Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! May Christ be with you all!

G.T.

Mexican Pro-Life Victories

Reporting from Mexico City - Abortion rights activists dreamed of legislative victories across Mexico after the Supreme Court last year upheld a Mexico City law allowing abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Instead, the opposite has happened.

In state after state, antiabortion forces have won changes to local constitutions declaring that life begins at conception and explicitly granting legal rights to the unborn. In all, 17 state legislatures have approved such measures, often with minimal debate, since the August 2008 court decision validating Mexico City's law.

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Merry Christmas!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be

through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race;

the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

A man named John was sent from God.

He came for testimony, 6 to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.

He was not the light, but came to testify to the light.

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him.

He came to what was his own, but his own people 7 did not accept him.

But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name,

8 who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man's decision but of God.

And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth.

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No Christmas Decorations, by order of ...

Sonoma County administrator orders religious symbols removed from Christmas trees on county property

Just four days before Christmas, Sonoma County’s acting administrator has ordered that all religious symbols be removed from Christmas trees erected in county-owned buildings.

“I understand the concern about government endorsing religion or a doctrine, and I respect that is not our role,” acting county administrator Chris Thomas told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

Thomas’ order on Monday, Dec. 21, meant all stars, angels and anything else smacking of religion had to be immediately removed from the trees, the newspaper reported.

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John Paul II & Pius XII -- Closer to Canonization

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI authorized the decrees that recognize the heroic virtue of Popes John Paul II and Pius XII, which pushes them both one step closer to canonization.

The German Pontiff approved a total of 21 decrees Saturday, five of which are for miracles attributed to those who are beatified, and are now qualified for canonization.

Five decrees are for miracles attributed to those who are venerable, and are now qualified for beatification. One decree testifies to martyrdom, and another is a decree of the heroic virtue of a Blessed.

The nine remaining decrees, including those of the two Pontiffs, testify to the heroic virtue of Servants of God. The nine are now given the title Venerable. The candidates need a miracle attributed to their intercession to qualify for beatification.

Pius XII, born Eugenio Pacelli, was born in Rome in 1876, and served as Pope from 1939 until he died in 1958 at Castel Gandolfo.

The Holy Father steered the Church through the stormy years of the Second World War. He has been criticized for remaining silent in face of the Jewish Holocaust, although many historians note that he served an important role in helping to save the lives of many Jews.

John Paul II, born Karol Wojtyla, was born in 1920 in Wadowice, Poland. He was elected Pope in October 1978, and he served until he died on April 2, 2005. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims filled St. Peter's Square during his last days, and for his funeral.

The historians of the 20th century attribute the fall of Communism in great part to the Polish Pope, and Church historians note his decisive efforts to faithfully apply the Second Vatican Council.

[read full article on Zenit]
[read on Whispers in the Loggia]


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Bay Area Catholic Reachs 100 Posts

Thank you to all of my readers! I have finally gotten to 100 posts, and almost to 5000 site "hits"!

~G.T.


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Corruption in Catholic Higher Ed.

BOOK III. THE TEACHING FUNCTION OF THE CHURCH LIBER III. DE ECCLESIAE MUNERE DOCENDI

• TITLE III. CATHOLIC EDUCATION (Cann. 793 - 821)
  • CHAPTER I. SCHOOLS

Can. 796 §1. Among the means to foster education, the Christian faithful are to hold schools in esteem; schools are the principal assistance to parents in fulfilling the function of education.

[....]

Can. 806 §1. The diocesan bishop has the right to watch over and visit the Catholic schools in his territory, even those which members of religious institutes have founded or direct. He also issues prescripts which pertain to the general regulation of Catholic schools; these prescripts are valid also for schools which these religious direct, without prejudice, however, to their autonomy regarding the internal direction of their schools.

§2. Directors of Catholic schools are to take care under the watchfulness of the local ordinary that the instruction which is given in them is at least as academically distinguished as that in the other schools of the area.

------------------

My take on recent scandals, such as the one in which President Obama spoke at Notre Dame is that to some extent, the local bishop is to blame.

Unless I guess wrongly, the section of Canon Law I listed above, seems to make it clear that Diocesan bishops can step in to any University within his diocese and point out that things are going the wrong direction.

