldn't agree with you more. I am saddend and very disheartened by the Bishop and priests at the Kennedy funeral mass and that President Obama was given yet again another platform to speak. It's as if they completely ignore the over 50 million babies that have been murdered through the help of Kennedy and other so-called "Catholic" politicians. What is going on with the Catholic Church in the USA? Deborah Gallo | August 31, 2009
Judie,
My highest regards to you.
Your column was fresh air to one suffocating in this nonsense.
As a floundering Catholic, I struggle to sustain my faith, all the while feeling that the Church of my heart has been overtaken by the "go along to get along" gang. While babies get slaughtered.
While babies get slaughtered.
Even as I type these words, I feel it just can't be real.
While babies get slaughtered.
All Catholics should have no agenda beyond stopping abortion. Until abortion is no more, all else should be put on the back burner.
If life has meaning, how could we have any greater issue, any higher priority?
Oh yeah, we need to pray for Mr. Kennedy. He really came through for us when we needed him. Just think of the impact he COULD have had for the pro-life. He COULD have been the one to turn it all around.
Someday I'll pray for him, but tonight there are a few thousand more murdered babies I must pray for.
Love,
Jim James Flathers | August 31, 2009
Words could never express how much you mean to many of us in the prolife movement.
Many take solace (and in fact I myself take solace) in the fact that Ted had a confessor at his bedside for several months to guide his atonement and daily reception of the Sacraments. Sadly, knowing the tenets of the faith and crying out on our deathbeds for mercy for our own souls in the privacy of our home - while leaving the many we mislead on that road to perdition we left them on, telling them to carry the torch forward -- that just isn't good enough.
We're in trouble here in Boston. Terrible trouble. Thank you for speaking out - and taking hits for us all. carol mckinley | August 31, 2009
Amen Judy!! jim dress | August 31, 2009
judie, after reading your letter, I felt like i was hit with a hammer in my gut. father corapi eloquently stated that we are at war against the forces of evil,and it appears that the first victims are the clergy in their cowardice of not standing to the principles and practicies of our mother church. we desperately need bishops with a backbone and a commitment to church teachings and doctrines. it is obivious that certain bishops, by their actions have lost their fear of God and are relying upon their last-minute confession before they die to save their wreched souls like kennedy probably did. there is no clear path to salvation especially if one clearly knows what is right or wrong especially the clergy. God bless. john burgess | September 1, 2009
Hi Judie,
As a Christian, I grieve with you on this tragic turn of events in the Catholic Church.
Please remember that all the insults you are getting are really aimed at God. There are millions of Christians out here who see horrible things happening in their churches also, and are supporting you in prayer.
God bless you.
Susan
Susan | September 1, 2009
I am also sick at heart. I watched none of the travesty and have avoided reading most of the commentary. But I read yours. Yes, we practicing Catholics who pray and fast for LIFE are so sick at heart. Again and again our Church leaders in this country disappoint us and those weak in the faith are scandalized. It seems to never stop. Linda O'Brien | September 1, 2009
You know so much, and yet you know so little. Senator Kennedy saved more lives, improved more lives than you will ever know. You disagree with the law as it stands, giving women the ability to choose what happens to their bodies. Women may choose to have a safe procedure in a clean sterile setting, and live. You would rather women would die at t he hands of a filthy back street abortionist. How terribly Christian of you!
Every time you see Braille buttons on an elevator or a ramp at a public building, you should say a prayer of thanks to the Senator. After reading your vile dribble, I think you should say some sincere prayers for your own soul, as you advocate for the deaths of women. Elizabeth | September 1, 2009
Dear Judie,
Thank you for your
THE KENNEDY FUNERAL: SPITTING ON CHRIST
I woke up on Sunday morning totally depressed about the Catholic Church.
How about sending "YOU CAN'T BE CATHOLIC AND PROABORTION" signss to Cardinal O'Malley, Cardinal McCarrick and the Kennedy family seated in the front ror for the Funeral.
God Bless you and Fr. Euteneuer. John Bettinger | September 1, 2009
Judie, I thank God for both you and Father Eutenauer who have put into words so precisely what I and others like me have been thinking this last week.
Our priest at Mass on Saturday wanted us to pray for Ted Kennedy which was fine, but then he went on to talk about the good that TK did. Then later, we find out that Father also supports civil unions for gays.
I have him "grace" because of his age. However, I can't help but believe that his attitude might be prevalent among the clergy.
This is all so sad! Psych Doc | September 1, 2009
Dear G. Destefano
I understand youru confusion but wish to explain to you that your analysis is totally accurate. The reason the grievous sin of supporting abortion of babies is so egregious is because it is murder. For thirty years Kennedy supported this publicly; therefore he was called by the laws of the Church to denounce and repent of his actions publicly as well. He had ample time to do so and he did not.
I think we have to understand that God is merciful and He is also just. There is no justice for the millions of babies Kennedy condemned by his public advocacy and support for abortion.
Judie Brown Judie Brown | September 1, 2009
Dear Jimmie
There is no place on our website or in this commentary where it is said that I speal for the Church. I am a Catholic who understands full well that two Cardinals presided over an event that brought shame and scandal to the Church.
Neither of those Cardinals exercised prudence, nor did they call to the attention of the loving family the fact that this man violated basic teachings of the Church and therefore deserved a PRIVATE, family funeral at the very most.
This has nothing to do with any man or woman being perfect; there is no such thing. This has to do with a public figure who repeated mocked the Church by supporting the direct murder of preborn babies.
I am a fanatic for Christ and pray daily that I remain that way! Thank you for the compliment and please rest assured of my prayers.
Judie Brown Judie Brown | September 1, 2009
Dear Quinn
I first want to assure you of my prayers for you on your journey. As a practicing Catholic, mother of three, grandma to eleven and wife of a wonderful man for 42 years now, I understand that the world can present us with challenges that bring us to our knees. This is why I love the Lord as much as I do, love the Catholic Church with all my heart and cannot stand it when individual Catholics like Kennedy mock Christ and His Church in life, only to be hailed in death by the very people who should be setting the record straight.
I will pray for you, Quinn and I thank you for taking teh time th share your vision. May the Lord guide you in His way.
Judie Brown Judie Brown | September 1, 2009
The Kennedy funeral is followed by the resignation of Bishop Martino. At 63, Bishop Martino, who raised his voice against pro-abortion "Catholic" politicians like Joe Biden and lukewarm Bob Casey Jr., is worn out from fighting with his own clergy and laypeople. It is discouraging.
As good bishops reminded us during the Notre Dame/Obama scandal, we must pray. That is the one thing we can all do. We need to pray for our shepherds, that they truly act as shepherds. We must pray for those shepherds who truly work to live their mission, that God sustains them.
I like Jim above, find it hard to believe that our country tolerates thousands of children being killed each day. Our beloved Country, with its high ideals and wonderful abundance. Archbishop Chaput told the Knights of Columbus that the bishops need to be led by us. Then let us raise our voices, as Judie does, to help those bishops hold fast to the task given to them. David Volk | September 1, 2009
The sky above shed torrents of rainfall during the funeral Mass. Were these tears from Heaven? Perhaps tears of the unborn who never got to see the light of day and tears for those yet to be slaughtered? As a Catholic, I too am confused and dazed. Chris | September 1, 2009
Dear Elizabeth
You know, I do not take the good Senator Kennedy did away from him but I know of the evil he perpetrated on our nation by supporting and advocating the direct murder of innocent preborn children.
That alone is a travesty the proportions of which noone will know, but God knows.
We pray each day, ELizabeth, for those who have died and those living, for the grace to discern God will and for the courage to do what is right and good according to His law.
Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to respond to you, dear lady. It seems you have an axe to grind and I hope you feel better now that you have shared your view.
Finally, you have no idea how many mothers' lives have been saved thanks to the heroic work of pro-life Americans across this nation; each of whom were adamently opposed by the actions of the late Senator from Massachusetts. But we all pray for his soul, and we thank God for the gift of life.
Judie Brown Judie Brown | September 1, 2009
Dear Alveda
Thank you for sharing this piece with us. As Catholics we know that God, the judge of each, is merciful and just. Reflecting on the millions of preborn children who died because of Senator Kennedy's 30 years of abortion advocacy, all I can say is the man needs prayer. God has already dealt with him, and we who are left behind must remain strong, faithful and willing to always follow Christ and never count the cost.
By the way, the article you shared has several theological problems, but I will leave that for another day.
