Catholic Fire

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . This year, therefore, marks its 60th anniversary, and provides us an opportunity to examine some themes in the Declaration which deserve special emphasis. The Declaration asserts, "[E]veryone has the right to life" (Article 3). This, of course, is the most fundamental right, since no other rights can be exercised if one does not exist. Yet this insight of common sense is easily forgotten these days. The Secular Humanist Manifesto II (1973), for example, lists many "rights," including "the right to suicide," but not the "right to life"! The Universal Declaration, furthermore, refers to human rights as "equal and inalienable," and declares that human beings have "inherent dignity" (Preamble). This is a key theme. In other words, governments can neither bestow nor remove human dignity from a human bei...

By Judie Brown It has been a source of ongoing sadness to read of the difficulties Lauren Richardson’s father has had over the course of the past several months. For those of you who are not familiar with her case , Lauren overdosed on heroin on August 28, 2006. She suffered oxygen deprivation and, as a result of the overdose, is now in a coma and unable to speak out for herself. At the time of the overdose, Lauren was expecting a baby. Her parents honored what they knew would have been her wish and did all they could to keep her healthy and comfortable until the child was born. Today, though Lauren may not be aware of it, she is the mother of Ember Grace, who was born in February 2007 . Since the birth of her daughter, Lauren remains unable to speak of her concerns, but she has a loving father who is doing all he can to protect her from suffering the same fate as Terri Schiavo. However, Lauren’s mother, who has been named her legal guardian, is sadly not of the same opinion and is wo...

Thursday, May 1 - Sunday, May 11 For A Renewed Descent of the Holy Spirit In Our Day “As we give thanks for past blessings, and look to the challenges of the future, let us implore from God the grace of a new Pentecost for the Church in America. May tongues of fire, combining burning love of God and neighbor with zeal for the spread of Christ’s Kingdom, descend on all present.”Pope Benedict XVI, Papal Visit to the United States, April 19, 2008 Our world is in great danger. It is under constant threat from unprecedented acts of terrorism and war, disasters of nature, economic crises, mass hunger, moral decline, attacks on human rights and the sanctity of human life. As people of faith, we know we are engaged in a colossal battle between the Gospel of Life and the “culture of death.” We are deeply concerned, but not without hope. More and more people realize that our world needs conversion. More and more people realize that our efforts alone will not be enough. We need the help of heave...

What Is The First And Foremost Right Of All Women?

Following their private meeting in the Oval Office today, a joint communique was released by President Bush and Pope Benedict. Full text: His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and President George W. Bush met today in the Oval Office of the White House. President Bush, on behalf of all Americans, welcomed the Holy Father, wished him a happy birthday, and thanked him for the spiritual and moral guidance, which he offers to the whole human family. The President wished the Pope every success in his Apostolic Journey and in his address at the United Nations, and expressed appreciation for the Pope’s upcoming visit to “Ground Zero” in New York. During their meeting, the Holy Father and the President discussed a number of topics of common interest to the Holy See and the United States of America, including moral and religious considerations to which both parties are committed: the respect of the dignity of the human person; the defense and promotion of life, matrimony and the family; the education ...

Jay Anderson posted a story on April 30 about Archbishop Burke from St. Louis being mocked by Bob Costas and Billy Crystal at a "Catholic" fundraising event held on church grounds for his pro-life stance. This irreverent, sinful, and sick behavior disgusts me to the max. No one has the right to engage in this sort of disrepectful language and mocking behavior toward another person, much less someone of Archbishop Burke's stature. I thought of Jesus being spit upon and mocked by the soldiers before they crucified him when I read about this. Now Pro-life Blogs reports on this event as well and offers some good action advice for all of us. Here are the details: Roman Catholic Archbishop Raymond Burke did not attend a fundraiser headlined by singer Sheryl Crow because he disagrees with her support of abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research. But his name sure came up just the same . At the fundraiser Saturday for the Bob Costas Cancer Center at Cardinal Glennon Medica...

"Many people are concerned with children of India, with the children of Africa where quite a few die of hunger, and so on. Many people are also concerned about the violence in this great country of the United States. These concerns are very good. But often these same people are not concerned with the millions being killed by the deliberate decision of their own mothers. And this is the greatest destroyer of peace today- abortion which brings people to such blindness." ~ Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

"The first right of children is that of being born and educated in a welcoming and secure family environment where their physical, psychological and spiritual growth is guaranteed, their potential is developed and where the awareness of personal dignity becomes the base for relating to others and for confronting the future." ~ Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi C.S., Holy See (Vatican) permanent observer to the United Nations at Geneva, March 23, 2007, addressing the U.N, during the 4th session of the Human Rights Council..

"You see this beautiful form of a darling baby just floating around… Eventually, you really can't see the arms and legs anymore, of course, because it's being pulled apart in that particular procedure. So now you're just looking at stuff floating, where a minute ago you were looking at a baby. "And it is a baby, and life does begin at conception." ~ Lynne Jackson , great, great granddaughter of Dred Scott , a black slave who in March 1856 was judged by the Supreme Court to be less than a person

Here is the latest development from Lifesite News o n the story of the 15-year-old girl who was taken from her home in Germany because she was home schooled: The parents of a 15-year-old school girl taken from her home by authorities in a battle over home schooling have been asked to give up custody of their other five children, as part of a resolution to the situation offered by German officials. The latest development in the ongoing battle between the Busekros family and the German authorities was reported by the Home Schooling Legal Defense Fund, a U.S.-based organization that has been tracking an accelerating crackdown against home schooling families in Germany. Melissa Busekros was removed from her family home on Feb.1 by social workers accompanied by 15 police officers, under a court order to use force if necessary. The girl was placed in a psychiatric ward for evaluation and determined to be “school phobic,” according to authorities. Without her parents’ knowledge or consent s...