Rosary Campaign for Religious Freedom

As converts (1984) it seems like the Church my family joined is in danger. Not only the one we joined, but the the others we attended to get to our permanent spiritual home on earth.

The government's tentacles are reaching into the lives of sixteen three-year-old preschoolers by not allowing them to say grace and mention God, safeguarding a government grant. (I just found this out regarding a grandchild.) How do we tell children "God's not allowed in school."

You'd think that the government would appreciate a world of order for children, but alas, they would probably much rather have an "Occupy Preschool" movement encouraging children to
break toys and kick teachers.

This message is a day or two into the first novena. Better late than never aka a convert's ignorance on whether it "counts" if we're late

Facebook has one of the Grassroots efforts to help keep our religious freedom.  We will never regret not including these novenas in our prayers, but we'll regret not doing it.
Thanks Angie for the heads up.


Rosary Campaign for Religious Freedom

On January 20, 2012, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that the Obama administration would uphold a mandate that would force Catholic institutions to subsidize--through their health care plans--contraception, sterilization procedures and pharmaceuticals that even result in abortion. This is a serious encroachment on religious freedom, which forces Catholic employers not only to consent to, but also directly engage in practices that are morally incompatible with the Catholic Faith and are gravely sinful.

The Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States have unanimously agreed to fight this mandate relentlessly. We should also do our part in the public square, making our voices heard to our respective Senators and Representatives.

But we can't fight this battle unarmed. This war on Religious Freedom and the protection of Conscience is a supernatural war, and we need Divine assistance.

So, beginning on February 1, please join us in an 18 day Rosary Novena for the overturning of this mandate and for the conversion of the politicians who are trying to impose this upon us. Please pray a daily Rosary for 18 days for the following intentions
 
Day 1-9
For the overturning of the HHS mandate that would require Catholic institutions to provide health insurance plans to their employees, subsidizing contraception, sterilization, and abortifacient drugs. And for the conversion of our politicians

Day 10-18
In thanksgiving for our prayers being answered.

Please stand up for your Religious Liberty, and storm Heaven with your prayers.

"Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you receive it, and you will."--Mark 11:23-24

He's given us His Word.

Bishop Vasa Fires Up Pro-Life Rally. Music To Our Ears.

Oregon's own Bishop Vasa rallied pro-life troops at the Roe v. Wade event in Santa Rosa, California on Sunday, January 22nd.

Now in Santa Rosa, Bishop Robert Vasa Sunday called politicians who support abortion rights “unfit for public office” and suggested they face excommunication from the Catholic Church for expressing such a position.

Vasa made the remarks at a rainy afternoon rally in Courthouse Square on the 39th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, granting women the right to legal abortion.

The event drew about 100 participants who prayed, sang songs and carried signs such as “Defend life” and “Women do regret abortion.” It also drew a handful of protesters who tried to disrupt the event with chants of their own supporting abortion rights.

Vasa, who previously served as bishop of the Baker Diocese in politically conservative eastern Oregon, was blunt in his condemnation of laws and leaders that don't stand up to protect the unborn. 

He said that because of the position of the United States on the issue of abortion, it is “not the land of the free and the home of the brave.” 

“It's a land of the imprisoned and the home of the cowards,” said Vasa, who traded his bishop's mitre for a baseball cap in deference to the weather.

Such forceful public rhetoric is a marked departure from that of previous leaders of the 165,000-member Santa Rosa Catholic diocese, which sits in a strongly liberal region with widely held feminist values. Vasa became its spiritual leader in July. 

Sunday, he called laws like Roe v. Wade “illicit and invalid” and leaders who support abortion rights “as guilty of abortion as those who choose it themselves.”

“Any government leader, particularly those who claim to be Christian, who claim to be pro-choice, is unworthy of public office,” Vasa said to cheers from the damp crowd. “Absolutely unworthy and absolutely unfit for public office.”

In an interview after his remarks, Vasa suggested such leaders who publicly hold such a position shouldn't accept communion at Mass. He also said they could be excommunicated, or banished from the church through their actions. “In some ways, they excommunicate themselves,” he said. 

If he learned a politician expressed a position so out of line with Catholic beliefs, then he would first try to have a “face-to-face” with that person and urge them to recant their remarks. If they did not, then that person would be “on thin ice.” 

But he noted that the church “tends to resist” formal excommunications, noting that Catholics who advocate abortion rights suffer from the conflict between two incompatible positions within them. 

“I, for one, if someone wants to put hot coals on their own head, I say fine,” Vasa said.

Rep. Mike Thompson, the North Coast's seven-term Democratic congressman, is Catholic and supports abortion rights.  “I support a woman's right to make decisions about her health care,” Thompson has said, adding that he separates his role as a lawmaker from his Catholicism.

Midway through one of the early speeches, an abortion-rights activist jumped up and attempted to disrupt the event. When protesters pushed JT Bymaster, a 33-year-old massage therapist, and told him to leave, he began yelling “Abortion is a right!” and noted he was in a public place and enjoyed the same free-speech rights as they. 

Lawrence Lehr, president of the group Sonoma County Pro Life, said there are signs that anti-abortion activists are “chipping away” at Roe v. Wade and helping win support for the passage of state laws that restrict access to abortions. He urged them not to lose heart.

“The goal is not to be successful. The goal is to be faithful,” he said.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20120122/ARTICLES/120129839

Hey pro-lifers - Remember that we are not alone!

Hey, brother!

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue's Roe V Wade "Gift" to Catholics

Get ready to violate your faith, pay a fine or go to jail thanks to President Obama.

This morning President Obama called New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan to break the news. 

Secretary of Health and Human Services and pro-abortion Catholic Kathleen Sebelius just announced that the proposed mandate requiring all insurance plans to pay for contraception, sterilization and some abortion drugs is official -- and Catholics cannot escape.
...and the fig-leaf exemption for religious groups will not be modified, apart from allowing some groups an additional year to comply. (see Catholic Vote )
Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan responded minutes ago, saying: “In effect, the president is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences.”

Beginning August 1, 2012 (less than eight months from today), the insurance premiums we pay, including the insurance premiums paid by Catholics for employees of churches and schools -- will be used to cover drugs and procedures that are in direct conflict with the teachings of our Church.
That's right. Our government will now force us to pay for insurance coverage for birth control, sterilization and even some abortion drugs.

President Obama ignored the organized efforts of Catholics across the country, including bold statements from the Bishops, university presidents (including Notre Dame's Rev. Jenkins), and even his Catholic allies like Sr. Carol Keehan.

Instead, President Obama stood with his real friends -- Planned Parenthood.
Make no mistake, this decision is a direct attack on you, our Church, and the religious liberty of all Americans.

Just yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the bishops from the United States who were completing their "Ad Limina" visit in Rome. The Holy Father specifically cited the "grave threats" to the freedom of the Church in America, and urged the Catholic community to respond, especially with "an engaged, articulate and well-formed Catholic laity."
He's talking to you and me. The Holy Father's brief address is a must read (link below).

Finally, today marks exactly one year from Inauguration Day. In exactly 12 months, America will welcome a new president, or usher in four more years of Barack Obama and his assault on our liberties. This irony is not lost on us.

We built CatholicVote into a movement to advance the cause of life, family, and freedom. Today's decision is an assault on all three. And it MUST be defeated.

You have our pledge that we will do everything possible to educate and mobilize the Catholic vote in 2012.

For on a day such as this, we realize that elections indeed have consequences.

The Catholic vote must rise up like never before. 

Sincerely,

Brian Burch, President
CatholicVote.org