Happy All Hallows Eve

Our next VP rendered in squashMoonlight Cafe staff as a cowgirl, Emeril and...
a diner waitress - plus Angie as a cat.

Neighborhood boys and ghouls

40 Days for Life - the State of the Cause

As the end of the current 40 Days for Life is coming to a close, LifeNews.com has an article discussing the cause. Below is a portion of that article.

"Tens of thousands of people have prayed in front of abortion facilities, many for the first time," David Bereit, the campaign director, explained. "They see the impact of that peaceful presence, and they yearn to keep going."

Beginning September 24, intensive 40 Days for Life campaigns have been conducted in more than 175 communities in 47 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa and two Canadian provinces.

Bereit said the biggest success of the campaign may have been jumpstarting efforts by existing groups to do more in their community and taking existing efforts that had grown stale and given them new life.

"People across the country have expressed an interest in getting involved in the effort to end abortion," said Bereit, "but far too often, they didn't know where to start. 40 Days for Life provided a starting point. Now they've seen what can happen; and now that they've taken that first step, they're eagerly anticipating additional opportunities for continuing their pro-life outreach."

"We know of at least 441 lives that were saved from abortion as a result of the 40 Days for Life effort thus far," said Bereit. "But those are not the only lives that have been changed."

"We hear every day about people seeking help who have been dealing with abortion experiences - some of them have been hurting for more than 30 years," he added. "There are people in the abortion industry who have been touched by this effort. They, too, are witnessing the power of prayer at work first hand." Click HERE to read the complete article.

McCain Health Care Plan

After posting the last entry to this blog, I almost immediately ran across the following information that eases my mind. The ads funded by McCain's opponent make Senator McCain's health care plan sound downright scary. I mean, who thinks they want more taxes for employees while expanding the wallets of the insurance conglomerations or medicare patients losing benefits? Scary stuff. Below is the short version of the real McCain plan.

John McCain believes that we can achieve savings in Medicare without reducing benefits or eligibility. He has proposed common-sense reforms that will not only put Medicare on a path of financial stability but ensure access to quality care for millions of Americans. Some of the policies proposed by the McCain plan include:

• Promote payment reform that allows us to move away from the current fragmented and volume-based service to a system which rewards coordinated and quality focused care.Eliminate Medicare fraud and abuse to ensure that nearly $60 billion a year, almost 10 percent of total Medicare spending, that goes to line the pocket of criminals instead of providing quality care for seniors.


• Ensure that drug premiums for the wealthiest Americans are not being subsidized by the middle class.


• Promote a new generation of treatment models that better manage chronic care conditions while rewarding prevention and wellness.


• Greater use of Health IT and medical homes to promote greater co-ordination of care.Reduce drug costs by allowing greater use of generics (including bio-generics).
  

If you want more information on the McCain-Palin Health Care Plan click HERE.

McCain's Economic Plan

Below is portions of a McCain press release of Senator John McCain's remarks that he made in Hershey, PA this morning.

I have a plan to hold the line on taxes and cut them to make America more competitive and create jobs here at home. We're going to double the child deduction for working families. We will cut the capital gains tax. And we will cut business taxes to help create jobs, and keep American businesses in America. Raising taxes makes a bad economy much worse. Keeping taxes low creates jobs, keeps money in your hands and strengthens our economy.

I will freeze government spending on all but the most important programs like defense, veterans care, Social Security and health care until we scrub every single government program and get rid of the ones that aren't working for the American people. And I will veto every single pork barrel bill Congresses passes.

I'm not going to spend $750 billion dollars of your money just bailing out the Wall Street bankers and brokers who got us into this mess. I'm going to make sure we take care of the working people who were devastated by the excesses of Wall Street and Washington. I have a plan to fix our housing market, so that your home value doesn't go down when your neighbor defaults, and so that people in danger of defaulting have a path to pay off their loan.

If I'm elected President, we're going to stop spending $700 billion to buy oil from countries that don't like us very much. Senator Obama will argue to delay drilling for more oil and gas and against building new nuclear power plants in America. If I am president, we will start new drilling now. We will invest in all energy alternatives -- nuclear, wind, solar, and tide. We will encourage the manufacture of hybrid, flex fuel and electric automobiles. We will invest in clean coal technology. We will lower the cost of energy within months, and we will create millions of new jobs.