Judie Brown Judie Brown | September 1, 2009
We need to pray to God for someone to reform the church. It's obviously in disarray and lacking real shepherds. The bishops have let us down and have for quite some time. We need someone like St. Catherine of Siena or St. Dominic to lead us out of this mess. Mike Demers | September 1, 2009
I hope and pray that the hate you are spreading on your website towards those who don't agree with you, doesn't cause your fanatic followers to in anyway hurt, or harm those political figures or or others who disagree with you.
It is retoric like yours that causes violence. Tim O'Neill | September 1, 2009
My remarks are in response to Peter Comaskey. He asks:
"What is the point in trying to follow God's laws and the teachings of the church after today's farce made it seem to be a meaningless path to follow.... Why go to Mass?"
Ted Kennedy's crimes against God and the cowardly contribution of our cardinals are perhaps a new cross for "real devout" Catholics to bear, just as the abuse scandal is. All the good priests in the world bear that cross. As well, stadning at the foot of the cross at times like this opens an opportunity to decide if we will fall into the temptation of our own anger becoming self-pity and victimhood or whether we will rise to the occassion of our faith is tested once again.
Why go to Mass? The deeper question is: Why not go to Mass even more?! A Cardinal's behavior doesn't lower the value of the sacraments unless we allow them to slip away. The evil one is there. waiting for us to fall onto the path of self-pity, rather than "NO! We will not allow this to degrade our souls. We will uphold the sanctity on life AND the sacraments." The value of the sacraments comes from God and what Christ bore for us. These sacraments He gave to us. The sacrament of Holy Orders was received by these cardinals. It is their marriage to the church that they devalue for themselves alone.
Why go to confession and communion? To rise to the test, to say "No" to the evil one, to help us bear these crosses, to keep us in union with God, and to assist us in not giving in as the Cardinals have done. They may weaken their own sense of virtues, but we cannot let them weaken ours.
Why got to Mass? For your soul. For God.
Pray for the cardinals.
Speak out for justice.
Mary Ann Mueller | September 1, 2009
Hello Judie,
I am a pro-life worker who gets your
organization's e-mail newsletter. My heart is broken over the Catholic church in Massachusetts allowing Ted Kennedy to have a Catholic funeral. I ask the Lord " what has this world come to when a pro-abortion person is allowed to receive Holy Communion and have a Catholic funeral?!" Regina Marie Elliott | September 1, 2009
Thank you for this great article. I refused to watch the funeral, fearing exactly what transpired.
I am sorry, but I don't think that socializing benefits is necessarily working for the public good. I worked for both a non-profit that received money from the state and one that received money from the church, and I will tell you without a doubt that the state run non-profit was wasteful and preoccupied with serving themselves more than the people they were hired to serve. The spirit of Catholic Charities was exactly the opposite. Its amazing how much money and effort is wasted when the social work is placed in the hands of the government.
Ted Kennedy would have been much more effective in the battle for human rights had he spent his time, effort and political cachet supporting these rights in private settings using private money, versus raising our taxes and rendering unto Caesar much more than he can handle.
I was afraid that a person who caused so much scandal in the church would be lauded as its champion, just because of his royal status in the US. Let's pray for his soul and for the soul of Christ's bride, the Church. Christine | September 1, 2009
What you Papists believe is blashemous to the Lord under any circumstances. True Christians know that Yahweh will condemn all Catholics to Hell forever. Southern Baptist | September 1, 2009
Thank you Judie for speaking out faithfully and forcefully on the Kennedy
funeral. I did not watch any of the events but reading your observations brought a couple of the thoughts to mind:
One of the signers of the Land O'Lakes
document was Right Rev. Theodore F. McCarrick, President of the Catholic University of Puerto Rico, Ponce, Puerto Rico. The seminar was hosted by Father
Hesburgh, President of Notre Dame.
It promulgated the Idea of a Catholic University and was viewed as rejecting Catholic authority in favor of academic autonomy.
I came across a letter by Malcolm Muggeridge, British writer. He recounted a converation with Archbishop Fulton Sheen who said this:
"Never worry; Christendom is over - but not Christ."
Muggeridge attributed the end of Christendom largely to liberalism. It is the great destructive force of our time.
A prophetic and accurate prediction !!!
Stay strong, Judie.
John O'Donnell John O'Donnell | September 1, 2009
Dearest Julie,
Sometimes I wish the bishops would just yell. Christ yelled at the moneychangers in the temple - no? Peter, well he not only yelled but there was that ear he cut off right in front of Jesus no less. So let's all pray that the bishops yell. Not at each other even - just yell at me and put me in my place - a pro-life, pro-traditional family, church-going Catholic with a big family. Yell at me about how I am intolerant or whatever - get worked up about it - for God's sake! Because if I'm to be reprimanded I can take it. If I'm wrong - then let's get the cards on the table rather than spewing the lukewarm, relativistic sophistry that has consumed most of our bishops. Tell me where I went wrong... or get out of the way and let the true shepherds of the church - the Burkes, the Chaputs, and the remnant of other bishops take the lead and get Catholics in this country back on track toward heaven.
God Bless You!
Jim Jim | September 1, 2009
JUDIE! YOU EXPRESS MY CATHOLIC HEART AND SORROW!!
ROSIE Rosina San Paolo | September 1, 2009
Amen, Judy!!!!! If condemning those who would flaunt the values or the world, then call themselves followers of Christ means that I am labeled a "terrorist and a dangerous nut job,??? then I am proud to be considered such.
Kennedy's lax morals and anti-life agenda are a perfect example of all that is wrong with the Christian Faith in America today. We substitute "tolerence" for "love", and aiding and abetting the lazy for "charity". We facilitate the shirking of responsibility and call it "mercy", and advance the theft of the working class to support the welfare state and call it "feeding widows and orphans." And the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops pontificates and writes thesis after thesis and otherwise acts like some new agey type parents saying in a soft voice, "now little Johnny, stop stabbing Sally with that blade, you know we've taught you better than that," while making no move whatsoever to intervene. And we're the nut jobs ?
Jesus condemned the religious leadership of his day, and we would do well to follow his example when those who would pose as servants of Christ present a neutered faith that is niether hot nor cold and is best vomited up rather than digested and assimilated into the church.
And to those of you non-Catholics who think you are above the fray, I say be careful. I see this lackadaisical approach creeping into every denomination and independent faction of which I am aware. Taking a stance that this is only a Catholic issue is like saying "you bail the boat, the leak is in your end." I believe we all belong to the One Body of which Paul spoke, and no part is affected in isolation. The Christianization of America, begun in the 1500's, has given way to the Americanization of Christianity, begun in the 1900,s.
If we don't defend the faith now, Caligula's persecution of the Christians in Rome will look like child's play in a few years as America seeks to purge itself of the last vestiges of the "prudish and intolerent far right" factions.
In Faith and Freedom,
Sean Q Gallagher
Madison, GA Sean Q Gallagher | September 1, 2009
Thank you Judie for a faithful and forceful article on the Kennedy funeral
which I did not view.
A couple of points come to mind:
One of the signers of the Land O'Lakes
seminar was Right Rev. Theodore E. McCarrick, President, Catholic University of Puerto Rico, Ponce, Puerto Rico. The Idea of the Catholic University
document rejected Catholic Church authority in favor of academic authority.
Father Hesburg of Notre Dame hosted the conference in Wisconsin.
I have a letter from the late Malcolm Muggeridge, British writer who quoted
the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen - "Never worry; Christendom is over -
but not Christ."
Muggeridge attributed the end of Christendom to liberalism. It is the great destructive force of our time.
Stay strong, Judie.
God Bless you,
John O'Donnell John O'Donnell | September 1, 2009
Hello Judie,
Hear! Hear! Well done for speaking up up for the Bride of Christ and telling it how it is, on this occasion.
Best wishes
rosie | September 2, 2009
Dear Judy,
When Catholic politicians were denied communion for their public stance supporting abortion, we were accused of politicizing the Eucharist. The public funeral for Ted Kennedy and the public prayers to push for his political agenda seemed to point that this public mass was indeed political. The dead man and his works in this world were exalted, how disappointed I was that not even the Cardinal would have used the opportunity to remind all Catholics that the Church demands the respect and protection of all life from natural conception to natural death. Too "political", I guess. Catherine Lemek | September 2, 2009
Your lack of charity is an amazing scandal and does harm to the pro-life message. David | September 2, 2009
I am one of those cradle Catholics who hold the Lord in the depth of my heart and soul. Many of us have turned our lives around after having had a reawakening, which only God can provide. Ted Kennedy, in my estimation could have possibly cleansed his soul through confession durring his last few months on this earth. He may be in heaven now, having asked God to forgive him for the millions of unborn babies who died because of his votes on so many occasions. That which totally blows me away is the fact that the new Anti Christ, Barack Obama was present in a Catholic Church singing Ted Kennedy's praises is a total and complete abomination of the Catholic Church. It is known by those of us who practice our Catholic Faith with fervor that the Blessed Mother has said, "In the end, My Immaculate Heart will conquer, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." Satan is well and strong in these days. You only have to turn on your t.v. to know this. It would take me thousands of words to give you examples.........suffice it to say....Ted Kennedy was a swine during his human life on earth. We need to pray for his soul. That lasts forever........and he may have already been plunged into the abyss. Barack Obama is headed in the same direction........and you know?
