Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Archdiocese of Portland is looking for a Director of Catechesis and Faith Formation
From Catholic Jobs On Line
The Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon is searching for a qualified director for its Catechesis and Faith Formation Office. The Director is responsible for promoting and enhancing catechesis and faith formation at the parish and diocesan levels. The successful candidate will embrace the teachings of and be faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. The director will be a resource for and excel in supporting, training and forming catechetical and faith formation leaders in the Archdiocese of Portland.
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITES:
• Assists the archbishop in his role as chief catechist of the archdiocese.
• In consultation with the archbishop, develops and implements a vision and plan for catechesis and faith formation that is centered on the Person of Jesus Christ and faithful to the teachings of the Church.
• Assists parishes in developing and implementing catechesis and faith formation programs for all ages that build a solid foundation for mature spirituality, genuine Christian living, fruitful ministry and generous outreach.
• Assists and supports parishes with sacramental preparation programs.
• Develops, implements and provides ongoing training, education and formation for religious educators, catechists, and faith formation staff.
• Collaborates with other pastoral offices to provide catechetical resources, training and instruction that will serve the faithful.
• Plans and organizes an annual in-service for directors of religious education.
• Plans and organizes an annual catechetical conference.
• Reviews and recommends catechetical materials and formation programs for use in the archdiocese.
• Advises pastors and catechetical staff on the training of parish catechetical leaders and volunteers. Recommends ways of implementing the principles of catechesis in parish programs. Provides resources upon request. Serves as a resource for clergy, religious education, sacramental preparation, RCIA, and faith formation leaders.
QUALIFICATIONS:
• Master's degree in Theology and a minimum of 6-8 years' experience as a parish Director of Religious Education or Faith Formation, including service on diocesan committees; or any equivalent combination of education and experience which demonstrates the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the required work and responsibilities.
• Thorough knowledge of the principles and practices of Catholic catechesis and faith formation, including the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults.
• Thorough knowledge of Catholic ecclesial life and structure, along with knowledge of church organizational and operational procedures.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally (including oral presentations) and in writing; able to establish and maintain effective working relationships with employees, parishes, schools, vendors, and the general public.
• Strong interpersonal skills, creativity, decision-making, use of discretion, teamwork, negotiation, public relations, fostering the Church's mission, independent judgment/action, presentations/teaching, supervising, problem analysis, theological/pastoral analysis and ability to handle multiple projects/priorities.
• Proficiency with computer and basic office software.
• Practicing Catholic required; valid driver's license required.
• Bilingual Spanish strongly preferred.
For consideration, please email your resume and a cover letter detailing how you meet the above qualifications to hr@archdpdx.org with Director of Catechesis and Faith Formation in the subject line.
About the Employer
The Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon is the second-oldest Archdiocese in the United States, consisting of 124 Parishes, 22 Missions, 1 Seminary, 39 Elementary Schools, 10 Secondary Schools, and 2 Universities.| Posted: | July 31, 2015 | Terms: | Full Time Employee |
| Expires: | September 29, 2015 | Experience: | 5-10 years |
| Location: | Portland, OR | Education: | Graduate Degree |
| Category: | Pastoral Ministry | Base Pay: | Salary |
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Planned Parenthood VP Says Fetuses May Come Out Intact. More $$$ for them.
Planned Parenthood VP Says Fetuses May Come Out Intact, Agrees Payments Specific to the Specimen
#PPSellsBabyParts PLANNED PARENTHOOD VP SAYS FETUSES MAY COME OUT INTACT, AGREES PAYMENTS SPECIFIC TO THE SPECIMEN
Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains VP & Medical Director Savita Ginde Discusses Contract Details, Aborted Body Parts Pricing, and How to Not “Get Caught”
DENVER, July 30–New undercover footage shows Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains’ Vice President and Medical Director, Dr. Savita Ginde, negotiating a fetal body parts deal, agreeing multiple times to illicit pricing per body part harvested, and suggesting ways to avoid legal consequences.
Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains (PPRM) is a wealthy, multi-state Planned Parenthood affiliate that does over 10,000 abortions per year. PPRM has a contract to supply aborted fetal tissue to Colorado State University in Fort Collins.
In the video, actors posing as representatives from a human biologics company meet with Ginde at the abortion-clinic headquarters of PPRM in Denver to discuss a potential partnership to harvest fetal organs. When the actors request intact fetal specimens, Ginde reveals that in PPRM’s abortion practice, “Sometimes, if we get, if someone delivers before we get to see them for a procedure, then we are intact.”