My opponent's massive new tax increase is exactly the wrong approach in an economic slowdown. The answer to a slowing economy is not higher taxes, but that is exactly what is going to happen when the Democrats have total control of Washington. We can't let that happen. We need pro-growth and pro-jobs economic policies, not pro-government spending programs paid for with higher taxes.

This is the fundamental difference between Senator Obama and me. We both disagree with President Bush on economic policy. The difference is that he thinks taxes have been too low, and I think that spending has been too high.

If we are going to change Washington, we need a President who has actually fought for change and made it happen. The next President won't have time to get used to the office. We face many challenges here at home, and many enemies abroad in this dangerous world.

I know you're worried. America is a great country, but we are at a moment of national crisis that will determine our future.

Will we continue to lead the world's economies or will we be overtaken? Will the world become safer or more dangerous? Will our military remain the strongest in the world? Will our children and grandchildren's future be brighter than ours?

My answer to you is yes. Yes, we will lead. Yes, we will prosper. Yes, we will be safer. Yes, we will pass on to our children a stronger, better country. But we must be prepared to act swiftly, boldly, with courage and wisdom.

I'm an American. And I choose to fight. Don't give up hope. Be strong. Have courage. And fight. Fight for a new direction for our country. Fight for what's right for America.

Fight to clean up the mess of corruption, infighting and selfishness in Washington.

Fight to get our economy out of the ditch and back in the lead.

Fight for the ideals and character of a free people.

Fight for our children's future.

Fight for justice and opportunity for all.

Stand up to defend our country from its enemies.

Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. America is worth fighting for. Nothing is inevitable here. We never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.

Eduardo Verastegui's McCain Endorsement

Bev e-mailed letting me know that Anita Crane of LifeSiteNews.com recently spoke with Eduardo Verastegui, star/producer of the movie "Bella" about his support of John McCain's campaign. Below is a portion of Crane's article:

"I said more than 45 million babies have been killed by abortion in America and more than 200,000 Latino babies are killed by abortion each year. I told everyone that we need to put an end to this and, when I finished, I went to John McCain and I said, ‘Senator, thank you for your commitment to life. I’d like to give you something.’ I gave him a Miraculous Medal blessed by Pope Benedict XVI and he was amazing. He said, ‘Thank you so much! Look what I have here in my pocket.’ Then Senator McCain took a medal out of his pocket that he carries everywhere and it was a Blessed Mother Teresa medal. He said, ‘Eduardo, now I am going to keep both.’

Verastegui also gave McCain’s wife, Cindy, a Miraculous Medal. He said, “I was touched when I found out that the McCains adopted one of their daughters from Mother Teresa’s orphanage in India. There is nothing more beautiful than to give children homes with families who will love them. I hope that one day that I can do the same.”

Verastegui gives out Miraculous Medals because, as a practicing Catholic, he believes the Blessed Mother promised Saint Catherine Labouré that “all who wear it will receive great graces.”

As Americans prepare to vote, many think their country is in crisis and Verastegui agrees. Therefore, he said, “It would be a disaster if Senator Barack Obama is elected president.”
Verastegui believes that unless Americans elect a president who will defend fundamental human rights, no one can expect a sound economy, health care or national security, including immigration reform.

“Obama speaks about ‘change,’ but what change are we talking about?” he asked. “Fidel Castro spoke about change in Cuba. Hugo Chavez talks about change in Venezuela. A lot of other charismatic dictators promised change, but look what happened to their countries.”

Verastegui explained, “Obama’s change agenda is very, very dangerous. This is a historic moment. Whoever wins the presidential election will affect this country and the world for decades.

Click HERE for complete article.

"Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!"

Election Novena

The Bishops' election novena should be started tomorrow. The ninth day, and final day, of praying the prayer is the eve of the election - November 3th.

If your parish didn't distribute the prayer along with the daily reading and reflection, please visit the novena prayer page of the USCCB's Faithful Citizen site by clicking HERE.

