Catholic Fire

This video is a time line of events leading up to the start of George Tiller's Wichita, Kansas abortions. Joan Appleton Former Abortion Provider from U.S.A. speaks on what happens to the mind of an abortionist from her first hand point of view. She uses Tiller as an example in her talk.

The good Cardinal talks about self-control, our necessary cooperation with God and respect for natural law as a logical step for all people of good will as he reflects some more on Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body.

"Most abortions are the result of unwanted pregnancies, most unwanted pregnancies are the result of sexual relationships outside of marriage, and most sexual relationships outside of marriage are facilitated by the availability of contraception. To turn this 'progression' around: contraception leads to more extra-marital sexual intercourse, more extra-marital sexual intercourse leads to more unwanted pregnancies; more unwanted pregnancies lead to more unwanted abortions." ~ Dr. Janet Smith, Professor of Moral Theology, Sacred Heart Major Seminary

"Why is chastity so vital a key for unlocking the theology of the body? The theology of the body is centered on the gift of self that we are all called to make to others, regardless of our state or vocation in life." "Only the chaste person can make such a gift. For spouses, this gift is embodied and expressed in the act of conjugal union. But no one can give what he does not first possess. It is precisely the mastery of oneself, the self-possession which comes through chastity, that enables men and women to be a gift to one another." ~ Legionary Father Walter Schu, author of The Splendor of Love (2003, New Hope). Excerpted from his article Theology of the Body For 6 Continents, The National Catholic Register , June 24-30, 2007 Issue

Those who live by what Our Lord calls the "spirit of the world" are radically incapable of understanding anything done by others out of the spirit of Christ, Who said, "I have taken you out of the world, therefore the world will hate you." (John 15: 19) When the world hears of a young girl entering the convent, it asks, "Was she disappointed in love?" the best answer to that inanity is, "Yes! But it was not a man's love that disappointed her, it was the world's love." Actually, a young girl enters the convent because she has fallen in love with Love itself, which is God. The world can understand why one should love the sparks, but it cannot understand why one should love the Flame. It is comprehensible that one should love the flesh that fades and dies, but incomprehensible that one should love with "passionless passion and wild tranquility" the love which is Eternal. Anyone who knows the real philosophy of love should not be co...

"A man teaches a woman pleasure; a woman teaches a man continence. Man is the raging torrent of the cascading river; woman is the bank which keeps it within limits. Pleasure is the bait God induces creatures to fulfill their heavenly infused instincts - pleasure in eating for the sake of the preservation of the individual - pleasure in mating for the sake of the of the preservation of the species... Since the abandonment of the Christian concept of marriage, both man and woman have forgotten their mission..." "Since woman today has failed to restrain man, we must look to THE WOMAN to restore purity. The Church proclaims two dogmas of purity for THE WOMAN: one, the purity of soul in the Immaculate Conception, the other, the purity of body in the Assumption. Purity is not glorified as ignorance; for when the Virgin Birth was announced to Mary, she said, "I know not man." This meant that not only was she untaught by pleasures; it also implied that she had so br...

"Society is not obsessed with sex, It is afraid of it ... afraid of the total reality and power of what it represents, where it comes from and where it leads. Sex properly understood requires that we acknowledge God who made it. More than that, sex can never be separated from its purpose: to insert us into an immense powerful movement of life and love that started when God said, "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3) and culminates when the Spirit and the Bride say "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:17). ~ Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life

Joseph, the husband of our Lady, foster-father of our Lord, guardian of the Holy Family, is honored liturgically on March 19 as patron of the universal Church. The memorial of St. Joseph the Worker is on May 1. This quiet, just, humble man, protector of families and patron of fathers, is also invoked for a happy death. Most of our reliable information on St. Joseph is contained in the first two chapters of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Here we discover that Joseph was of royal descent from David, that the family was from Bethlehem in Judea and that Joseph, who was a builder, had moved from Bethlehem to Nazareth in Galilee. Joseph was engaged to Mary and upon learning that she was pregnant; he had plans to divorce her. Described in Matthew as a righteous man, he intended to dismiss her quietly. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream to tell him, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she ...