The funny thing is that I still pray for him daily. This world needs prayer! It needs Jesus Christ back in schools and in t he laws of this great land called America. I am sick and tired of trying to appease all of the foreigners who come to this country expecting a handout. I've worked my tail off for more than half of my life. Can you imagine how long they will have to spend in purgatory? How bout you? Make every moment count. Ted Kennedy didn't. God help his soul. Jay | September 2, 2009
Chris
We must remember that even in the worst of time, the Lord is with us and with our prayers and fasting for the evils we see, we can share in the agony Christ must be feeling at this time. Thank God for our faith!
Judie Brown Judie Brown | September 3, 2009
Dear Tim
We are not spreading hate, but rather focusing on the objective facts and the truth that a single abortion murders a single human being. The violence is what Senator kennedy advocated for more than 30 years; violence that pits an expectant mother against her own baby.
We promise to pray for you, Tim.
Judie Brown Judie Brown | September 3, 2009
Dear Southern Baptist
Judge not lest ye be judged.
Judie Brown Judie Brown | September 3, 2009
I believe the title of this post is appropriate. I did not watch the Kennedy funeral on TV, I just didn't have the stomach for all the false accalades I knew that day would bring.
But, Jesus, on the other hand, had to put up with it. He had to stay there and listen to every word. Knowing that many men and women of power were in His Father's house and speaking in glorious ways about a man who openly opposed the teachings of His Church.
You see, as Catholics, we believe in the True Presence of Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist. That when the priest, or bishop, or cardinal blesses the bread and wine, that Jesus is truly present at the Mass in a form we cannot understand. It is called Faith.
And, even priests, bishops, or cardinals not honoring Church teaching yet serving on behalf of the Church still have the power to make this happen with their consecrated hands.
How He must have suffered yet again last week. At the very least, He was indeed spiritually spit upon by people who should have definitely known better.
I am a firm believer in the Divine Mercy of Jesus. I think that we as human beings have no idea how Merciful Jesus can be even if the smallest ray of repentance or faith manages to penetrate the darkest corner of our souls. Even if a person has only 1 second left in their life. As a rotten sinner, I am heavily counting on it. Given God's Mercy, it would not surprise me in the least if He worked especially hard in the last moments of Senator Kennedy's life to guide him to His Barn. But, the damage to other Catholic souls who watched the funeral on TV and left with the impression that being pro-abortion is acceptable to God and His Church has been done. And the Church's example to living souls is all that remains.
Now is the time to pursue Jesus' Mercy, folks. When this period is over, He will return with His Justice. We need to worry less about the right or left of politics as our religion, and focus more on the center of God and His Love and Mercy.
Pray to the Father, in the Name of the Son, that you may receive His Holy Spirit. James P. | September 5, 2009
Dear David
The charitable thing to do for the Senator is pray for his soul; the charitable thing to do for those surviving him is to seek truth rather than political correctness.
DEVILS, DETAILS AND DECEPTION Posted: Friday August 28, 2009 at 3:28 pm EST by Judie Brown
By R.T. Neary
The devil is in the details, and the devil in H.R. 3200, the Obama administration’s so-called health care reform bill, has been anesthetized, so as to appear innocuous. But this devil is also a chameleon, created in a very crafty fashion.
Anyone who has experience with negotiating labor contracts – as does the writer – is well aware that vague language or no mention of an issue ultimately leads to the need for interpretation. What is implied in the wording becomes the real focus. Its meaning is interpreted by one party’s own appointed bureaucrats, a favorable regulator or by judge-shopping within the judicial system. The tack which all of these people will take has been predetermined, so this is at the core of the administration’s modus operandi.
This bill is, in part, about putting an indelible stamp on abortion as a way of death. Assisted suicide and euthanasia are also included by implication in this “health” package; otherwise, they would have been explicitly excluded. The true test of the Obama administration’s intent lies in the wording. The gaggle of attorneys surrounding President Barack Obama are well aware of how to write clear-cut language that would allow no “wiggle room” and would convey sincerity. Likewise, along party lines and with his support, the Democrats have steadfastly voted down amendments that would protect the right to life of innocent human beings across the entire life spectrum. The intent of Obama and his supporters has been made crystal clear.
In stark contrast, as a presidential candidate, Obama did use very clear language in his promises to the abortion industry. He said he would sign into law the Freedom of Choice Act and support abortion in every instance, including partial-birth abortion. He deemed clarity to be essential then. But now he is resorting to self-righteous verbal tap dancing while charging at town-hall meetings that his opponents are trying “to scare and mislead the public.” Who is trying to mislead whom?
Fresh from being honored by this country’s best-known “Catholic” university, the president has informed the leading abortion providers that, in view of the heat generated by Catholic opponents to his award from Notre Dame, he will forego a heads-on approach to FOCA. Why not? The same end can now be attained incrementally through passage of this health care “reform” legislation.
Although he was careful to not select a single individual with a pro-life background for a high-level position, he has nominated many who profess to be Catholic. This was part of the design. It provides cover in the shell game being played to convert this massive health care package into law and codify abortion on demand by an indirect route.
As part of its push, the administration has loosened the purse strings to fund organizations such as Catholic Charities and other front groups featuring “Catholic” in their name or whose name clearly implies a Catholic identity. They willingly respond by acting as salespeople trumpeting the need for passing the entire package, using moral arguments weighing heavily in favor of obtaining coverage for the millions now uninsured. The pitch is always cloaked in Christian-sounding generalities, rather than specifics. At first blush, it sounds compassionate, but it withers away quickly when challenged on substance. All of it is leftist demagoguery repackaged.
Though he was too ill to attend his sister Eunice’s funeral, the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy was nonetheless exploited (apparently with family approval) to promote what is essentially a power grab. Unfortunately, Senator Kennedy apparently did not focus on ensuring that the health care overhaul would respect the right to life of all human beings, from creation to natural death – as he should have done in his waning days, in reparation for his many years of abortion advocacy.
Instead, the proposal is fraught with unanswered questions about the motives behind it – and its ultimate consequences. What a sad scenario! I contacted Senator Kennedy’s Washington office to propose the following wording in the Senate version: “The intent of this legislation is to promote the health of all human beings. Nothing in the wording shall be construed to include counseling for or the funding of abortion, euthanasia or assisted suicide.”
If this 1,100-plus-page document – or even one with only 600 words – is passed, Obama’s advisors and bureaucrats will start chipping away to undermine and ultimately destroy conscience clauses as well as parental consent requirements, waiting periods and every other restriction on the destruction of life in utero.
Obama is clearly feticidal – and infanticidal as well. He proved it as the Illinois state senator who voted three times to deny medical care to a child born alive as a result of a failed attempt to abort him or her. And Obama expressly voiced the belief that a Supreme Court opinion cut out of whole cloth in 1973 took precedence over any right to life one could claim for a defenseless human being in need of medical care – if the intent was to legally end the life of that human being.
Abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide are not health care. Each stops a beating human heart permanently. Health care is designed to keep that heart beating until it ceases to function on its own. We now have the hearts of over a million humans stopped legally each year. That figure would grow drastically under Obamacare. Yes, where this man wants to take the country is a very scary place.
The primary issue in the entire health care debate is not whether some reform is needed; it is how we should approach the issue – through a blanket overhaul or by breaking down the effort into its component parts and addressing them individually? Moreover, if explicitly worded exclusions for abortion, assisted suicide or euthanasia counseling and/or funding are not added to the legislation, any deal must be broken before it moves to a conference committee – on which the administration is heavily relying to accomplish its goals.
The president of the United States has an atrocious record of disregard for preborn babies’ human dignity and right to life, which logically leads to the conclusion that he harbors the same attitude toward the defenseless elderly and infirm.