The piece below is from almost two weeks ago. I had wanted to post it then, but time, obviously, got away from me. Just the same, it is unfortunately going to be relevant for awhile. We need to share it and pray for the obsolescence of its message.



Bishop Holley Calls on Black Community to Overcome Abortion

WASHINGTON—Bishop Martin D. Holley, Auxiliary Bishop of Washington, issued a statement responding to a report by the Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood's research branch, showing that black women have abortions at five times the rate of white women.

"As an African American, I am saddened by evidence that Black women continue to be targeted by the abortion industry. The loss of any child from abortion is a tragedy, but we must ask: Why are minority children being aborted at such disproportionate rates?" Bishop Holley said.

"Our legitimate commitment to other social concerns must not push the primary moral issue of abortion onto the back burner. It clearly must be at the heart and center of our discussion of the survival of African American people," Bishop Holley said.

Bishop Holley serves as Chair of the Sub-Committee on African American Affairs and is a member of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).Bishop Holley called for the federal defunding of the abortion industry. "Every year the federal government gives over $300 million to Planned Parenthood. Last year for the first time, Planned Parenthood took in over one billion dollars and reported a profit of $51 million," he said of the non-profit organization.

The Bishop called upon African Americans to "defend our community by rededicating ourselves to family life and marriage, promoting the gift of chastity and marital fidelity, committing ourselves to prayer and service to others and defending the life and dignity of each human person. We can welcome every child as a gift and we can overcome abortion."

The full text of Bishop Holley's statement follows:

As an African American, I am saddened by evidence that Black women continue to be targeted by the abortion industry. The loss of any child from abortion is a tragedy, but we must ask: Why are minority children being aborted at such disproportionate rates?

Many African Americans are not aware that since the Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion throughout all 9 months of pregnancy, the number one cause of death in the African American community has been abortion. We have lost over 13 million lives. To put that in perspective, it is one third of our present Black population. Since 1973, twice as many Black Americans have died from abortion than from AIDS, accidents, violent crimes, cancer, and heart disease combined.

As I noted in my recent Respect Life Program article, "A Reflection on the African American Family and the Culture of Life" (www.usccb.org/prolife/programs/rlp/holley.pdf), our legitimate commitment to other social concerns must not push the primary moral issue of abortion onto the back burner. It clearly must be at the heart and center of our discussion of the survival of African American people.

The Guttmacher Institute called on policy makers to "redouble their efforts to improve access to subsidized contraceptive services for these women." Yet studies have shown that increased access to contraceptives, especially among teens, does not reduce unintended pregnancy and abortion. On the contrary, several studies link increased access to contraceptives to an increase in STDs, with no decrease in abortion rates.

As the research arm of Planned Parenthood, the Guttmacher Institute is shamelessly trying to build a case for receiving more of our taxpayer dollars. Every year the federal government gives over $300 million to Planned Parenthood. Last year for the first time, Planned Parenthood took in over one billion dollars and reported a profit of $51 million. I join my voice with others in the Black community who have called for the defunding of the abortion industry.

We must demand an end to the victimizing of African American children, women, families and communities by Planned Parenthood and others in the abortion industry. Over 80 percent of Planned Parenthood clinics are located in minority neighborhoods. Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, began the "Negro Project" to reduce the Black population. We should be shocked and heartbroken by the findings of a recent phone investigation, that recorded a fundraiser at an Iowa Planned Parenthood clinic saying she was "very excited" about a donation specifically for aborting Black babies.

My brothers and sisters, we can overcome abortion in our nation. Let us defend our community by rededicating ourselves to family life and marriage, promoting the gift of chastity and marital fidelity, committing ourselves to prayer and service to others and defending the life and dignity of each human person. We can welcome every child as a gift and we can overcome abortion.

If anyone doubts what Bishop Holley has said in the above piece, please do your own research. Genocide is happening right here in our country.