Since PPRM does not use digoxin or other feticide in its 2nd trimester procedures, any intact deliveries before an abortion are potentially born-alive infants under federal law (1 USC 8).
“We’d have to do a little bit of training with the providers or something to make sure that they don’t crush” fetal organs during 2nd trimester abortions, says Ginde, brainstorming ways to ensure the abortion doctors at PPRM provide usable fetal organs.
When the buyers ask Ginde if “compensation could be specific to the specimen?” Ginde agrees, “Okay.” Later on in the abortion clinic’s pathological laboratory, standing over an aborted fetus, Ginde responds to the buyer’s suggestion of paying per body part harvested, rather than a standard flat fee for the entire case: “I think a per-item thing works a little better, just because we can see how much we can get out of it.”
The sale or purchase of human fetal tissue is a federal felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to $500,000 (42 U.S.C. 289g-2). Federal law also requires that no alteration in the timing or method of abortion be done for the purposes of fetal tissue collection (42 U.S.C. 289g-1).
Ginde also suggests ways for Planned Parenthood to cover-up its criminal and public relations liability for the sale of aborted body parts.
“Putting it under ‘research’ gives us a little bit of an overhang over the whole thing,” Ginde remarks. “If you have someone in a really anti state who’s going to be doing this for you, they’re probably going to get caught.”
Ginde implies that PPRM’s lawyer, Kevin Paul, is helping the affiliate skirt under the fetal tissue law: “He’s got it figured out that he knows that even if, because we talked to him in the beginning, you know, we were like, ‘We don’t want to get called on,’ you know, ‘selling fetal parts across states.’”
The buyers ask, “And you feel confident that they’re building those layers?” to which Ginde replies, “I’m confident that our Legal will make sure we’re not put in that situation.”
As the buyers and Planned Parenthood workers identify body parts from last fetus in the path lab, a Planned Parenthood medical assistant announces: “Another boy!”
The video is the latest by The Center for Medical Progress documenting Planned Parenthood’s sale of aborted fetal parts. Project Lead David Daleiden notes: “Elected officials need to listen to the public outcry for an immediate moratorium on Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer funding while the 10 state investigations and 3 Congressional committees determine the full extent of Planned Parenthood’s sale of baby parts.”
Daleiden continues, “Planned Parenthood’s recent call for the NIH to convene an expert panel to ‘study’ fetal experimentation is absurd after suggestions from Planned Parenthood’s Dr. Ginde that ‘research’ can be used as a catch-all to cover-up baby parts sales. The biggest problem is bad actors like Planned Parenthood who hold themselves above the law in order to harvest and make money off of aborted fetal brains, hearts, and livers.”
Do you hug a pope?
Do you hug a pope? U.S. lawmakers seek etiquette tips for visit
Pope Francis will visit the nation's Capitol Sept. 24 as part of his three-day stop in Washington, becoming the first pontiff to address the Senate and House.
Questions abound. Is it out of line to hug the pope when he enters the House chamber, or shake his hand, or touch him at all? Is applause allowed when he speaks, or perhaps an "amen?"
"I'm told that directives are going to go out about that," said Patrick Conroy, a Jesuit priest who as U.S. House chaplain coordinates the appearances of guest pastors who give the chamber's opening prayers.
The worry is understandable. Joint meetings of Congress in the House chamber -- including the annual State of the Union address by the president -- can be full of ceremony, yet also indecorous.
Perhaps the most notorious moment in recent years was when Rep. Joe Wilson, R-South Carolina, shouted "You lie!" during President Barack Obama's September 2009 speech to Congress after the president said his health-care plan wouldn't cover undocumented immigrants.
No one is
expecting that kind of outburst directed to the pope. But he won't
exactly be preaching to the choir, either. The Pew Research Center
estimates that about one-third of members of the 114th Congress identify
as Catholics.House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, a Catholic, extended the invitation to Pope Francis to speak at the Capitol. The pontiff also will appear at a White House welcoming ceremony, and he will celebrate Mass at the Catholic basilica in Washington.
Given the need for protocol tips, Conroy met last week with Boehner's chief of staff, Michael Sommers, and said he was assured that guidance for lawmakers will be sent out soon.
"For a lot of members -- they're Americans, you know, and appropriate courtesy is not necessarily their cup of tea," said Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Florida. He noted that some lawmakers arrive in the House chamber hours before presidential speeches to grab aisle seats so they can be spotted for a few seconds with the commander in chief.