Obama must be held to a moral standard far superior to that which he has thus far displayed toward life-and-death matters. He is showing all his cards in H.R. 3200 and gives us no alternative but to vigorously oppose this bill and defeat it. Our efforts cannot be relaxed until this is accomplished.
R.T. Neary writes from Medfield, Massachusetts, and is the director of Pro-Life Massachusetts, an American Life League Associate group.
forced vaccinations (untested, deadly) in massachusetts, does not sound to be pro-life to me, read the above link. Marie | August 28, 2009
Judie,
Thought this might help you.
Canons 1184-1185 say:
"Canon 1184 ??1. Unless they gave some signs of repentance before death, the following must be deprived of ecclesiastical funerals:
1/ notorious apostates, heretics, and schismatics;
2/ those who chose the cremation of their bodies for reasons contrary to Christian faith;
3/ other manifest sinners who cannot be granted ecclesiastical funerals without public scandal of the faithful.
"??2. If any doubt occurs, the local ordinary is to be consulted, and his judgment must be followed.
"Canon 1185. Any funeral Mass must also be denied a person who is excluded from ecclesiastical funerals." Nick | August 31, 2009
Marie
It is not pro-life, and it smacks of a bit of totalitarianism as well!
Judie Brown Judie Brown | September 1, 2009
Nick
If only I were a Canon lawyer! Thank you very much and God be with you.
Judie Brown Judie Brown | September 1, 2009
So much hate.
One holy catholic apostolic and republican church. Brian | September 2, 2009
Dear Brian
There is no hate; there is an enormity of truth. We cannot water down that truth for any political agenda, to the left or to the right of us. Christ was not a politician and we belong to Him, not to politics.
ANOTHER UNHOLY ALLIANCE IN CATHOLIC HEALTH CARE? Posted: Thursday August 27, 2009 at 4:42 pm EST by Judie Brown
By Gail Besse
Why would a thriving Catholic hospital endanger its ethical mission by teaming up with a medical conglomerate that supports abortion, contraception, the morning-after pill and human embryonic stem cell research?
While pro-life Americans nationwide battle the Obama administration juggernaut – working to defend doctors’ conscience rights and to exclude abortion from national health care – some in the “Live Free or Die” state are at odds with their own diocese.
It’s a situation described as “tragic and ironic” by members of New Hampshire Right to Life (NHRTL), an American Life League Associate group. They say the diocese is poised to surrender the independence of its 330-bed hospital in a convoluted agreement that’s evidently meant to maintain ritual purity while “integrating” with the secular system.
Led by Kathleen Souza and Barbara Hagan, both Catholics and former New Hampshire state legislators, the pro-lifers have vowed to stop this “unholy alliance.” “Dartmouth is involved in abortions throughout the state, heavily involved in fertility research, embryonic stem cell research, selective reduction abortion – almost everything the Church is against,” said Souza.
DHH is a formidable presence in New Hampshire and eastern Vermont. It comprises the Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon; and the D-H Clinic, which includes physician group practices in Concord, Keene, Manchester and Nashua. It’s affiliated with the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and Dartmouth Medical School.
Adding CMC to its regional system would give DHH a hospital presence 60 miles from Boston. But CMC and DHH are so opposed to each other on sanctity of life matters that this collaboration means the hospital will deviate from its underlying religious mission, according to the 25,000-member NHRTL.
“Catholic people built this hospital with their pennies and dimes,” Hagan said. “The bishop has the ultimate say over its fate, and he’s putting himself in the position of being undercut. His powers are either diluted or eliminated throughout the agreement.”
Souza and Hagan, on behalf of NHRTL and “the pro-life community in greater Manchester,” on August 11 filed a formal Memo of Opposition with the charitable trusts division of the New Hampshire attorney general’s office. They’ve submitted more than 500 pages of supporting documentation that they contend proves the venture violates both Catholic ethics and the law that protects the public trust regarding charities. And they’ve submitted a similar package to the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) for its opinion.
“D-H doctors have testified in the state legislature against the diocese on end-of-life issues,” Souza explained. “Their chief palliative care doctor helped get legislation passed that led to the state issuing a dangerous ‘living will’ called the New Hampshire Advance Directive.
“Dartmouth refers girls to Planned Parenthood in Manchester, where we have a picket going five days a week. If you partner with D-H and give them credibility, it’s a weak moral argument to say, ‘They do it under a different roof, so we won’t be culpable,’” she said.
Manchester Bishop John McCormack and the attorney general’s office have final say over the plan, which both CMC and DHH hope to finalize by December 31, according to their affiliation agreement, dated July 22 of this year. The bishop has conditionally approved the proposal but says he’s still reviewing it. He declined to answer questions posed by American Life League about it, or to meet with several concerned pro-life actvisits, despite their repeated requests this spring.
According to a statement on AHealthierTomorrow.org (a web site unveiled July 22 to explain the plan), the goal is to “create an integrated healthcare delivery system that maximizes Manchester-based resources aimed at increasing access to enhanced quality patient care.”
Bishop McCormack has stated, “As bishop, I am committed to preserve Catholic Medical Center to be a true Catholic healthcare institution, one that fulfills all the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic hospitals.” He is referring to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care. Part Six of this document, titled “Forming New Partnerships with Health Care Organizations and Providers,” provides norms for guiding the faithful through the dangers inherent in Catholic-secular hospital mergers and other minefields. It notes, “The risk of scandal cannot be underestimated when partnerships are not built upon common values and moral principles.”
But since the plan was announced, DHH officials have been consistent. There will be no curtailment of its reproductive health "services” such as contraception and abortion, according to repeated statements to the media provided by spokesman Jason Aldous and other DHH officials.
“Where’s the truth? Black can’t be white and white can’t be black,” said Souza. “A Catholic institution doesn’t only have an obligation to serve health care needs but also to preach the gospel,” added Hagan. “Partnering with an entity that stands in direct philosophical opposition is a breach of the Catholic community’s support and trust.D-H has no religious purpose – only charitable, scientific and educational.”
CMC, on the other hand, legally exists to carry on the work of the Church under its parent corporation, the Catholic Medical Center Healthcare System (CMCHS), which is a “juridic person” of the diocese under canon law.
The agreement calls for the diocese to basically relinquish the hospital’s independence, as DHH will become the new “sole member” of CMC’s parent company. A DHH Leadership Council, composed of officials of all its regional members, will have ultimate power over CMC’s finances and strategic planning, as well as the appointment of its trustees and president. “You can kiss control goodbye if you don’t have the votes on the board.” Hagan pointed out. “It’s a corporate shell game as far as I’m concerned.” Souza likened the legal reorganization to “Russian nested dolls.”
The agreement stipulates that Catholic ethical norms will be followed, but also acknowledges that all parties understand sometimes they may not be. In those cases, the Leadership Council gives representatives of CMC and its parent, CMCHS, the chance to “recuse herself or himself and have no involvement in such issues.” “Does that sound like Pope John Paul’s ‘stand up and proclaim the Gospel?’” Hagan asked. “They’ll walk away and not defend the faith.”
Among other issues raised in the Memo of Objections is the bishop’s “absence at the negotiating table.” The guidance the bishop’s been given comes from an ethicist who’s in the “compromising” position of also being a diocesan employee, the memo notes. Peter Cataldo is both pro-life director for the diocese and a CMC advisor. And although the bishop has said he’s consulted two other ethicists as well, he has declined to name them.
Another objection is the lack of public input during initial planning. CMC and DHH have been cooperating on joint ventures for more than five years, but the “holding company affiliation” (they’re not terming it a merger) was not publicized until February. A few talks between diocesan and hospital officials and invited pro-life leaders did take place this spring, but Souza said these were “more of a ‘dog-and-pony show’ than a serious exchange of information.”
“We complained to the bishop in writing following each meeting, repeating the same concerns each time,” she said. “Each reply from the bishop assured us that our worries were unfounded – but again – no answers were provided.”
Pro-lifers felt the clock was just being allowed to run out. “Mistrust on ethics will doom CMC's new affiliation,” predicted former Manchester alderman Rich Gerard in a July 27-August 2 Manchester Expresscolumn. Community forums will be held in the fall, but dates and locations have not been announced yet.
NHRTL also contends that Dartmouth will “rapidly devour CMC, engulfing all of New Hampshire and Vermont.” In a July 25 column in the Concord Monitor, former New Hampshire state representative Donald Welch agreed. “Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is a leader in health-care innovation and care, but its business model is predatory,” he observed. “It is not interested in being a bridesmaid. “Catholic Medical Center would be an afterthought, its mission and glorious past notwithstanding.”