NEW YORK, March 6, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Addressing violence against women and girls must go beyond mere policy changes to look at the root reasons for the devaluing of women, stated the Vatican delegation to the 51st session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN March 2. "The promotion of women will be achieved not only by the legitimate vindication of women's rights," the delegation stated. "With that there must also be established a fresh appreciation of authentically feminine values in the heart of our societies." The session is considering the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and to the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly entitled '"Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century:' Implementation of strategic objectives and action in the critical areas of concern and further actions and initiatives: The elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence agai...

Like most “reverts,” I was not initially interested in coming back to the Catholic Church. I was a committed pro-choice feminist, intellectually anti-Christian, and had every available misconception about Catholicism. All Catholicism had in its favor, as far as I was concerned, was its alleged institutional concern for the poor. I had acted out the textbook behaviors of young girls who experience the divorce of their parents during my teens, and so guilty pride had caused me to turn a deaf ear to the Church’s views on sexuality. But unhealed wounds from my youth drove me to my knees as I neared college. And so, despite my intellectual protestations, I was being drawn into the reality of a personal God who had the power and the will to respond to my need for peace and healing. [More]

Another good reason for abstinence: Teens who start having sex significantly earlier than their peers also show higher rates of delinquency in later years, new research shows. A national study of more than 7,000 youth found that adolescents who had sex early showed a 20 percent increase in delinquent acts one year later compared to those whose first sexual experience occurred at the average age for their school. In contrast, those teens who waited longer than average to have sex had delinquency rates 50 percent lower a year later compared to average teens. And those trends continued up to six years. [More]

The National Catholic Register editors have written a wonderful piece for their February 18 - 24 entitled "Abstinence Saves Lives." It is an excellent article and I recommend you read it. This article has inspired me to share my newfound knowledge of abstinence which I acquired from a recent visit to an a new abstinence program that is helping to save lives in Wichita, KS. The program which, is federally - funded, is called Pure and Simple Abstinence Education, Inc. They have an online website which I have included in my sidebar. To look at it - just click here. Why Abstinence Works It's a Different World Out There Consider these facts... There are at least 25 sexually transmitted infections (STI's) and other strains are being identified. One in two sexually active young people will contract an STI by the age of 25. From 1986 through 2005, the rates of reported Chlamydia infections increased from 35.2 to 332.5 per 100,000 population. The United States has an epidemic...

'Just say no to sex with pro-lifers' Via Matt C. Abbott: A reader sent me the following photos of the office doors of two professors at University of Detroit Mercy, "a Catholic university in the Jesuit and Mercy . . . * More from Lifesite News : Catholic University in Detroit Boasts Pro-abortion Feminists on Staff.... - contains information to respectfully contact the University of Detroit Mercy.

CANBERRA, Australia (Catholic Online) – Sex is good and the Catholic Church encourages “good sex” that unites a husband and wife as faithful lovers and as potential parents in a life-long commitment of marriage, said the Australian bishops. In a 20-page booklet, “Marriage in the Catholic Church: Frequently asked questions,” the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference said that marriage is “a divine calling” under attack, called sex outside of marriage “seriously sinful” and said that same-sex relationships cannot be considered marriages. “Sex is good,” a headline reads in the document, as the bishops noted the Bible’s affirmation of goodness of human sexuality. “The church encourages ‘good sex,’ that is to say, sexual intimacy that unites a man and a woman as faithful lovers and as potential parents and which, for this reason, presupposes the life-long commitment of marriage,” the bishops said. “With the context of marriage, sex consummates and celebrates time and again the holiness of...

The Catholic Carnival is up at Kicking Over My Traces . Dom has a firey post entitled "Edwards excuses anti-Catholic trash-bloggers". Tony at Catholic Pillow Talk also presents some interesting news and comments on this issue as well in his post "Mandy... You're Fired!!!" Check out what Dawn Eden has to say about Amanda Marcotte and her activities in "Sects and the Witty." I always enjoy Jay's insights and comments on political happenings. This post was no exception - his comments on the Edwards biogotry scandal made me chuckle a little at first, then a lot. I wonder if these gals are related to Rosie O.? And, last but not least, check out the funny stuff at The Curt Jester with lots of other great links! Esther reports on the Scandal at 23 Catholic Colleges/Universities and also offers an online petition for readers to sign. It's V***** Monologue time again with lustful language, sexual encounters, and graphic descriptions of lesbian be...

