America needs no words from me...

"America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed a great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has shown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father’s role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts ~ a child ~ as a competitor, an intrusion, and an inconvenience. It has nominally accorded mothers unfettered dominion over the independent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters. And in granting this unconscionable power, it has exposed many women to unjust and selfish demands from their husbands or other sexual partners. Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being’s entitlement by virtue of his humanity. The right to life does not depend, and must not be declared to be contingent, on the pleasure of anyone else, not even a parent or a sovereign.” ...Mother Teresa image

Remembering Roe

Jan 18, 2013

Next weekend will see thousands of pro-life demonstrators march in Washington D.C. for the annual March for Life. This week Canon Ashey asks the question, "why should Christians oppose abortion and stand for life?".

Newsweek cover calls Obama's inauguration 'The second coming'



January 18, 2013

By Joe Newby

Although it is now digital, Newsweek celebrated President Obama's upcoming inauguration with a "cover" that calls the event "the second coming," an apparent reference to the return of Jesus Christ, The Blaze reported Friday.

A post at Twitchy called the cover "creepy," while The Blaze described it as "controversial" and “questionable.”

The cover highlights an article by former editor Evan Thomas, who once compared Obama to God.
“Well, we were the good guys in 1984, it felt that way. It hasn't felt that way in recent years. So Obama’s had, really, a different task We're seen too often as the bad guys. And he – he has a very different job from – Reagan was all about America, and you talked about it. Obama is ‘we are above that now.’ We're not just parochial, we're not just chauvinistic, we're not just provincial. We stand for something – I mean in a way Obama’s standing above the country, above – above the world, he’s sort of God," he told Chris Matthews in 2009. the rest

Heartbreaker at the National Cathedral

Dr. Jerry Newcombe
Friday, January 18, 2013

While I enjoy a variety of Christian worship styles, I find particularly beautiful high church Anglican (Episcopalian) worship. I've been enthralled worshiping Christ at St. Paul's in London, at Westminster Abbey, Christ Church in Oxford, and at the National Cathedral in DC. The music, the liturgy, the majesty and beauty of the buildings combine to provide an extraordinary experience.
I was privileged to attend Chuck Colson's memorial service at the National Cathedral last year; the somber dignity of the program in that holy sanctuary honored him richly.

So my heart sank last week when I saw the news -- that now our National Cathedral will begin performing same-sex weddings.

What happens at the National Cathedral is a reflection of the nation's spiritual state. In his First Inaugural address, George Washington said: "…we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained."

What is he saying? The father of our country (also an Anglican/Episcopalian) was saying that we can't expect God to bless us as a nation if we openly defy God's own laws. the rest

Tinker Falls

I just had to post this lovely photo Raymond took of Tinker Falls-located about 20 miles south of Syracuse.  -PD

Syracuse Right to Life March, January 19, 2013

Gathering in front of the Roman Catholic Diocesan offices in downtown Syracuse

One of the signs
 

Former Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle addresses rally

Raymond took these pictures of the annual Syracuse March for Life that we attended today in downtown Syracuse.  -PD

 

Albert Mohler: Forty Years After Roe, Human Dignity Hangs in the Balance

After addressing a large secular assembly on issues of moral controversy, I turned and faced a woman who urgently wanted to ask me a question: “Why won’t the abortion issue just go away?”

I knew exactly what she was asking. I often meet abortion rights advocates who honestly thought that the national controversy over abortion would simply melt away within a few years of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973.

That was clearly the hope of the Supreme Court majority that signed onto the opinion written by Associate Justice Harry Blackmun. In a note he wrote to himself as he drafted the final opinion and looked to its aftermath, Blackmun revealed a rather optimistic assumption: “It will be an unsettled period for a while.”...

The glory of the star...

The glory of the star, the glory of the sun - we must not lose either in the other. We must not be so full of the hope of heaven that we cannot do our work on the earth; we must not be so lost in the work of the earth that we shall not be inspired by the hope of heaven. ...Phillips Brooks image

Scrolling around

Catholic church bombed in Belfast as sectarian tensions revive 
A Catholic church in Belfast was badly damaged by homemade bombs on Monday night, as renewed tensions in Northern Ireland prompted clashes between Catholics and Protestants...

