Catholic teachings challenge increasingly progressive world: A Book Review

Author predicts Catholicism will not and should not change despite calls for acceptance of same sex marriage, female priests and an end to celibacy. [Iglesia ni Cristo cult members should note this!]

By Thomas Maupin Published: January 19, 2014 from NewsOK.com [all highlights are mine]

The Catholic Church has been around for roughly 2,000 years. With more than 1 billion members, it is one of the largest institutions — if not the largest institution — in the world. It has survived persecutions, heresies, the Great Schism and the Protestant Reformation. But what is its future?

Canadian writer Michael Coren, a 1985 convert to Catholicism, takes a look at his faith's future.

In the introduction, Coren looks back to the March 2013 papal election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio and the questions of how the new Pope Francis would shape the church. Coren says the church might change some things but cannot and will not change its teachings.

Coren write, “The book is called ‘The Future of Catholicism,' not ‘How to Make Failed Catholics Feel Good About Themselves,' or ‘A Handbook for Catholics Who Want a More Protestant Church.'”

He reminds us the church “does not exist to change the faith to reflect the world but to change the world to reflect the faith.”

Coren believes the church's stand on traditional marriage will be “a point of persecution” for Catholics.

Some other faiths allow same-sex marriage, and Coren says many Protestants have converted to Catholicism because of its defense of traditional marriage. As more faiths and governments support same-sex marriage, Coren predicts the future Catholic Church “will be as countercultural as it was in its earliest days.”

You can't write about the church and avoid abortion and birth control. Coren covers the church's position on those issues and stresses the faith will not change its teachings just because the same old arguments are brought up by the opposition. He says the church's teaching is not about denying a woman's rights; it is about “expanding life.” On these issues, he advises the church “needs to explain not what its critics think it believes but it actually believes about this so personal and delicate an issue.” He warns that misunderstanding, abuse and anger will face the church because of the issues.

About Abortion – What They Don’t Tell You

by Ana Benderas 

The propaganda of the abortion industry (to which here I will refer as Planned Parenthood because they are fairly the face and representation of pro-choicers everywhere), is that they want to provide information for women to make the best decision for themselves, yet that information is often incomplete and misleading.

Almost anywhere that pro-choicers give information about abortion, including Planned Parenthood pamphlets, they describe it as “a simple procedure which takes about ten minutes or so. You can go home the same day…” Planned Parenthood, which supposedly makes giving information and offering choices their first priority, does not ever describe, or even touch on the subject, of what actually takes place in this simple, ten-minute procedure of abortion.

So it is my intention today to provide more thorough information for any woman who sincerely wants to know what the abortion industry will never tell her.

How they kill your baby if she is 3 months or younger

At this age, your baby is already a full, biological human being. She was one at the moment of fertilization where she had 46 chromosomes, her own set of DNA, metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli and cell reproduction. In fact, by the time she’s old enough to be killed by abortion, she already has her own heart which beats at a different rhythm than her mom. She even has her own blood type! When you go into Planned Parenthood and you ask them how developed your baby is, she will answer you that it’s nothing more than a pregnancy, or a clump of cells, or a product of fertilization. The truth is that a pregnancy is a condition of a woman, not a thing, we are all, in a sense, a clump of cells and, unless someone sprouted into life from thin air, we are all a product of fertilization. When a close friend of mine went in and asked the same question about her first-trimester baby, they lied to her that her baby did not have a heart and was nothing but a sack.

The way your baby will be killed at this stage is that they will insert you a canulla, which is a vacuum with suction power stronger than the one you have at home. The abortionist will then put all the parts of your baby’s body together to make sure that he got all of it and that there’s not an arm or a leg left inside of you, which can cause a serious infection (just imagine the damage a body part of a dead person inside of you can do). It is true that this takes about ten minutes and then you can go home.

Spanish King now Excommunicated himself!

King of Spain 'cooperating with evil' by signing abortion law, says bishop

Madrid, Spain, Mar 9, 2010 / 03:06 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop Juan Antonio Reig Pla of Alcala de Henares remarked this week that by signing a bill into law that dramatically liberalizes abortion in Spain, King Juan Carlos has actively cooperated with the evil of abortion.

Despite numerous requests that the Spanish monarch refuse to sign the bill, King Juan Carlos put his signature to the new measure during a private ceremony last weekend. The law will take effect in July.

During an interview with Intereconomia TV on Saturday, Bishop Reig Pla openly commented, “What (the King) has done constitutes remote cooperation with evil.”

“The King should have thought about whether or not he was cooperating with the implementation of a law that will cause the death of innocent people,” the bishop said, noting that the King could have chosen a different option. “He could have refused to sign it, saying that his conscience came before signing a law that will not bring about good.”

