Pastoral Care

Rev. Joseph Illo of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Modesto, CA recently sent his parishioners a letter which discussed the potential need for the Sacrament of Reconciliation for individuals who voted for Barack Obama in the recent presidential election.

In part, Fr. Illo said:

If you voted for a pro-abortion candidate, I cannot say for certain is you should refrain from Holy Communion. I don't know what you were thinking. But voting for a candidate who promises "abortion rights," even is he promises every other good thing, is voting for abortion. It is a grave mistake, and probably a grave sin. No issue can compare withe the legalized destruction of a mother's child. I am writing because I love you and I care about your relationship with God. I am also writing because God requires this of me as a Catholic priest...

You've gotta love a pastor who for the salvation of his parishioners knowingly set himself up for the furor of our moral relativistic society. Kudos and thanks to Fr. Illo!!!!!

By the way, the emphasis in the above paragraph is in the original text. To read the whole letter, click HERE.

Protest at Annual USCCB Meeting

WASHINGTON, Nov 07, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Pro-life Catholics from Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania will "welcome" Catholic Bishops to Baltimore with two days of protests, decrying what is being termed the USCCB's silence and treachery concerning the unborn during the 2008 Presidential Election.

Some protesters will wear "Obama Masks" and hold signs saying: "Bishops: Thank you for your silence!" and "Bishops: I couldn't have been elected without You!" Other signs to be unveiled.
Randall Terry, Protest Organizer states: "A key factor in the election of Barack Obama was the silence of U.S. Catholic Bishops. They had a duty to clearly and courageously defend the lives of unborn children; most of them failed miserably. Their silence and cowardice over the last 12 months paved the way for Obama's victory, and will cost millions of innocent babies their lives."

"The USCCB's document, 'Faithful Citizenship,' is a disaster," observed the Operation Rescue founder. "It was used by every pro-abortion Catholic in the country to justify voting for Obama. The double tragedy is that the Bishops ignored John Paul II's directives in 'Evangelium Vitae' (the Gospel of Life), and chose their own failed document to vindicate their silence and inactivity."

"God have mercy on them. Let's hope they recognize the abject failure of 'Faithful Citizenship,' and formally abandon it, or radically rewrite it in a way that accurately reflects Church Teaching," concluded Terry.

Not only will pro-lifers will provide media with Church documentation, showing the betrayal their duty, but they will also be acknowledging and honoring the handful Bishops who made clear statements regarding Church teachings.

Where:
Marriott Water Front
700 Aliceanna St.
Baltimore Maryland, 21202

Dates and Times:
Sunday, November 9, 2008, 2-5 pm,
Monday, November 10, 2008, 12 Noon - 2:00 pm

Okay, it may seem out of character for me to promote something that may intially seem to be against the Church, but my perspective of this is that, in this matter, many of the Bishops let the Church and her people down.

People were really looking for direction this election. I have no idea how many people asked me if I knew where Catholic teachings placed the electorate, but there were quite a few. They wanted to know how doctrine should impact their vote. They wanted to be faithful to the Church!!!! Consciously, really and truly, wanted to vote in a morally relevant fashion -- yet didn't know how to go about so doing.

It wasn't just the people in my quiet country parish. This little blog had many visitors looking for Catholic and/or pro-life voting guides. They wanted to hear that the Church felt the evil of abortion supersedes other issues. They wanted to know that there is moral complicity in voting for a pro-choice candidate when the other one is very much more pro-life. They needed to know those things. Shamefully, they weren't told them.

Maybe if the Bishops are shown by the protest that the faithful recognize their need for direction, the Bishops will be less likely to shirk that responsibility.

Formative Obama Event

The portion of an AOL article for your consideration:

It was an incident during his teenage years that became one of Obama's most vivid memories of the woman he called "Toot" — a version of the Hawaiian word for grandmother, tutu.

She had been aggressively panhandled by a man and, for safety's sake, she wanted her husband to take her to work. When Obama asked why, his grandfather said Madelyn Dunham was bothered because the panhandler was black.

The words hit the biracial Obama "like a fist in my stomach," he wrote later. He was sure his grandparents loved him deeply. "And yet," he added, "I knew that men who might easily have been my brothers could still inspire their rawest fears."

Obama referred to the incident again when he addressed race in a speech in March during a controversy over his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. "I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother," he said.

Dunham was "a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world but who once confessed her fear of black men who passed her on the street."

I cannot imagine how that must have impacted him. I mean I have imaginings of the damage it caused, but -- really -- something like that has to have warped the very center of his being. Shook and transformed his view of the world in ways that someone not faced with that can't fully understand. I can't even imagine sharing that story with other, let alone have it be my reality.

"My name is ___ & I'm a local volunteer calling for..."

Scott's embarked on a new enterprise this evening... political phone bank volunteer.

He has been a promoter of Senator McCain's campaign since August, so after a doctor's appointment in Hershey I took him to the PA state Republican National Committee headquarters from which he phoned registered voters asking them if we (Senator McCain's campaign) can rely up their support in tomorrow's election. Yep, my son can now add to his resume that he is proficient at script reading.

Oh, to think, this might be the first step in an illustrious telemarket-ing career.

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Might a mother dare to dream a dream of her son professionally interrupting people's meals? Hmmm...

The young woman pictured is Amanda -- another volunteer in search of people she could count on to vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin. Amanda was as laid back and friendly as you might expect someone with the casual poise to make do with a stool for a seat and an elephant to prop her feet upon while phoning the electorate.

A special thank you goes out to Dugi (sp?)! A real sweetheart, she is the one who took the pictures of Scott.

Sarah Palin - York, PA - October 31, 2008