European court says U.K. equality laws trump personal religious beliefs
The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday (Jan. 15) ruled that equality laws trump personal religious beliefs, rejecting three of four appeals filed by British Christians who were fired or disciplined for expressing religious beliefs in the workplace...

Egyptian court sentences Christian family to 15 years for converting from Islam
The 15-year prison sentence given to a woman and her seven children by an Egyptian court for converting to Christianity is a sign of things to come, according to alarmed human rights advocates who say the nation's Islamist government is bad news for Christians in the North African country...

Subsidizing the Slaughter of Innocents
...The fact that the number of abortions performed at Planned Parenthood clinics across the country is rising and not falling is further evidence that the procedure is a major revenue generator for them, and your tax dollars and my tax dollars are used to fund this soulless enterprise. The oft repeated assertion that the public monies given to Planned Parenthood are somehow separated out and not used for abortions is ridiculous. Money is fungible, and thus American taxpayers are subsidizing the killing of innocent children whether we want to or not...

East Java: Six Catholic schools could be shut down for not teaching Islam
The authorities threaten to close the schools by 19 January. Until now Christian schools have never been required to offer courses and seminars on the Qur'an. Given the sensitive nature of the matter, school administrators are not making any public statement

Obama: Do What We Can to Save One Child, But Infanticide Okay ...For President Obama, it’s okay for the government to step in and protect children exposed to violence in school, but children who survive the violence of an abortion? Well, just leave it to the doctor to decide if that abortion survivor’s life is worth living at that point...

Two Boys Suspended For Playing Cops And Robbers At Recess ...The father of one of the boys is in the Army and said he thinks the punishment was excessive for what amounted to horseplay between two first graders...

French Catholic bishops endorsing homosexual unions, undermining pro-family cause, warn activists    The Conference of the Bishops of France (CEF) is making a mistake in endorsing an improved "Pact of Civil Solidarity" for homosexuals as an alternative to instituting homosexual 'marriage', in contradiction to Catholic teaching, warns the French pro-family association Avenir de la Future (Future of the Culture).
The organization of faithful Catholics are reacting to a document published recently by the Bishops' Conference's Family and Society Committee, which says homosexual relationships could be given a strengthened legal recognition, while not going so far as to equate such unions with marriage....

Episcopal Church Bishop Shaw will retire in 2014

By Lisa Wangsness and Travis Andersen
January 16, 2013

...He is the fourth Episcopal bishop in the region to ­announce his intention to retire recently. The dioceses of ­Western Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire have chosen new bishops within the last year.

In 2009, Shaw gave permission for priests in Eastern Massachusetts to officiate at same-sex weddings. He is a friend and strong supporter of the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, who recently retired... the rest

Bishop of Massachusetts issues call for the election of a co-adjutor

The Bishop of Massachusetts has written to his diocese announcing the call for the election of his successor. In a letter dated 15 Jan 2013 the Rt. Rev. M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE stated that he was “turning 68 this year. From my prayer and conversation with my community, friends and family, I have decided to call for the election of my successor, a bishop coadjutor. The election will take place at a special convention proposed for April 5, 2014.”...

Inauguration day 2013: Episcopal priest Luis Leon chosen for benediction

Kathleen Burke: How To Ordain Yourself

January 11, 2013

Last week I had the misfortune to stumble across the Women’s Ordination Conference’s hot new music video “Ordain a Lady.” Watch it at your own peril . . . I’m not really concerned for the peril of your soul in watching it, but rather of your artistic sensibilities. Yes, that was a cheap shot, but when you’re trying to emulate pop music it’s a good idea to not have someone who sounds like my grandmother as your vocalist. But I guess, given the fact that the Womyn Priest movement was started by people my grandmother’s age, I shouldn’t be surprised. Another cheap shot? Well, the whole video was full of them so I didn’t think anyone would mind.