Duluth Bishop Reassigned as Cincinnati's Archbishop

USCCB press release:

Pope Names Bishop Dennis M. Schnurr of Duluth
Coadjutor Archbishop of Cincinnati

WASHINGTON—Pope Benedict XVI named Bishop Dennis M. Schnurr of Duluth, Minnesota, 60, coadjutor archbishop of Cincinnati.

The appointment as coadjutor bishop confers on Archbishop-elect Schnurr the right to succession to Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk of Cincinnati. Archbishop Pilarczyk is 74.

The appointment of Archbishop-elect Schnurr, who is treasurer of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, was announced in Washington, October 17, by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.

Archbishop-elect Schnurr, a native of Sheldon, Iowa, was named Bishop of Duluth January 18, 2001, when he was General Secretary of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa, July 21, 1974.

Dennis Marion Schnurr was born June 21, 1948, and raised in Hospers, Iowa. He was educated in local Catholic schools and Loras College, Dubuque, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He studied for the priesthood at North American College and the Gregorian University, Rome, where he earned a Master of Arts degree in Theology in 1974. He was awarded a Doctorate in Canon Law from The Catholic University of America in 1980.

After ordination to the priesthood, he worked in parish assignments and as vice-chancellor and chancellor of the Sioux City Diocese. In 1985, he was assigned to the staff of the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, where he gave advice on canon law, monitored financial affairs and researched issues of interest to the church. In 1989, he was appointed Associate General Secretary of the United States Catholic Conference/National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB/USCC), where he supervised pubic policy departments and was principal staff person for an assessment and overhaul of the Conferences' budget and staffing procedures. In 1995, the bishops elected him General Secretary of the NCCB/USCC.

After being named a bishop, Archbishop-elect Schnurr served on the USCCB Administrative Committee and Executive Committee and was vice-president of the Priorities and Plans Committee, a member of the board of trustees of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., and on the Task Force on Promotions of Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life.

Archbishop Pilarczyk, a native of Dayton, Ohio, was ordained December 20, 1959, for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati where he was chancellor and on the faculty of St. Gregory Seminary. He was named Auxiliary Bishop of Cincinnati in 1974, and named Archbishop of Cincinnati, November 2, 1982. He holds a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Urban University, Rome, and a Doctorate in Classics from the University of Cincinnati. He served as vice-president of the NCCB/USCC from 1986-1989, and president from 1989-1992. He also served as a consultant to the U.S. bishops' Committee on Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs.

The Cincinnati Archdiocese includes 19 counties in Ohio. The total population of the archdiocese is estimated at 2,988,285 people, with 485,112 of them Catholic.

The Miracle of the Sun Video

Just today I was thinking of the fact that I have never seen pictures from the final apparition of the Blessed Mother at Fatima. It isn't that I think there are photos of her from that day;rather, I have always thought there should be books featuring pictures of the crowd (in excess of 100,000 present - if I'm remembering correctly) and of the sun dancing. The secular press was said to be there, yet I've not seen pictures.

Well, ask and you shall receive.

I was just made aware that there is a video on YouTube of pictures from that day. If you'd like to see it, please go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBIs8cuIwTo
It is entitled "The Miracle of the Sun."

Catholic Culture in Mainstream America

The following story is from yesterday's Washington Times:


Va. pharmacy caters to pro-life customers
Will stock no birth control

When Divine Mercy Care Pharmacy opens Tuesday in a Chantilly shopping center, it will have on display a picture of St. John Leonardi, the 16th-century patron saint of pharmacists.

But there will be no birth-control pills, condoms, cigarettes or pornographic magazines. There will, however, be booklets on natural family planning.

DMC Pharmacy is one of the country's few "pro-life pharmacies" that refuse to dispense contraceptives on moral and health grounds, arguing that they cause abortions, lead to promiscuity or endanger a woman's health.

"Birth control is not health care," said Robert Laird, executive director of DMC, the Fairfax nonprofit that will own and operate the 1,500-square-foot store at 13945 Metrotech Drive. "We are catering to a special niche of people who like the pro-life message in their business."

The store is within a mile of two large parishes serving about 20,000 Catholics. Within five miles are four other booming parishes, bringing the total population of Catholic residents to about 50,000. The Catholic Shop, a bookstore next door to the pharmacy, already attracts plenty of customers.