So then what is proper behavior for a lawmaker? Based on the advice of Catholic church experts and past State Department protocol guidance, here is some advice to lawmakers about the pope's visit.
_ Appropriate dress. The rules are basic: Wear dark colors. For women, sleeves should cover the shoulders and elbows, and hems should fall below the knees.
_ Touching the pope. Is it allowed? No one is supposed to approach him without an invitational gesture. But experts say it's unlikely he'll enter the center aisle without reaching out to some lawmakers.
_ What to do if the pope approaches you? Previous State Department advice suggests that when greeted by the pope, one should either shake his hand, or if you are Catholic and want to do so, kiss the pope's ring -- worn on his right hand.
_ What to call the pope. This is pretty clear: He should be addressed as "Your Holiness," or "Holy Father." President George W. Bush was criticized during a visit to the Vatican in 2007 for calling Pope Benedict XVI "sir" several times.
_ Standing ovations. These are a staple of State of the Union addresses. Still, for the pope's speech, standing and clapping would be viewed as tacky.
"If I were asked, my advice would be to please sit respectfully, as if you were in church -- and as if you were in Catholic church. We in the Catholic tradition don't go 'Amen brother!' We don't do that," Conroy said.
_ Expressing displeasure with the speech. Not a good idea. Booing, shouting or waving a banner is discouraged. Lawmakers should sit still and keep quiet during the speech.
Rep. David Schweikert, R-Arizona, a Catholic, said he is optimistic that the pope's visit to Congress will be incident-free.
"The House may be an inherently cantankerous institution," said Schweikert, yet he added that "when it's time to step up and follow protocol, for the most part, we do a pretty good job."
Anticipation for the visit is building. Demands for tickets are pouring into legislative offices.
Lawmakers, though, were told earlier this month that they would have just one ticket to distribute to a guest for a gallery seat during the speech and two tickets each to hand out for an additional appearance by the pope on the West Front outside the Capitol.
Hastings said he's already promised his House gallery ticket to the archbishop of south Florida.
On the House floor itself, extra seats are likely to go to members of the Supreme Court and Cabinet officials, although Boehner's office didn't confirm who will attend.
Previous speeches by world leaders in the House chamber -- as well as State of the Union addresses -- have produced a range of memorable moments.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress in March was marked by partisan cheers mostly from Republicans as Netanyahu slammed the nuclear deal Obama was negotiating with Iran. The day's drama included Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, throwing her hands up in exasperation.
Other cringe-producing episodes include former Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minnesota, grabbing Bush's shoulder, planting a big kiss on his cheek, and then hanging on as he sought to make his way out of the House chamber following his 2007 State of the Union speech.
A Vatican official, who didn't want to be identified so that he could speak candidly, said U.S. bishops are probably helping Boehner's office develop guidelines for U.S. lawmakers. The rules are more strict when someone comes to the Vatican, he said.
The Vatican official said he expects the pope's visit will be well-choreographed, and a major aim -- in part for security reasons -- will be to keep things moving.
_ With assistance from John Follain in Rome.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Bishop Robert Vasa: Congress Must Investigate "Evil" Planned Parenthood
Creative Minority Report
This is great to see. A strong statement from Bishop Vasa of the Diocese of Santa Rosa in California concerning the videos released by the Center for Medical Progress about Planned Parenthood.
In the footage recorded by the Center for Medical Progress, a phlebotomist says, “For whatever we could procure, [Planned Parenthood] would get a certain percentage. The main nurse was always trying to make sure we got our specimens. No one else really cared, but the main nurse did because she knew that Planned Parenthood was getting compensated.”
Said Bishop Vasa, “Each week for three weeks now, we have been exposed to one heinous video after another, each one more shocking than the last. This nurse’s biggest concern in aborting these tiny babies was getting quality body parts because ‘Planned Parenthood was getting compensated.’
“While the very thought that we as taxpayers are complicit with Planned Parenthood in the provision of abortion at all is very disturbing to me, these recordings show an even more grizzly side to the abortion industry.
“It is unconscionable that this land of the free and home of the brave not only tolerates but actively supports such perversity. Congress needs to thoroughly investigate these accusations immediately.
“No public funds should be provided to organizations promoting abortions especially if involved in the marketing of human body parts. An organization committed to such gruesome evil should not get a dime from taxpayers.”
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