At a local college, for example, the Priest got up, and for his homily tried indoctrinating the students on various non-Catholic views. The school is run by the Christian Brothers, but I'm sure that at a slight hint from a local bishop they'd shape up very quickly.

It only requires some bishop to have the guts to say things aren't going the right direction.... They have many things on their hands, but education of students should be among their priorities; for these are going to be the possible future leaders of Catholicism and Catholic thought.

The Four Types of Roman Catholics

"Trads" A group of Roman Catholics who are just like President Barack Obama. They bow to foreign leaders (not meaning any respect). Trads excessively bow and genuflect. They are a group who generally despise saying prayers in English, firmly stick to talking about "Thee" and "The Holy Ghost."

Trads are divisive; they do not consider someone wholly a Catholic unless the person behaves like them. If the person is a woman, they are expected to behave like a puppet: wear floor length dresses, wear dour faces, and pretend to be holy, while gossiping about anyone who doesn't behave like a Trad. Many times, a Trad will be heard wondering aloud whether or not someone is committing a mortal sin by shaking hands during Mass, attending a non-Latin Mass, receiving Communion on the hand, etc... The list goes on and on.

Of all people who attend the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite, about 3% of them are "Trads". The reason the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite has a bad sound is because of these 3%.

"Traditional Catholics" are just like Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke. They accept both the Extraordinary Form and the Ordinary Form of the Latin Rite, they are generally upbeat individuals, and they believe in Catholic values.

I (Gregory Thaumaturgas), consider myself a Traditional Catholic.

Traditional Catholics attend both the Extraordinary Form and the Ordinary Form of the Latin Rite. Many times, the prefer the Extraordinary Form, but they still attend both forms of the Latin Rite. Many members of the Opus Dei are "Traditional Catholics." Basically, anyone who is a real, fervent, joyful Catholic is a Traditional Catholic. We are Catholics who are truly proud to be Catholics.

"Catholics" are a wide and varied group of people. They make up most of the people you consider to be Catholics. They generally support Catholic issues such as abortion and marriage.

These everyday Catholics go to Mass each Sunday, they don't use profane language, they are generally happy people. They tend to have smaller families than either Trads or Traditional Catholics, but they teach their children Catholic values.

These Catholics are the people you see every day. They are Catholics, their parents were Catholics and their parents parents were Catholics. They don't see any reason to be extremely excited about their faith because, well, they are just Catholics. They're Catholics, what more can there be? They are proud of their faith. They are... Catholics.

"Cafeteria Catholics"

Yes. This is our dear friend Vice President Joe Biden.

Cafeteria Catholics pick and choose. They tend to think that even though the Catholic Church may teach certain things (such as abortion is bad), but they often have ideas of their own. They think they are smarter than 2000 years of Catholic thinkers. They think that God has given them permission to make their own rules.

If they think it's convenient to have an abortion, they have an abortion. No second thoughts. If they think that it will be more socially acceptable for them to make profane jokes using the name of God, they joke away.

They go to church, either once in a while or on Christmas and Easter (hence the phrase "C and E's").

Cafeteria Catholics go to Church, often their children are no longer Catholics.

$14,400,000 Fine - Archdiocese of San Francisco

San Francisco's tax fight with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco is headed to court.

The city's Transfer Tax Appeals Board unanimously ruled Monday in favor of San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting's position that the archdiocese owes City Hall $14.4 million in unpaid property transfer taxes.

The panel determined that the church, in moving properties from one Catholic nonprofit corporation to another, was required to pay property transfer taxes. The taxes are collected when properties are sold or transferred to a separate and distinct legal entity.

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Universities Teach "Leaders" to Step Beyond their Abilities

"Many colleges claim that they develop "leaders." All too often, that means turning out graduates who cannot feel fulfilled unless they are telling other people what to do. There are already too many people like that, and they are a menace to everyone else's freedom.

[....]

Stepping beyond your competence can be like stepping off a cliff. Too many people with brilliance and talent within some field do not realize how ignorant— or, worse yet, misinformed— they are when talking like philosopher-kings about other things."

--Thomas Sowell

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