Bishop Reig Pla rejected claims by some bishops that the King had no choice because of the constitutional requirement that he must sign duly passed laws. The new law “will not only make the abortion situation worse, but it will also lead to the imposition of sexual education in the classroom, as well as gender ideology, which is this government’s calling card.”

More than 60,000 people singed a petition urging the King not sign the bill into law, but last Wednesday his order to move forward with the measure was published in the Official State Bulletin, naming July 5 as the date it would go into effect.

Patrick Kennedy banned from taking Communion

US Catholic Politician Patrick Kennedy is challenging the authority of his Bishop by supporting US Health Bill which supports abortion. Abortion to the Catholic Church is a grave sin which is considered a "mortal sin". And any practicing Catholic who practices or supports abortion and its forms are chastised by the local Bishops. Refusal to give communion is the most severe form of punishment by refusing them to receive the Holy Body and Blood of Christ which Catholics believed to be the Real Sacred Body of Christ.

(Source: AP News) Kennedy says RI bishop banned him from Communion
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin has banned Rep. Patrick Kennedy from receiving Communion, the central sacrament of the church, in Rhode Island because of the congressman's support for abortion rights, Kennedy said in a newspaper interview published Sunday.

The decision by the outspoken prelate, reported on The Providence Journal's Web site, significantly escalates a bitter dispute between Tobin, an ultra orthodox bishop, and Kennedy, a son of the nation's most famous Roman Catholic family.

AP has branded Bishop Tobin to be an "ultra orthodox bishop" when in fact the good bishop is just re-catechizing Kennedy of the grave sin he's espousing. The Catholic Church, whether media dislikes it will always be pro-life and anti-abortion.

"The bishop instructed me not to take Communion and said that he has instructed the diocesan priests not to give me Communion," Kennedy told the paper in an interview conducted Friday.

Kennedy said the bishop had explained the penalty by telling him "that I am not a good practicing Catholic because of the positions that I've taken as a public official," particularly on abortion.

He declined to say when or how Tobin told him not to take the sacrament. And he declined to say whether he has obeyed the bishop's injunction.

The paper said the bishop's spokesman declined to address the question of whether he had told Kennedy not to receive Communion. But the bishop's office cast doubt on Kennedy's related assertion about instructions to state priests.

"Bishop Tobin has never addressed matters relative to public officials receiving Holy Communion with pastors of the diocese," spokesman Michael K. Guilfoyle told the paper in an e-mailed statement.

Kennedy did not return messages left on his cell phone by The Associated Press, and his staff refused to make the congressman available for comment. Tobin's spokesman told the AP that the bishop would not comment on the issue.

Church law permits Tobin to ban Kennedy from receiving Communion within the Diocese of Providence, which covers Rhode Island, but he cannot stop Kennedy from receiving Communion elsewhere. It was unclear whether bishops overseeing Washington and Massachusetts, where Kennedy's family has a seaside compound, would issue similar bans.

If Patrick Kennedy would come to the Philippines without knowing he's Mr. Kennedy then the priest giving the communion has no right to refuse to give a communion. But if he introduces himself before the presiding priest and tell him that he's a pro-abortion then the priest, has the moral duty not to give him communion even without the directives of a local bishop.

Kennedy could appeal the decision to officials in the Vatican, but the hierarchy of the Catholic church is unlikely to overturn a bishop, said Michael Sean Winters, a church observer and author of "Left At the Altar: How Democrats Lost The Catholics And How Catholics Can Save The Democrats.

"It's really bad theology," said Winters, who opposes abortion. "You're turning the altar rail into a battle field, a political battlefield no less, and it does a disservice to the Eucharist."

Yes, the Vatican would never overturn a bishop's decision and the Church will never bow down to political pressure.

The dispute between the two men began in October when Kennedy in an interview on CNSNews.com criticized the nation's Catholic bishops for threatening to oppose a massive expansion of the nation's health care system unless it included tighter restrictions on federally funded abortion.

Kennedy voted against an amendment to a Democratic health care plan sought by the bishops. But he voted in favor of a health care plan that included the amendment he opposed.

Tobin, the spiritual leader of the nation's most heavily Roman Catholic state, demanded an apology from Kennedy after learning of his remarks and requested a meeting.

"While I greatly respect the Catholic Church and its leaders, like many Rhode Islanders, the fact that I disagree with the hierarchy of the church on some issues does not make me any less of a Catholic," Kennedy wrote in a letter to Tobin, agreeing to a sitdown. "I embrace my faith which acknowledges the existence of an imperfect humanity."

You have made yourself a "less Catholic" by openly opposing to the Church moral teachings. And your immoral position will never give you an edge to be the best Catholic politician in the US.

Their meeting fell apart. While Tobin called it a mutual decision, Kennedy accused Tobin of failing to abide by an agreement to stop discussing the congressman's faith publicly.

Tobin followed up with a biting public letter published in a diocesan newspaper.

