Devotion, Miscellaneous No comments yet

The Imitation of Christ

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A couple of years ago, I purchased a book that I have wanted to read for some  time.  I wish that I had begun reading it soon.  It is phenomenal.  The book,  The Imitation of Christ, was written by an Augustinian monk, Thomas a Kempis in  the late 1300 to early 1400′s.  In fact, this book is considered the most widely  read after the Bible.  That’s right.  The eternal truths in this book aren’t new
revelations.  They are eloquently written testimonies to what can be  accomplished when we put Christ first in all things.  It is a primer to remind  those of us who are now consumed with the convenience of technology, that our  greatest gifts in this life and still the simplest.

The book opens:  “He who follows Me, says Christ our Savior, walks not in  darkness, for he will have the light of life. These are the words of our Lord  Jesus Christ, and by them we are admonished to follow His teachings and His  manner of living, if we would truly be enlightened and delivered from all  blindness of heart.”

In the edition that I have, published by a division of Double Day, the  introduction is written by Carl Anderson, the Supreme Knight and chief executive  officer of the Knights of Columbus.  He offers an inspiring overview to the  purpose and motive of this book and how it has been embraced by all  denominations for more than five centuries.

Now, as I said, I wish that I had started reading it soon.  But everything  happens for a reason.  All in God’s timing.  And I suppose this is my season for  growing closer in my relationship with Him.

Boycott, Fetal Tissue No comments yet

The Ultimate Price of Vanity

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beautyToo many times to mention here, I have written and given talks about the insane justification that are given by those who support the destruction of the preborn.  Now I can add another effort to my list of arrogant justifications.

My friend and fellow colleague in preserving life, Debi Vinnedge, is the president of Children of God for Life.  It’s a very effective organization, and Debi is a tireless advocate whose knowledge on these issues far outweighs mine.

She issued this press release that I want to share with you.  Please take a moment to read and act.  Remember what Paul said, “Faith without works is dead.”

God bless you.

 ___________________________________________________

Neocutis deceptive about aborted fetal material in skin products

(Tennessee)  In response to Children of God for Life’s press release October 27, 2009, Aborted fetal material used in anti-wrinkle cream, (See www.cogforlife.org/neocutis.htm ) thousands of angry consumers have begun taking action. Many have called or written to Neocutis to complain and unfortunately, they are receiving jaded, if not patently false responses from the company President, Mark Lemcko.

“Neocutis is not being honest with the public about the abortions involved in their skin cream products,” stated Debi Vinnedge, Executive Director of Children of God for Life, who researched the questionable products after they received an inquiry from a concerned consumer.

For example, Neocutis responded to one inquiry that there was only one abortion involved when in fact their own website shows that “The Laboratoire de Médecine Foetale at the Medical School of the University Hospital of Lausanne has worked extensively with fetal cells since 1995 and resulted in several patent applications.”

Neocutis states they were formed in 2002 as spin-off of the University Medical School and began working to protect “the intellectual property of their proprietary technology.” 

Yet the abortion used to provide the fetal material for their products was done in 2004.

In what can only be called suspect at best, Neocutis also stated that the 2004 abortion was done because the “pregnancy could not come to term” and that “the mother’s life was in danger.” But Experimental Gerontology 44 (2009 208-218) makes no mention of this at all.

What the research paper states is that the fetal material was obtained from a 14 weeks gestation male baby ‘after pregnancy termination’ in which they ‘obtained informed and written consent. Considering that they dedicated an entire section to the ‘Ethical Aspects of working with human fetal cells’ in which they attempted to sanitize what they were doing, if the abortion was somehow medically needed, it would have been documented as such.

Even more appalling was Mr. Lemcko’s note to another letter writer that he “felt comfortable with his decision” after studying the 2005 statement by the Pontifical Academy for Life, Moral Reflection on Vaccines Prepared From Cells Derived from Aborted Human Foetuses.  

“It is unconscionable that Mr. Lemcko would use the Vatican statement to defend his actions”, Vinnedge stated. “We are talking apples and oranges here – health vs. pure vanity.”

Both the Pontifical Academy for Life and Pope Benedict XVI’s December 2008 encyclical, Dignitas Personae, cautiously noted that parents could use the vaccines in question “on a temporary basis” and in situations of “grave inconvenience” or “considerable danger” to the health of their children and society.

“What do you suppose the Vatican would say about using these cosmetic creams”? asked Vinnedge.