If you go to the Women’s Ordination Conference’s website and flip through it you’ll glean some interesting information. They think the Church is racist, sexist, and, of course, homophobic. They signed onto a press release from Catholics for Choice supporting the HHS mandate, indicating their support for not only abortion and contraception but for making the Church pay for it. They support married clergy. They support gay marriage. So basically, they disagree with almost every teaching of the Church in regard to gender, sexuality, and family (how convenient) and think it’s institutionally horrible. I don’t understand why anyone would voluntarily associate themselves with people they think so poorly of . . . but they say they deeply love the Church. I mean, hey, they were baptized . . . but so was Henry VIII, so I’m not really sure what that’s supposed to mean. the rest

Canadian law professor calls for legal changes to bring about ‘queering’ of Catholic schools

Scrolling around...January 15, 2013

Sandy wrecked our house, but bureaucrats are keeping it broken
...While our house stands empty, the city authorities even showed a sense of humor by sending us a bill for property taxes. For a house they won't let us repair...

Egypt's Coptic Christians fleeing country after Islamist takeover
Tens of thousands of Egyptian Christians are leaving the country in the wake of the Egyptian revolution and subsequent Islamist takeover of politics, priests and community leaders say...

Welfare Spending to Skyrocket 80% in Next Decade
How can we afford this?

UK: More than 1,000 priests sign letter claiming gay marriage is biggest threat to religious freedoms since the reformation
...They even claim the freedom to speak freely from the pulpit could be at risk...

First Antibiotic-Resistant Gonorrhea Cases Detected in North America
Completely incurable gonorrhea may be at hand...

Obama owns the debt now
The debt is up about 60% since Obama took office. This can't go on forever...

Teen children of unmarried parents 380% more likely to be victims of violent crime
A new study of violent crimes from the U.S. Department of Justice has found that teens living in unmarried households were nearly four times more likely to become the victim of a serious violent crime than their peers who lived with married parents.
The study, “Violent Crime Against Youth, 1994-2010," focused on serious violent crimes committed against “youth,” meaning children between the ages of twelve and seventeen. The study defined “serious violent crimes” as rape, other sexual assaults, robbery and aggravated assault...

Court ruling makes Christian employees 'second class'
The European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) is "deeply concerned" by court rulings today on four cases involving the religious freedoms of Christians in the UK...


3801 Lancaster
A documentary film about Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia Women's Medical Society disaster, and the cover-up by state and local oversight agencies.

Scrolling around...January 12, 2013

U.S. Playing Second Fiddle in Panama Canal Rebuild?
...Now, a century later, the Canal is being dramatically expanded, and the U.S. government is much less involved. Panama has had sovereignty over the canal for a generation, and U.S. companies aren’t dominating the reconstruction...

ObamaCare's Health-Insurance Sticker Shock
Health-insurance premiums have been rising—and consumers will experience another series of price shocks later this year when some see their premiums skyrocket thanks to the Affordable Care Act, aka ObamaCare.

The reason: The congressional Democrats who crafted the legislation ignored virtually every actuarial principle governing rational insurance pricing. Premiums will soon reflect that disregard—indeed, premiums are already reflecting it...

Study finds unsafe mercury levels in 84 percent of all fish
 A new study from the Biodiversity Research Institute in Maine found that 84 percent of fish have unsafe levels of mercury. That poses a health risk for humans, exceeding the guidelines for eating certain kinds of fish more than once a month...

Home Burglary Tied to Journal News' Gun Map Reported
On Jan 13, New York State senator Gregory Ball announced that a burglary had been reported which appears to be a direct result of the Journal News' gun-owner-name-dump.

According to Sen. Ball's announcement, the burglar allegedly "used the Journal News' interactive gun map to target a home included on the map."...

Muzzling Military Chaplains
One of the items on Obama’s second term agenda is to root out traditionally Christian chaplains from the military. He sees them as bigots unworthy of conscience protections. Like Chick-fil-A, they don’t uphold Obama’s “values.”