The hospital’s roots go back almost 120 years. In the 1890s, Manchester Catholics built two hospitals, both run by religious sisters: Sacred Heart on the city’s east side and Notre Dame on the west side. In 1978, the two hospitals combined into CMC.
In the 1990s, the hospital merged for a few years with Elliot Hospital of Manchester to form Optima Health, a venture that proved to be ill-conceived, unpopular and unsuccessful. The merger was dissolved; the hospitals continued independently and flourished.
“The successful campaign to save Catholic Medical Center from extinction appears not to be appreciated by Giles or her management team,” Welch said. “It is once again being handled like a financial asset rather than a sacred trust.”
Souza and Hagan – who helped expose problems inherent in Optima – contend the Manchester plan would create even more of a scandal than the unresolved situation in the Archdiocese of Boston, whose Caritas Christi health care system is still a player with an insurance company that refers women for abortions, contraceptives and sterilizations.
Following much negative publicity, in June, at the 11th hour, Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley did nix the hospital system becoming an outright partner with the company, but he has yet to divulge details of the current plan. He has also declined to release the opinion he sought in March from the NCBC.
Colleen McCormick, an anesthesiologist with a graduate degree in medical ethics, has attended the Manchester talks. “Washington is dying to squelch conscience protections,” she observed. “Once Catholic entities have physicians who have no problems with the culture of death, rights of conscience will be easier to overcome. I think we should be withdrawing from any liaisons at all between Catholic and secular health care providers.”
Asked to comment on mergers in general, Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, director of education for the NCBC, advised, “Such mergers can be pursued as long as the Catholic health care provider is clear about the meaning of its Catholic identity and remains intent on upholding that identity in all the negotiations and arrangements leading to the merger and subsequent to its realization. This means that the Catholic institution (and the merged institution later) will be bound by the provisions of the Ethical and Religious Directives. The possibility of scandal must be meticulously avoided.”
By contrast, Hagan said, in this case, the maze of legal documents stipulates that “the directives will be followed – except when they won’t.” She added, “We’re praying that the NCBC and the attorney general’s office will conclude, as we have, that this proposed affiliation is an attempt to do the impossible.”
In his 1995 encyclical, Evangelium Vitae(The Gospel of Life), Pope John Paul II was clear:
“[W]e are facing an enormous and dramatic clash between good and evil, death and life, the ‘culture of death’ and the ‘culture of life.’ We find ourselves not only ‘faced with’ but necessarily ‘in the midst of’ this conflict. We are all involved and we all share in it, with the inescapable responsibility of choosing to be unconditionally pro-life.” (Section 28)
Gail Besse is a Catholic freelance writer from Boston. Her work has been published in the National Catholic Register, Our Sunday Visitor and various Massachusetts secular daily papers and diocesan publications.
Regarding your protest of Senator Kennedy:
This is one more example of how fanatical some parts of the anti-abortion lobby are. They have lost focus (as have some of the bishops). Abortion is not the only moral issue. Kennedy's stance on a whole range of social justice issues which are in agreement with Catholic social teaching , economic justice, immigration, health care, is also crucial in considering his legacy. And let God the merciful evaluate his whole life.
Posted By: Susan Rakoczy
Didn't Jesus tell the story about the father who was waiting, and looking in the distance for the return of his wayward son, and welcomed him home with open arms and a feast?
I pray that the Senators slain brothers and other members of his family welcom him home to the heavely Camelot to share eternity with the loving, forgiving God and father of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Posted By: Tony
After all the good that Mr. Kennedy did for the poor and downtrodden, his funeral arrangements are now being lambasted because he was a staunch defender of a woman's right to choose. How judgmental! How Pharisee-like! None of us are without sin. Does that mean God loves us any less? This is exactly the kind of mean-spirited hypocrisy that drives people away from our Holy Mother Church.
Posted By: Charles Elder
RIP
shame on the hard of heart
Posted By: vanderson
I am most delighted that there are some Catholics who follow totally and exactly the teachings and example of Jesus so that they can rightly cast judgement on others - It is good to know that there are some of us Catholics who are even holier than Jesus. What a relief. I thought that I was alone in all of that.
Posted By: charles bolser
This is where faith is put to the test. The condition of the Senator's soul is between him, his Creator and his confessor.
What I am fearful of is the coverage of the communion line at the funeral.
Posted By: Joe
My God! Have these people no decency?
Posted By: Greg Smith
Can we not celebrate as catholics the entire span of life issues and acknowledged that Senator Kennedy fought for human rights, the poor, the immigrant and the marginalized? When we seem to pick at someone and question motives, we cause grave confusion within society.
Posted By: Lucy Clynes
GET A GRIP! Teddy Kennedy is dead, a horrible, slow, painful death. Where was Jesus? Right there with him sharing his pain and anguish.
Posted By: roseanne montogmery
Ignatius | August 28, 2009
Ted Kennedy claimed he was a voice for the voiceless. Unborn babies are definitely voiceless, but Ted Kennedy did not speak for them. No, he had no concern for them. Who disputes that? And so, who can justify a Catholic funeral for him. The bishops should have corrected him a long time ago, which they did not. So, no, it would not be expected that they would do what is right at this point, and deny him a Catholic funeral. God is in control of Ted Kennedy's ultimate fate. The bishops are responsible for the rest of us in their care. As long as they timidly allow politicians to be the voice of "Catholicism", then the Church will suffer from confusion and error. David Volk | August 28, 2009
Dear Ignatius
We asked for prayers for the repose of the soul of Senator Kennedy, and recognize at the same time that barring a public announcement by the Cardinal that Kennedy had sought forgiveness and reconciliation with Christ for the millions of abortions over which he presided by advocating and supporting abortion, the Senator separated Himself from the Church. That is perhaps the saddest aspect of all, is it not.
Rather than rant at us and attempt to number the direct murder of the preborn child with a host of other so-called issues, why not spend your time productively, praying not only for him but for his family and all those expectant mothers who now mourn the deaths of their babies, murdered by abortion.
Judie Brown Judie Brown | August 29, 2009
David
Yes, indeed, and as one very astute fellow just advised me, Canon law would prevent such a funeral from taking place if anyone bothered to read and heed it. Here are the pertinent Canons
Canons 1184-1185 say:
"Canon 1184.1. Unless they gave some signs of repentance before death, the following must be deprived of ecclesiastical funerals:
1/ notorious apostates, heretics, and schismatics;
2/ those who chose the cremation of their bodies for reasons contrary to Christian faith;
3/ other manifest sinners who cannot be granted ecclesiastical funerals without public scandal of the faithful.
Canon 1184.2 If any doubt occurs, the local ordinary is to be consulted, and his judgment must be followed.
"Canon 1185. Any funeral Mass must also be denied a person who is excluded from ecclesiastical funerals."
Let us pray for the Church and never cease defending Her and Christ's truth.
FACT CHECKING FOR THE COMMON GOOD Posted: Wednesday August 26, 2009 at 4:46 pm EST by Judie Brown
Just this morning, I received a nice phone call from someone who does not believe in e-mail, nor does he “do” e-mail! That’s right; he considers it among the most problematic ways to connect with other human beings. As he said, “We have voices; we are people; let’s communicate that way.”
I agree with his general premise. God gave us a voice, a human identity and the capacity to be present with our fellow human beings in many ways. On the other hand, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the ability to use the internet for the purposes of verification. Of course, we have to make phone calls, write letters and do all that is needed to be accurate, but so much information is right at our fingertips.
Having said that, it is strange that there is so much crossfire on what is or is not in health care reform proposals! And why all the name calling? And for heaven’s sake, at the end of the day, why are we trusting the government to do this anyway?
Here a few facts about the matter, some numerical, some philosophical and some simply profound.
For example, have you ever heard of FactCheck.org? Thanks to LifeSiteNews.com and LifeNews.com, we heard about it two days ago. So we went to the source to find out what an organization that describes itself as “a nonpartisan, nonprofit ‘consumer advocate’ for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics” is saying about health care reform.
In its front-page analysis of whether abortion coverage is included in the various health care reform bills, titled “Abortion: Which Side is Fabricating?” author Brooks Jackson makes this stunning observation:
The truth is that bills now before Congress don’t require federal money to be used for supporting abortion coverage. So the president is right to that limited extent. But it’s equally true that House and Senate legislation would allow a new "public" insurance plan to cover abortions, despite language added to the House bill that technically forbids using public funds to pay for them. Obama has said in the past that "reproductive services" would be covered by his public plan, so it’s likely that any new federal insurance plan would cover abortion unless Congress expressly prohibits that. Low- and moderate-income persons who would choose the "public plan" would qualify for federal subsidies to purchase it. Private plans that cover abortion also could be purchased with the help of federal subsidies. Therefore, we judge that the president goes too far when he calls the statements that government would be funding abortions "fabrications."