"In the pharmacy business," Mr. Laird said, "you don't normally go more than two miles from your drugstore, but people are going to be coming from miles to come here."

If people want contraceptives, he said, there are two other stores in Sully Plaza that stock them. Robert Semler, the pharmacist in charge, will not direct people on where to find such stores.

"People can look it up," Mr. Laird said.

DMC Pharmacy opens for business at 10 a.m. Tuesday with a blessing by Arlington Bishop Paul Loverde. Benefactors of the $350,000 project also will attend. A more elaborate grand opening is planned for December.

Catholic doctrine forbids the use of any kind of artificial birth control, and all DMC's board members are Catholic. Click HERE for the full article.

If you'd like to visit Divine Mercy Care's web site, please click HERE.

HT: Gina of Catholic Treasures

Election Teleseminar/Webcast

Below is a letter sent out by Priests for Life:

If there were ever a time to take decisive action in regard to the elections, it's now! No matter what you may or may not have done up to now, there is still time to make a difference!
One way you can do this is to join me for an election-related teleseminar-webcast on Monday, October 27 from 9 to 10pm Eastern Time. Clergy, laity, and pro-life leaders from coast to coast will be joining me and an expert panel to receive practical information and inspiration to become involved and make a difference in our national elections. This is our fifth such teleseminar and being only days from the elections, will be the most important.

I would like you, as well as the membership of your organization or church, to be part of it. Sign up at www.priestsforlife.org/conferencecall/index.aspx.

The discussion will include what each of you can do to generate votes and impact the outcome of the elections for the better. Please see www.prolifevoter.org for some of the ideas that we will be discussing. One of our expert panelists will be David Barton, President and Founder of Wallbuilders. In the past we have had such guests as Congressman Chris Smith, Senator Sam Brownback and Dr. David O'Steen of National Right to Life.

You may listen to the teleseminar either by phone or through your computer, where you will also be led to key documents you can download. The instructions are simple. To sign up for the teleseminar, go to www.priestsforlife.org/conferencecall/index.aspx. From that page you can also listen to our prior teleseminars or read transcripts of them. After you sign up you will receive an email with the teleseminar web link (if you intend to listen on the web) and the phone number and passcode (if you intend to listen by phone).

Please do me a favor and extend this invitation to your personal email lists, organization lists, friends and family. Tell them to go to www.priestsforlife.org/conferencecall/index.aspx and sign up today.

Sincerely,

Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life

28th of 40 Days for Life - Fr. Frank Pavone Comes to Town

As part of 40 Days for Life, Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priest for Life, visited Harrisburg, PA today to concelebrate Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral and visit the local vigil site.

In his homily, Fr. Pavone spoke of vigilance. To paraphrase what he said:

We must watch out for one another - to actively live as Christ instructed us. We are called to be brothers and sisters in Christ looking out for each other. Part of that is intervening for the helpless.

We need to be vigilantly Christian in our awareness in the political forum, vigilant in our choice of public officials. Democracy rests on our being able to judge/discern what is right and what is wrong. Jesus charged us, His disciples, to go forth and change the world. We must respond.

Pope John Paul II, in his 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae, “The Gospel of Life,” noted that if the state permits abortion then it cannot be thought to be a democracy for it is a tyrannical state. The state becomes a tyrant when vetoes human rights, when it allows abortion.

We must vigilantly work for justice and equality for every human being.

We must be vigilant for the Lord is coming.

Deacon Charles Clark (Cathedral Pastoral Associate), Fr. Thomas J. Rozman (Cathedral Pastor) and Fr. Frank Pavone just before consecration.

After leaving St. Patrick's Cathedral, everyone came together in the crisp autumn winds that knocked down tree limbs and signs along Front Street.

The vigil group prayed the rosary while waiting for Fr. Pavone to arrive.
Once he arrived, Fr. Pavone spoke of the value of a Pro-Life presence outside of abortion centers such as Harrisburg's Hillcrest Clinic.

He told of people whose hearts were changed by the presence of Pro-Lifers outside of clinics.