Concerned Women of America has recently posted its views on lawmakers mandating the vacine for HPV on its website: Concerned Women for America does not object to the new vaccine that protects against certain strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, a sexually transmitted disease that can cause cervical cancer in women. Proponents of the vaccine, however, wrongly wish to compel every young girl from 9-11 years old to be vaccinated before she attends school. Concerned Women for America is committed to support, protect and advocate the God-given right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children. Parents know what is best for their daughters and if given the information about this disease will make the best decision for the health of their child. Therefore, we urge lawmakers to resist mandating this vaccine. Let parents be parents, for heaven's sake! Yes, I object to the government treating our children like a herd of cattle. Why don't they spend that ...

VATICAN CITY, February 5, 2007 ( LifeSiteNews.com ) - Today, the Vatican released Pope Benedict XVI's message for the World Youth Day 2007, which is to be celebrated in all dioceses on Palm Sunday, April 1. The message focuses on love, and a significant portion is dedicated to preparation for marriage. Rather than assume young people incapable of avoiding premarital relations, the Holy Father challenges youth to remain pure even during a marriage engagement. "The period of engagement," he said, "very necessary in order to form a couple, is a time of expectation and preparation that needs to be lived in purity of gesture and words." Typical of Pope Benedict, he provides youth with the reason behind the instruction. "It allows you to mature in love, in concern and in attention for each other," he said "it helps you to practise self-control and to develop your respect for each other." The Pope added, "These are the characteristics of true ...

As a teenager, I was taught to value my virginity by my parents and my Catholic school teachers (who were nuns from the Congregation of Notre Dame, for the most part); however, when I moved outside of that protective, sheltered environment, and began college, that wasn’t the message I received at all. In fact, it was just the opposite. You’re an adult now – you’re free to do whatever you want – and believe me, the temptations were at times overwhelming. Today, young men and women are bombarded with sexual temptations by the media and our sex-crazed culture. The messages are stronger than they ever were before and sex has lost its sacredness for many. In my work as a crisis pregnancy counselor, I am seeing women who are becoming more sexually active at younger ages. And, not only are they more active, but they are involved with more partners, increasing their chances of contracting an STD. Many young adults are unhappy and end up being dangerously hurt by the delusion that the media has...

Movies, like all forms of art, reveal something of the human soul. They can be a kind of confession. Our sins, our fears, our inner contradictions, our worst nightmares — all the kinds of things that people don't talk about in "polite" conversation — often find an outlet, consciously or unconsciously, on the big screen. A new movie called Children of Men seems to offer just such a confession. It taps into the inevitable psychological disturbance that stems from our culture's widespread disregard for new life and the seemingly omnipresent preference for sterilized sex: "Having sex: nothing better. Having babies: nothing worse." Doesn't this pretty much sum up the way the world thinks? The schizophrenia inherent in such a blatant bucking of reality is bound to cause major brain spasms. And these major brains spasms can turn into a major motion picture like this one. "In 20 years, women are infertile. No children. No future. No hope. But all that can c...

Part One of Two The title of the January 21 cover story in the New York Times Magazine, "Is there a Post-Abortion Syndrome?" suggests the article will address the strength of the available scientific evidence on the topic, which has obvious bearing on recent and future legislation. Instead, what Emily Bazelon , granddaughter of pro-abortion judge David L. Bazelon and the cousin of pro-abortion feminist Betty Friedan , offers is an unconvincing circuitous voyage around the recent and rapidly accumulating scientific evidence that clearly show the negative psychological consequences of abortion. [More] Once again we have an untrained, non-professional person using weak studies (loaded with confounds) attempting to interpret things via her own limited and distorted perceptions on the situation. Even a simple B.S. degree in psychology, biology, or social work might give a tiny amount of credence to what Ms. Emily is saying, yet she does not even possess the minimal amount of t...