Children of God for Life is urging the public to take action by contacting the company and they have posted an area where people can “sound off” on their website.  Further information is available at www.cogforlife.org/neocutis.htm   

Further Reading:
Washington Times Nov 3, 2009:
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/03/aborted-fetus-cells-used-in-anti-aging-products/

www.cogforlife.org/neocutis.htm

Catholic Identity No comments yet

The Challenge Finding the Truth in Catholic Colleges

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register-logo-small[Reprint of article by P.D. Yoko published in The Tennessee Register, October 16, 2009]

It is reassuring to see that national publications such as U.S. News & World Report and Forbes Magazine still recognize Catholic colleges and universities among the nation’s best higher education. However, how many of these institutions are truly Catholic in respecting the Magisterium and USCCB?

In 2008, a groundbreaking survey of Catholic college students published by The Cardinal Newman Society’s (CNS) Center for the Study of Catholic Higher Education found that most students on Catholic campuses reject key Catholic moral values and tenets of the faith, and significant numbers engage in pre-marital sexuality activity and the viewing of pornography.   Combine this behavior with Catholic college administration and faculty that embrace moral relativism as a justification for ‘academic freedom’ and you have a school that is far removed from The Church.

  In May of this year, The University of Notre Dame, the nation’s most recognizable “Catholic” university, directly violated the U.S. Bishops’ 2004 mandate by inviting President Obama to receive an honorary law degree. The USCCB’s “Catholics in Political Life” clearly states;

“The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”  

Yet, Norte Dame chose to blatantly disregard the USCCB’s directive in order to honor President Obama who is notably the most pro-abortion advocate of any American president, including expanding federal funding for abortions and inviting taxpayer-funded research on stem cells from human embryos.  Their actions caused many to ponder if colleges and universities who call themselves “Catholic” are actually teaching the Truth in both word and deed.

On Sunday, September 27, 2009, to reinforce the importance of respecting Catholic teaching in our universities, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about Catholic education to “representatives of the world of academia and culture” during a meeting at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic.  During the meeting, the Pope spoke on the authentic concept of truth and the proper understanding of academic freedom for universities, repeating themes from his Address to Catholic Educators at The Catholic University of America in April 2008.

student“The proper autonomy of a university,” the Holy Father said, “finds meaning in its accountability to the authority of truth.”  He noted that that autonomy can be thwarted.  “The great formative tradition, open to the transcendent” which is “the base of universities” was “systematically subverted by the reductive ideology of materialism, the repression of religion and the suppression of the human spirit.”

So with American Catholic colleges and universities citing ‘academic freedom’ to defend the actions of dissenting professors, approve performances of plays such as “The Vagina Monolgues,” and supporting homosexual and pro-abortion advocacy which are direct violations of Church Teaching, how do you find an authentic Catholic higher education?

The Cardinal Newman Society, dedicated to renewing and strengthening Catholic identity at Catholic colleges and universities, recently issued its second edition of The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College, a free online resource to assist parents and students seeking a faithful Catholic education.  The guide is accessible at www.thenewmanguide.com.

“If last spring’s Notre Dame scandal highlighted that there is still a long way to go to renew Catholic higher education, the colleges recommended in The Newman Guide are a prime example of how it is possible to have a quality academic program while remaining strongly Catholic,” said Tom Mead, executive vice president of The Cardinal Newman Society and one of The Newman Guide’s editors.

At baptism, parents give their children the most precious gift of their life; their Catholic faith.  Authentic Catholic colleges and universities recognize the importance of this gift, and provide an education that serves to protect and nurture the student’s faith, as well as prepare them for life as Catholics and professionals. 

“Young people rely on Catholic education to teach not only the skills and knowledge that are necessary for responsible citizenship,” says Eileen Cubanski, co-founder and executive director of the National Association of Private Catholic and Independent Schools, “but also the truths of the Catholic faith.  By forming the hearts, minds and wills of students, Catholic education helps them discern their secular and religious vocations in life, witness to their faith in the world and pursue their ultimate end in Heaven.”  

 The Newman Guide endeavors to provide parents and students with an essential tool in assisting them to recognize those schools that provide such an environment.

P.D. Yoko

Q & A 4 comments

Our Father: Hands Across the Isle

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Q.  Ms. Yoko, is holding hands during the Our Father something that just a parish thing or is it something that the Church promotes?  We’ve visited churches where it’s not done.  And our home parish does.  My family doesn’t like it.  Do we have to hold hands? 