He encouraged all in their witness to the Gospel of Life.
Father led a particularly pertinent prayer - a litany asking for God's mercy for the souls of women who died as a result of an abortion.

Once that prayer was done, a few of the people present spoke up to let Fr. Pavone know that they had recognized the name of one of the women's names in the litany - she was a local girl who had as the result of her procedure done at Hillcrest.
That prayer was very down-heartening in that it just seemed to go on and on. That so many women died from something that "choice" advocates rally to keep legal because they say it is the safe prudent answer to unplanned pregnancies rests in the pit of one's stomach like a lead balloon. Chilling is the fact that it was only a partial list of women known to have died because of a legal abortion.

Local doctor and Pro-Life advocate, also spoke to the group. After the heaviness of the litany, it was good to hear that abortion protesters had impacted a woman he knew. She had once aborted a child and worked in the industry, yet she has turned away from all of that and joined the Church this past Easter.

Before leaving for a prayer vigil at the York Planned Parenthood facility, Fr. Pavone gave us all his priestly blessing.

Groups participating in the Harrisburg

40 Days for Life initiative:
A Cry Without a Voice
Harrisburg 40 Days for Life
Operation Outcry Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation
Priests for Life
Silent No More

Additional Resources:
Post-abortion healing -www.rachelsvineyard.org/
Pregnancy help -www.birthright.org/

Sleep Cheap - With Abortion Receipt

New Jersey Quality Inn, Clarion Hotels Give Women Discounts for Abortions

Cherry Hill, NJ(LifeNews.com) -- Women heading to New Jersey for abortions are getting discounts at two brand name hotels and pro-life advocates are working to expose the practice. An abortion business in Cherry Hill that does abortions up to six months into pregnancy worked out the discounts with two local hotels.

New Jersey Right to Life indicates that participants in the local 40 Days for Life prayer campaign have learned that the Cherry Hill Women's Center made the arrangements.

The Clarion Hotel in Cherry Hill offers a reduced rate of $59 for a room originally priced at $109 to women staying there from out of town to get an abortion. Women need only show a receipt from the abortion business saying an overnight stay is necessary. In addition, the Quality Inn in Maple Shade offers a discounted rate of $74.95 for a room originally priced at $99.99 and a free breakfast of eggs and pancakes for women who present a stamped pamphlet from the abortion center.

Marie Tasy, the director of New Jersey Right to Life, told LifeNews.com the hotel arrangements make it appear to her that teenagers from other states are taken to New Jersey to avoid parental involvement laws in their home states.

"The Cherry Hill Women's Center has a track record of aggressive advertisement in the Pennsylvania market to intentionally lure pregnant minor girls to the NJ abortion clinic in order to evade Pennsylvania's parental consent laws," Tasy added.

Send your complaints to the following:
a) Clarion Hotel, Route 70 & I-295, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034, (856) 428-2300, fax (856) 354-7662, or contact via web site;
b) Quality Inn Maple Shade, 531 Route 38 West, Maple Shade, NJ 08052, (856) 235-6400, fax (856) 727-1027.


Full story at LifeNews.com

Gettysburg Life Chain 2008

Yesterday afternoon, from 2:30 - 3:30, people gathered in the center of Gettysburg, PA, to pray and give silent witness for the Pro-Life cause. The sentences in blue were given to participants as suggestions for prayer and meditation during the hour of the Life Chain.

Pray a personal prayer of repentance for past failure to actively oppose abortion and to aid its victims.

Pray God's grace and healing on mothers who have had abortions.

Pray for local crisis pregnancy centers and other pro-life healing-support ministeries.Pray God's sovereignty against abortionists.

Pray for the eyes of abortionists to be opened to their killing of children.

Pray for Godly wisdom in our government and courts, and pray that God will strengthen and aid pro-life officials.Pray for the convicting impact of hundreds of Life Chains across America.

Pray for love and unity among us, God's people. Pray that we and our fellow believers will submit to God's will for our lives, families and our nation.

Pray that God will direct a profound spiritual awakening in our local community and throughout our land. Ask God how you can best help end abortion in the days, weeks, and months ahead.