Clearly, in one way or another, abortion is in there. Case closed!
So, my next question is how many Catholic bishops have clearly defined what the Church has to say about this? Here are quotes from the three we were able to identify.
Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, the latest Catholic prelate to weigh in on health care reform, wrote a remarkable editorial in which he makes several salient points:
No system that allows or helps fund — no matter how subtly or indirectly — the killing of unborn children, or discrimination against the elderly and persons with special needs, can bill itself as "common ground." Doing so is a lie…
Health care reform is vital. That's why America's bishops have supported it so vigorously for decades. They still do. But fast-tracking a flawed, complex effort this fall, in the face of so many growing and serious concerns, is bad policy. It's not only imprudent; it's also dangerous. As Sioux City's Bishop R. Walker Nickless wrote last week, "no health care reform is better than the wrong sort of health care reform."
If Congress and the White House want to genuinely serve the health-care needs of the American public, they need to slow down, listen to people's concerns more honestly — and learn what the "common good" really means.
And, as referenced in Archbishop Chaput’s excellent summary of the facts, Bishop R. Walker Nickless of Sioux City, Iowa, was equally articulate in his remarks:
[T]he Catholic Church does not teach that “health care” as such, without distinction, is a natural right. The “natural right” of health care is the divine bounty of food, water, and air without which all of us quickly die. This bounty comes from God directly. None of us own it, and none of us can morally withhold it from others. The remainder of health care is a political, not a natural, right, because it comes from our human efforts, creativity and compassion. As a political right, health care should be apportioned according to need, not ability to pay or to benefit from the care. We reject the rationing of care. Those who are sickest should get the most care, regardless of age, status, or wealth. But how to do this is not self-evident. The decisions that we must collectively make about how to administer health care therefore fall under “prudential judgment.”
Third, in that category of prudential judgment, the Catholic Church does not teach that government should directly provide health care. Unlike a prudential concern like national defense, for which government monopolization is objectively good – it both limits violence overall and prevents the obvious abuses to which private armies are susceptible – health care should not be subject to federal monopolization. Preserving patient choice (through a flourishing private sector) is the only way to prevent a health care monopoly from denying care arbitrarily, as we learned from HMOs in the recent past….
…Only if we again foster a culture of life can we perpetuate the economic justice of taxing workers to pay health care for the poor. Without a growing population of youth, our growing population of retirees is outstripping our distribution systems. In a culture of death such as we have now, taxation to redistribute costs of medical care becomes both unjust and unsustainable.
We also have Bishop Robert Vasa of Baker, Oregon, responding to LifeSiteNews.com after it approached him for an e-mail interview. A portion of that interview reads,
Vasa noted that he believes "the notion of providing more comprehensive health insurance coverage is a just and right thing to do." However, he said: "that does not mean that THIS health insurance plan, only because it promises comprehensive health insurance coverage, must be supported.
"In effect, should we support giving poisoned water to the thirsty? I think not."
The insights of these holy men of God, who understand the stakes and are willing to spend their moral capital on God’s justice rather than man’s feckless, ever-changing attitudes, should be acknowledged, reflected upon and understood within the full breadth of Catholic social teaching.
As Bishop Nickless points out, some have argued that abortion is a fundamental human right. In a sense, the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church addresses that notion. Here is the quote:
166. The demands of the common good are dependent on the social conditions of each historical period and are strictly connected to respect for and the integral promotion of the person and his fundamental rights. These demands concern above all the commitment to peace, the organization of the State's powers, a sound juridical system, the protection of the environment, and the provision of essential services to all, some of which are at the same time human rights: food, housing, work, education and access to culture, transportation, basic health care, the freedom of communication and expression, and the protection of religious freedom. Nor must one forget the contribution that every nation is required in duty to make towards a true worldwide cooperation for the common good of the whole of humanity and for future generations also.
The teaching is not that a state or federal government should be controlling or dictating health care for those in need, for the Compendium teaches in Section 351, “The action of the State and of other public authorities must be consistent with the principle of subsidiarity and create situations favorable to the free exercise of economic activity. It must also be inspired by the principle of solidarity and establish limits for the autonomy of the parties in order to defend those who are weaker.”
Therefore, for those who have recognized the folks currently in charge of the U.S. government for what they are, based on their partnership with Planned Parenthood, the abortion industry and the “death with dignity” proponents, we can conclude that health care reform in the hands of federal lawmakers is a very bad idea.
Is there anything here you disagrtee with? God bless you. Dave
A number of years ago I calculated the number of poor families in the US and pondered how the Church might respond to their needs. I concluded that if each parish adopted two poor families, poverty in the US would vanish. I suggested that the size of the parish or church determine how many families they would support, with an average of two per parish. The support would include all that was necessary for them to be a part of the community: food, job opportunities, education, and health care. Each parish voluntarily provides all these essentials, and poverty vanishes.
I believe that this idea is still appropriate, and further, is fully in accord with the Christian Principle of Subsidiarity which has been an integral part of Catholic Social teaching for over a century and states that only things that need to be done at the national or ???federal??? level should be done by a ???federal??? government. It allows for things that can be done at the local or even smaller level to be done at those levels. Human society does not need a State that regulates and controls everything, but a State that generously acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from the different social forces and combines spontaneity with closeness to those in need (Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est , 28). Where individuals, intermediary groups, or small private groups of persons can address the particular exigencies and realities of a given situation, it is best to defer to such smaller groups because human beings need flexibility and autonomy in order to effectively address their particular circumstances. Pope Benedict XVI describes it best when he summarizes the Principle of Subsidiarity as ???the coordination of society???s activities in a way that supports the internal life of the local communities.???
The current ???crises??? in health care is a perfect example of the need for action on the part of our Church through its smallest organization, the local Parish. I am of the belief that the poor are not the responsibility of government; that government (hereafter referred to as Caesar) involvement in this area can only mean destruction of the dignity and sanctity of human life. I cannot help but wonder why the Bishops, who I admire greatly on many issues and in the depth of their faith, support Caesar???s approach to health care if certain conditions are met. I continue to be amazed that the pressure they (rightly) promoted to resist FOCA (the so-called Freedom of Choice Act) is not being brought as forcefully to the forefront in the current climate where Caesar is attempting to confiscate 10% of the Nation???s wealth and essentially control every aspect of our lives through the ???health care initiative???. Is the sanctity of life less important for the unborn and the vulnerable when weighed against the promise of health care for all? And what assurances do we have that this legislation would provide the kind of health care that respects the human person?
The right to life is the fundamental right. Nothing precedes it, nothing is more profoundly important than this. That said, the extension of this fundamental right to other areas of life that support it is not so simple, and not necessarily correct. In my humble opinion, a ???fundamental right??? is one which we can enjoy without imposing on others to make it happen. Any extension of this; for example, to the provision of food, shelter, or health care as a basic requirement to realize the right to life requires either the virtue of charity or compulsion. I submit that compulsion is outside the proper avenue of nurture, and that Caesar is not a proper or necessary participant.
If Caesar is a necessary and invited participant, then how do we reconcile the compulsion that follows with the Parable of the Good Samaritan? Remember: those who expect rewards from Caesar must pay the price, and there is absolutely no doubt this will cost many of the innocent and helpless their lives. For example, we know that, no matter what ???safeguards??? any health care bill has in it, there will sooner or later be rationing of care. This is true in every country that has adopted this kind of program. The onus, of course, will fall on the elderly and disabled. To understand how awful this will be just look at the way our nation???s veterans are treated by the Obama administration. See http://www.gopusa.com/theloft/?p=1866 for an explanation of this terrifying approach to the well being of America???s heroes
The Catholic Church provides wonderful health care for more than 10% of the population of the United States. Is it not possible for the Church also to provide health care and other support for those in need through its parishes? Remember the two families per parish description described above. Couldn't the Church provide the needed help or even perhaps form a national health insurance company that provides insurance with premiums based on a sliding scale depending on family income. Wouldn't this be a better approach than the current statist approach to helping the uninsured? Surely the Church can do better than Caesar. The invitation to the poor to become part of our Christian family and our generosity to and unconditional love for them will no doubt bring them into our faith community. Can you imagine?
Dr. Dave Rusch | August 26, 2009
Thank you for this excellent analysis!