"Sorry, you can't chalk it up to an 'imperfect humanity.' Your position is unacceptable to the Church and scandalous to many of our members. It absolutely diminishes your Communion with the Church," Tobin wrote.

The good bishop is right.

In subsequent interviews, Tobin said Kennedy should not receive Communion like other Catholic politicians who support abortion rights. Still, the bishop stopped short of ordering Kennedy not to receive the sacrament.

It doesn't matter if Kennedy and other pro-abortion "Catholics" are receiving Holy Communion. If they are real Catholics they know the grave consequences of their actions: David Philips explained this grave danger of losing God's blessing if one, like Kennedy would receive the Eucharist unworthily:

"The Bible contains very stern warnings about the way in which we receive the Lord’s Supper. In 1 Cor. 11.28 Paul says that whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

In verse 29 he adds that in so doing such a person eats and drinks judgement to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. then he explains that this is the reason why many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.

"...We must always examine ourselves before we come to the Lord’s Table. Although ideally this is done in private devotion it is also the purpose of public exhortation and confession. We are to look at our own sins, not those of others. Paul uses a dramatic and vivid phrase - if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged (v31). We are to sit in judgment of ourselves, being honest about ourselves. If we will not do this, then we actually bring judgment on ourselves."

God, not Obama will bring peace to the Middle East, says Jordanian bishop

Obama wants peace but he can't achieve to do it, only God can. This is what the good Bishop of Jordan Most. Rev. Selim Sayegh said in reaction to Obama's Nobel Peace Prize.

Source Article: CNS
Amman, Jordan, Oct 9, 2009 / 02:25 pm.- The Vicar of Jordan, Most Rev. Selim Sayegh, spoke to CNA in Amman last week about the tensions in the Middle East as well as the diminishing number of Christians in the area. He noted that Catholics can assist those struggling in the region by praying for peace because “true peace comes from the Lord,” not Obama, or Israeli/Palestinian leaders.

Sayegh, who has served Jordan as an auxiliary bishop for 27 years, addressed the plight of Christians in the Middle East, particularly the ones living in Iraq. He noted that the while the situation isn’t desperate, less Christians are living in the area than is considered ideal.

“Why,” the bishop asked, are not only Christians but also Muslims leaving the area? “All of them, they are looking for peace…they want peace for their children,” he answered.

“Once peace is established into these countries...no one would think about leaving.”

He zeroed in on Iraq asking why anyone would leave – it’s “one of the richest countries in the world,” however “there is no hope.”

When Iraqi Christian’s leave, they go to Jordan or Syria, the vicar explained. But, “for the most part, the Christians don’t intend to become established in Jordan,” but they only “stay until they can obtain a visa to the United States, Europe or Australia.”

“It’s a very sad situation,” the bishop lamented, explaining that many of the Iraqis were educated, economically well-off people in their country, but when they leave, all of a sudden, “poof, and they have nothing.”

Bishop Sayegh said that Catholics around the world can help improve the situation in the Middle East not only by being “good citizens,” but also by praying for peace.

“Pray for peace because true peace comes from the Lord, it doesn’t come from Obama or from Netanyahu or from Abu Mazen,” but rather from the “Lord of peace,” the bishop remarked.

Reflecting on Christians’ role in the peace process, Bishop Sayegh said that they have their place, but that they are called to play a role by living out the faith. “That’s why every day in our churches we pray for peace,” since God is the only one who is “able to change the hearts” and to “arrive at peace” in the region.

When killing becomes a civil rights, who would defend the unborn?

Article Source: Catholic.org; Photo Credit (ProlifeAmerica):

"I am a post abortive woman. I was coerced into an abortion by my dad when I was in my teens and into my fourth month of pregnancy. Although the argument has Slowly desensitized us and has gone from justifying abortion as just “a blob of tissue” to a “women’s right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy”, the truth has always been that abortion takes the life of an unborn child.

"I know. I saw my son. I saw his tiny hands and feet. I looked at him as he lay on the bed next to me dead, and I prayed I could put him back inside of me. Horrified, I wondered how on earth our country could condone such a thing. How was it possible we thought this was ok? It was beyond, my comprehension.

"I lived with the impact my abortion had on my entire family. My dad, my mom, my sibling, and my future children all lived with the consequences of the death of my son. Mostly, I lived with the impact of my abortion. I suffered from guilt, shame, anxiety and self hatred, in a silence that was deafening because no one would acknowledge my pain. There are millions of other families out there living with these same consequences." -Theresa Bonopartis

You can read her article in full (HERE)

Theresa Bonopartis is the Director of "Lumina/Hope & Healing after Abortion", www.postabortionhelp.org
1-877-586-4621, lumina@postabortionhelp.org and the Co-Developer, “Entering Canaan” post abortion ministry
http://www.sistersoflife.org/ec.html

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Further Reading: Should Disordered Appetites be a Civil Rights?