A.  Let me preface my answer with a disclosure.  I do not participate in the hand holding posture.  I didn’t encounter this posturing until we moved south.  Our church up north didn’t encourage it.  During the first Mass we attended at our new church, the person next to me nearly ripped off my hand, grabbing it to pull me with her so she could grab the hand of the person seated across the isle.  Therefore, I affectionately term the holding hands during the Our Father as . . .“Hands Across the Isle.”

Rest assured you are not alone.  I get asked this question more times that I care to admit. 

prayerhandsTo date, there are no directives for holding hands during the Our Father from either the Holy See or the U.S. bishops’ conference.  It is discouraged through commentary by many priests, bishops and apologists.  Also, it is contrary to the rubics.  The reason that this issue has not been officially addressed by the Church is quite simple.  Neither the Holy See nor the U.S. bishops have felt it necessary to address this matter as it relates to liturgical law.  The process of adding to or deleting from liturgical law involves a two-thirds majority vote in the bishop’s conference and the approval of the Vatican before any change can take effect.  Therefore, this posturing of holding hands is considered something that should be address on a parish level.

Mass is the communion between you and God; not you and the assembly.  Holding hands with those around you promotes a unity with them, not God.  It also detracts from the sign of peace that immediately follows.  In fact, hand holding during the Our Father detracts and distracts from the prayer’s intended purpose; God-directed sense of adoration and petition.  (e.g., Nos. 2777-2865 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church)

While holding hands can make some assembly members have a “warm and fuzzy” feeling, others find it intrusive and uncomfortable.  I like Karl Keating’s take on this issue.  Someone once commented to him that they felt the holding of hands during the Our Father was the highlight of the Mass, Keating’s response was; 

“If this is the high point of the Mass for you, you need to take Remedial Mass 101. The Mass is not a social event. It is the re-presentation of the sacrifice of Calvary, and it is the loftiest form of prayer. It should be attended with appropriate solemnity.”

You are not obligated to hold anyone’s hand during Mass.  You can hold the hand of your spouse or children, if you so choose, but you can certainly refrain from holding hands with your neighbor.  If they are offended, they have bigger problems that you can resolve.

Social Action 1 comment

Belmont Abbey College Defends Itself Against EEOC

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[The following press release is posted here for your consideration.  Peace be with you.]

Oct 9, 2009

Today, September 10, Belmont Abbey College retained The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a public-interest law firm in Washington, D.C., to join its legal team and help defend the school against the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

In July the EEOC accused Belmont Abbey College, a Roman Catholic liberal arts college in North Carolina, of discriminating against its female employees by not covering contraceptives in its health insurance plan.

“When he went to Notre Dame and the Vatican, President Obama talked a good game about protecting conscience. But when his administration went to Belmont Abbey, where the rubber meets the road, it was a very different story,” said Kevin “Seamus” Hasson, president and founder of The Becket Fund.

To help the Becket Fund defend Belmont Abbey College, please click here.

In 2007, Belmont Abbey College removed coverage for abortion, contraception, and voluntary sterilization from its employee health benefits plan, after learning that these procedures had accidentally been included in violation of the college’s religious tenets. Responding to the change in coverage, eight faculty members filed a complaint with the EEOC and the North Carolina Department of Insurance. After indicating in a March 2009 letter that it did not find evidence of gender discrimination, the EEOC – presumably at the direction of the new administration in Washington – reversed its decision and stated in a July 30 letter that “By denying prescription contraceptive drugs, [Belmont Abbey College] is discriminating based on gender because only females take oral contraceptives. By denying coverage, men are not affected, only women.”

“This case is a very important part of a much larger battle – the battle to protect the good name of conscientious objection in America. Ever since the Quakers, with their gentle stubbornness, persuaded a skeptical America that they should not have to swear oaths or serve in the military against their consciences, we have recognized that principled people are an asset to a society, not a liability,” said Hasson.

 “The EEOC’s action is a direct assault on the principle of conscientious objection itself, and we will resist it vigorously. We will fight them on the hills, we will fight them on the beaches,” added Hasson.

Based in Washington, D.C., The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is a nonpartisan, interfaith, public-interest law firm dedicated to protecting the free expression of all religious traditions. The law firm has a 15-year-old history of defending religious liberty.

For more information or to arrange an interview with one of the attorneys email Kristina Arriaga, Communications Director, at karriaga@becketfund.org, call 703.582.8962 or contact Montserrat Alvarado, Assistant Communications Director, at malvarado@becketfund.org.

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