As always, thanks be to God for AB Chaput and Bp Vasa - and the new voice on the scene: Bishop Nickless. Please dear Shepherds - the faithful long for sound guidance and clear voices such as yours.
May Our Lord and Our Lady be with you! Fr. William J Kuchinsky | August 26, 2009
Dr. Rusch
The principles that you present remind me of the good old days when Catholic charity really meant reaching out to help, not reaching out for government dollars! You are correct.
CECILE RICHARDS’ TORTUOUS TANTRUM Posted: Tuesday August 25, 2009 at 4:29 pm EST by Judie Brown
A few days ago, Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards wrote a rather contemptuous column about the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The tenor of her remarks speaks for itself, as her opening salvo proclaims,
Does anyone else see the irony in the U.S. bishops wanting to define universal health care as covering everything except for what they don’t support? Under this theory, I suppose women are supposed to wait to see just exactly how the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops comes down on a variety of health care needs to understand what in fact will be considered universal. Since when does universal health care mean denying comprehensive reproductive health care supported by the majority of Americans?...
The root cause of unsafe abortion is unintended pregnancy, a result of the lack of affordable and accessible contraception for women. The correlation between higher contraceptive use and lower maternal mortality is well established.
Indeed, it would seem that she despises any teaching of the Catholic Church that does not conform to her opinion of what comprises health care for women. But wait a minute! Could it be that PP actually considers sucking the life out of a human being or cutting him to pieces with a knife a form of reproductive health care? Of course it does.
But wait! The scenario gets even more bizarre at this juncture. As reported by the Catholic News Agency, Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the USCCB’s Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, takes Richards to task:
“Our major arguments on this have not been about contraception,” [Doerflinger] clarified. “She likes to change the subject.
“But it is the case that there is a great deal of evidence that contraceptive programs fail to reduce abortions. We cite the primary sources for that on our website so that people can read them for themselves.”…
Doerflinger said the bishops’ materials about health care reform have been centered on supporting universal coverage, but opposing mandated abortion coverage.
“She keeps talking about how we’re trying to diminish a right,” he said of Richards. “A mandate is not consistent with a personal choice. If what she’s talking about is people’s personal ability to choose whether or not to buy abortion coverage, we’re not going to oppose legislation that allows that."
What is happening in this discourse is quite interesting and, one might argue, troubling at the same time. It is quite true that the USCCB is against mandated abortion coverage in a universal health care system; however, the USCCB has not demanded that contraceptive coverage, sterilization coverage and other such immoral aspects of PP’s agenda be removed. Indeed, the USCCB argues for abortion neutrality, which is what Doerflinger is getting at when he explains that the USCCB is against mandated abortion coverage, not the availability of abortion coverage as a personal choice.
Obviously, Richards is not interested in splitting hairs with the USCCB; she just wants mandatory coverage for killing, period!
In response to Richards’ flagrantly erroneous claims, Human Life International president Rev. Thomas Euteneuer issued a statement wherein he applauded the Catholic bishops for standing up to Richards’ deceit and explained how wrong Richards is to claim that contraceptives actually curtail the number of babies killed by abortion:
[A]mong her many factual errors Ms. Richards claims that, despite the findings of virtually every study on the subject, expanded access to contraception will somehow reduce the number of abortions. What does she recommend, force-feeding young women contraception? How much more access can be granted to this environment-destroying, blood-clot causing, biology-altering chemical that, as the Catholic Church predicted, has resulted in more, not less, abortions?
Amen, Father Euteneuer! Richards is constantly depicting contraception as a solution to the “problem” of “unwanted pregnancies.” She also denies the fact that these chemicals can abort a preborn child.
But wait! It gets even worse. Richards’ diatribe against the Catholic bishops is obviously designed to deflect attention away from the fact that, according to recent news reports, America could face a “health care reform” law that not only mandates funding for child killing by abortion, but also forces it to subsidize PP in ways few could now imagine. Yes, PP could be in classrooms across this nation, peddling its lies and its products at taxpayers’ expense!
Richards isn’t about to bring this fact out! We have already established that Richards and truthful statements are not in the same ballpark and maybe not even on the same planet. But Victor Medina does expose the truth:
Under Title V (“Other Provisions”) of Obama’s “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009” (the official name for the bill, H.R. 3200), Subtitle B (School-Based Health Clinics, or SBHC) outlines a program in which the federal government would fund clinics in or near the nation’s schools. The administration of these clinics will not rest with the school nurse or anyone who answers to the school administration or parents. Under Section 399Z, “the SBHC sponsoring facility assumes all responsibility for the SBHC administration, operations, and oversight.”
According to the bill, a “sponsoring facility” is “a hospital, a public health department, a community health center, a nonprofit health care agency, (or) a local educational agency.” Such broad wording outlining the qualifications for government funds and access to schoolchildren could open the door for groups like Planned Parenthood to operate the clinics in schools with no oversight and full federal government support. The organization currently operates over 850 clinics nationwide.
The clinics would be funded by federal grants awarded by the Obama administration, which has made it clear that they expect Planned Parenthood to play an active role in their proposed health care system. In the midst of the recent national debate this summer and during the Congressional recess over the health care plan, members of the Obama administration were meeting with Planned Parenthood staff and making strong overtures over their potential role in health care reform.
Hello? Cecile, are you there? Why aren’t you touting this fact, which is printed in black and white in the House bill?
This report reveals what PP's endgame really is. It is the reason PP can decry anything the USCCB puts forth. It matters not if the bishops take a stand for eliminating all references to abortion, whether privately or publicly funded. It matters not whether the USCCB addresses contraception and sterilization, demanding that those so-called reproductive health services be eliminated. PP just has to keep the guns blazing in order to deflect attention away from what would really occur if Obamacare became public policy.
Once PP is firmly ensconced in the driver’s seat, brainwashing children right and left while American taxpayers foot the bill (paying perhaps millions more than anyone could have imagined), it need not worry about anything. It’s been working toward this moment for 40 years. Ever since PP’s hand first went into the government pocket and came out with a fistful of dollars, the skids have been greased for what could soon become the ultimate victory envisioned in PP’s scheme.
This is one of the reasons why we have repeatedly begged our Catholic bishops to make it clear that the USCCB’s Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services provide the foundation for their position on Obamacare.
There is no doubt that our nation needs health care reform, but a plan that would be implemented under the culture of death’s growing shadow should never even be considered. President Obama has shown us where he stands; now it is time for the Catholic bishops to show us where they stand, not only on mandatory abortion coverage, but on all those life-and-death matters that would be profoundly affected by national "health care reform” implemented under a president unmistakably committed to promoting the culture of death.
We are grateful to the USCCB for responding to PP’s latest fiction, but much more is needed. We reiterate our request that the USCCB make it clear for one and all that genuine health care reform will not promote, provide nor include coverage for any of the following:
• abortion
• contraception
• sterilization
• human embryonic stem cell therapy
• euthanasia
• assisted suicide
• health care rationing
If any of these things is included in a final "health care reform” bill, the death knell will be sounded for Catholic health care in America, and sadly, Cecile’s tortuous tantrum will become a victory cry.
WHO IS REALLY ‘WEE-WEED UP’? Posted: Monday August 24, 2009 at 3:21 pm EST by Judie Brown
President Obama has resorted to an incredibly infantile phrase—”wee-weed up”—to degrade his "health care reform" detractors. While the White House has now explained this remark as the president describing opponents of his health care debacle as agitated bed wetters, the truth is sobering—not silly. In fact, Obama’s opponents are perhaps a bit more honest than he would like; thus, the insults.
Having said that, the worrying fact is that there is still an enormous number of well-meaning people, including Catholics, who simply do not want to see the truth about what is and is not contained in the various proposals currently floating around Congress. One example recently came my way via a Facebook comment.
A very sincere Catholic wrote to me about American Life League’s opposition to the "health care reform" plan, even though our concerns stem from the fact that the proposals are based on imposed death as a cost-saving measure. The more I read and reread her earnest viewpoint on the matter, the more I am convinced that far too many Catholic Americans have never heard of the Church’s teachings. Either that, or they do not understand and accept them. Such confusion results from a type of Catholic ignorance which Americans like Obama count on, day in and day out.
I am so concerned about it that I want to share her comments, and then provide the reasons why she is fundamentally misguided.