Obama’s mouthpieces in the military have already blurted this out. In 2010, Admiral Michael Mullen told a Christian chaplain who opposed the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that “If you cannot get in line, resign your commission.” That same year Lieutenant General Thomas P. Bostick, the Army’s deputy chief of staff in charge of personnel, said military members who dissent from Obama’s gay rights agenda should “get out.”...

Hobby Lobby Finds Way To Delay Accrual of Affordable Care Act Penalties

French Anti-Gay Marriage Protests Draw Hundreds of Thousands
...About 340,000 people joined today’s marches, according to police estimates, while organizers indicated a turnout of more than 800,000. Protesters dancing to hip-hop music carried pink flags with white images of the traditional family: man, woman and two children...

Anglican Unscripted Episode 63

Jan 13, 2013

This week Kevin and George cover the international outrage over Civll Partnered Gay Bishops in the Church of England... and in the Palaces. They also spend time analyzing the sound approach the Anglican Church in North America is applying to the difficult topics of Multi-jurisdictional Dioceses and Women's Ordination. Story three covers the folly of the Episcopal Church's legal strategy in South Carolina and the Quorum problem. In Episode 63s final story we learn about how North America is able to Bless something without actually do it... we know... weird.

Cathedral’s same-sex marriage decision renews old debate, but doesn’t end it
The decision by leaders of the Washington National Cathedral to perform same-sex weddings is getting a mixed reception, with supporters calling it consistent with the church’s path for more than a decade and critics warning of further division on an issue that has roiled religious denominations across the country...

Global South urges Church of England to pull back on gay bishops
The Global South Coalition of Anglican Primates – representing a majority of members of the Anglican Communion – has urged the House of Bishops of the Church of England to rescind its decision to permit clergy in gay civil partnerships to be appointed to the Episcopate...

Communique from the ACNA College of Bishops
The Anglican Church in North America’s College of Bishops dedicated a week to meet together in Orlando, Florida under the leadership of the Most Rev. Robert Duncan, Archbishop and Primate, to worship, pray, take counsel together and do Bible study. The College was blessed to have a number of special guests, including two dozen of the bishops’ wives. Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali served as Biblical expositor, focusing on Ephesians and how it shapes our ministry to share the transforming love of Jesus Christ in North America. The College was also honored by the presence and witness of Bishop Azad Marshall of the Anglican Diocese of Iran...

Women clergy under review for the ACNA
More bishops, fewer dioceses and the future of women clergy were amongst the main topics of debate at the Anglican Church of North America’s College of Bishops meeting this week in Orlando.

Bishops from the conservative province in waiting in North America in the Anglican Communion approved the election of two additional bishops for the PEAR-USA Network. The Rev. Quigg Lawrence will lead the Atlantic Regional Network and the Rev. Ken Ross the Western Regional Network, while the Very Rev. Clark Lowenfield was elected bishop of the Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast – a diocese in formation...

Presiding Episcopal Bishop to speak on spirituality and environment
The Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori will speak in Milwaukee later this month on the mounting threat of environmental degradation and the ramifications for the planet and all of humanity, the Milwaukee Diocese announced.

Two of the comments:
YAWNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN                     and

I attended an Episcopal service on Christmas with extended family. Their were eleven people there. The official spent 50% of the service lecturing on environmental issues, 50% of the service lecturing on gay rights, he did however manage to weave in a few sentences on the birth of Christ.

A Nation Rises - March for Life

Jan 11, 2013

President Obama’s Sandy Hook speech turned into a pro-life video

March for Life Could Rival Obama Inauguration
The largest crowds of pro-lifers yet are expected to participate in the 40th anniversary of March for Life rally in Washington, D.C., Jan. 25.

Normally, the march is held on the actual anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. But the annual event has been pushed back this year to accommodate the presidential inauguration.

This year's march is expected to attract tens of thousands more than the record 400,000 two years ago and could actually rival President Obama's Inauguration Day crowd....