Dear Ms. Brown,
I am also a Catholic. I do not believe in abortion and have marched many times in the annual March for Life. I have been ridiculed by onlookers but have always stood firm in my beliefs. Nevertheless, I believe President Obama is a good man. I believe if he says he is not in fact planning to fund abortions that his health care package will not fund them. I believe in everything he stands for except this one thing. I know it is a very BIG thing. But I believe in nothing the Republican Party stands for except this one thing. I stand with the Pro-Life Democrats (most of whom are Catholics) because I believe in uplifting the poor, the worker, the homeless and downtrodden. I believe in cleaning up and taking responsibility for our environment and endangered animals. I believe that life is sacred, Ms. Brown, even the lives of the millions already here who, maybe through no fault of their own, maybe through their own fault, need a hand up. I believe if we have a government that can help, that needs to happen if we are to follow the footsteps of Christ as a nation...
This should not be a political issue at all, and you, Ms. Brown, should do your work in that way, not involving yourself in politics.
If, in fact, abortions are funded, you can expose that once the legislation takes effect. I do not believe the president is a liar so I do not believe they will be funded. In any case, it will not cause more abortions to take place than would have taken place otherwise. And it will definitely not be tax dollars that pay for abortions since the dollars the program will run on will not be tax dollars. Anyone who wants to opt out can certainly do that and pay nothing. —B.E.
My correspondent does not understand that pro-life organizations and spokespeople who maintain their credibility are those who have not and will not align themselves with any political party. The reason for this is simple: Our “party,” if you will, consists of those who have no voice, either because they are not yet born or are in danger of becoming victims of euthanasia. They are people incapable of defending their right to life. These human beings do not wear a partisan label; they wear only a hope that we will defend them and be their voice.
B.E.’s belief in uplifting the poor, the worker, the homeless and downtrodden is not only a reflection of the Beatitudes, in which we all should believe, but a fundamental mandate for pro-life people, because our commitment to human dignity does not end at birth, nor does it end with imposed death. We are pro-life in every sense and stand with B.E.
When B.E. goes on to express her belief in being responsible for the earth and all that is a part of it, she reflects the stewardship that God has assigned to us. It is indeed our responsibility to respect and care for that which He has created and entrusted to us, His children. In fact, it is what Pope John Paul II described in Centesimus annusas the foundational characteristic of a just culture:
All human activity takes place within a culture and interacts with culture. For an adequate formation of a culture, the involvement of the whole man is required, whereby he exercises his creativity, intelligence, and knowledge of the world and of people. Furthermore, he displays his capacity for self-control, personal sacrifice, solidarity and readiness to promote the common good. (Section 51)
And it is here, at this critical juncture between the individual and his fellow man, that a serious rupture occurs between what is perceived by some as the U.S. president’s honorable goals and the reality of what he intends.
There can be no solidarity unless man accepts his moral obligation to defend the weakest in our midst. As anyone who follows American Life League’s mission knows, there are countless numbers of preborn children killed daily by human embryonic stem cell research, early abortion chemicals marketed as contraceptives, as well as surgical and medical abortion. Each of these individual persons is a member of our human family, and their fate is part of our responsibility if, indeed, we wish to live in a just society.
So, when President Obama claims, for example, that we who have found abortion in the "health care reform" proposals are “bearing false witness” against him, we decry his arrogance. Perhaps B.E. has not seen the fallacy of his public pronouncements, but all one needs to do, really, is examine the legislation, as we at American Life League did in our latest ALL Report, “Obamacare: Abortion’s Trojan Horse.” The viewer can read about abortion in at least one of the bills by viewing actual statements from the bill that are exhibited in this video.
Or review the statements of ABC News’ chief medical editor, Dr. Timothy Johnson, who, among others, says, “If you look at the language, it gets complicated. It’s not crystal clear whether or not that could happen with a so-called ‘public option,’ and even with private plans that might be subsidized by the government, maybe abortion would be allowed.”
So who is the one deceiving the public? Even though B.E. does not believe that the president is “a liar,” she needs to examine the factual evidence, not for the purpose of making a pejorative judgment about anyone, but to inform herself so that she understands what is being said versus what is being promoted.
If, as B.E. suggests, we remain silent now and ignore the evils contained in the various "health care reform" bills, it would not be spiritually healthy for any of us, nor would it be politically feasible to go back and fix the problem later! Pro-lifers have heard that argument regarding other pieces of legislation. We have learned from painful experience that, in politics, usually nothing is improved in order to agree with God’s word. Usually, revisions result in more evil. The sad history of the Hyde Amendment, which allegedly bars the use of tax dollars to pay for abortion, is a testimony to such failure.
No, the time to fix the deadly aspects of "health care reform" proposals is now. The time to see that justice is done for one and all is now, not later.
Finally, on a personal note and as one Catholic to another, B.E., let me say that, as Catholics, we know how to reach out to those in danger of dying because they do not have adequate health insurance or because their health care is nonexistent. We know because we learned it from—and some of us have witnessed it in—the work of Mother Teresa and countless others whose names are not readily known, all of whose work has left a legacy of love. It is called charity! It is the willingness of one community of faithful people to reach out and give of itself for the good of others.
The federal government has never understood charity, and it is not a source of Christ-like care. It is a bloated bureaucracy badly in need of cost-cutting measures, and that is the most fearful of truths when honestly assessing what “health care reform” is actually all about. The American Health Care Association says seniors would face billions of dollars in Medicare cuts.
That does not sound like good news to me! It is a warning and should be uppermost in B.E.’s thoughts and prayers as she continues, as each of us should, to be concerned for the most vulnerable in our midst.
God save us from silly phrases and deadly agendas.
Thank God for your excellent insight into these matters, Judie. Keep up the fight for the most vulnerable. jim dress | August 24, 2009
Thank you, Judie.
As usual, your comments are right on. As a vulnerable little old lady, I do sincerely appreciate your efforts. This present government is not being understood by the very people who are most in danger.
I am an old pro-life rescuer, my son is mentally retarded, and my daughter has a physical disability. No husband and no father. We are all in danger.
God bless you in this fight to the death.
Susan Susan | August 24, 2009
Thanks for your helpful response to B.E. I am going to forward it to people who have been "arguing" with me about the contents of the "Obamacare" plan. Julie Grimstad | August 25, 2009
Thank you, Judie, for your informative response to B.E. Hope she revises her thinking to what a real Roman Catholic should believe.
God Bless You, Victor Mariani | August 25, 2009
Thank you, Judie, for this story. I can understand B.E.'s confusion on the health care reform. After all, President Obama himself said that it is "not true" and a "fabrication: to say that his health plan will "mean government funding of abortion." (NRLC - Which side is Fabricating?)
There is alot of truths and untruths circulating around the health care reform. I went into Planned Parenthood's website on Abortion Care Coverage and Health Care Reform: Getting the Facts straight and the myth they say that taxpayer money would be used to pay for abortions in the public plan. In consideration of who Planned Parenthood is, I would think there is a hidden agenda of why they are saying this and I would have to go to other sources I trust with pro-life values. I think that would have to be the rule of thumb for everyone: their actions speak louder than words. You can go to the National Right to Life website to see the amendments that have been struck down to explicitly exclude abortions in the health care reform. Also, you can go to the USCCB website Action Alert to see the amendments being struck down to protect life and to contact your Senators and Congressman/woman with floor votes which could occur in the House and the Senate after the August recess. You can check out LifeSiteNews.com to get a pro-life perspective and truths on the health care reform. Through all of this health care reform, I have learned that you will not get the whole truth from the liberal mass media. You need to double check and educate yourself with the media that have Christ-like values You need to check out where the apple is falling from and their agendas. Is it money? Is it evil? Anyone can say anything, but it does not mean it is necessarily true.
If the pro-abortionists would have had their way, this bill would have been passed in July expanding abortions and being funded by the tax payers like never before in America. God gave us a little more time to do our best and we must.
Patty Palmqusit
Patty Palmquist | August 26, 2009
Patty
Ultimately all these bills need to go down! They are not good for America and do not express charity, but rather cost cutting that will kill people, not to mention indoctrinate our children thanks to the huge funding for Planned Parenthood.
Judie Brown Judie Brown | August 26, 2009
Thank you, Judie. I agree and am working and praying for all these government take-over health care reform bills to be defeated. I see the dangers. Why out of 180 Bishops in America, are there so few sounding the alarm in these health care reform bills?
Thank God for the American Life League in shining the truth and sounding the alarm. May
God continue to bless all your works in the respect and protection of all human life from the womb to the tomb.
Pro-Life Story: How I Learned Posted By Ada Ornelas on Mar, 5 2008 When I was 7 years old I was told by my teacher at a private Catholic elementary school to vote in our school's version of the presidential election for Al Gore. She said "We ... Read
Bob Schindler, Sr., was the patriarch of the Schindler family and loving father of 
