Thursday, June 6, 2013

"Part of you died that day". Well, Christ Died One Day for me too.

Helping each other on this Journey is not easy, but we "soldier on" for Him. 

We are in this world together and look what our prayers and God's grace has afforded us here in Oregon: Archbishop Alexander K. Sample, so anything is possible.

We are all put on this earth for His purpose. This event was part of His purpose for me.  After hearing about my assault, a doctor told me, "Part of you died that day".  Well, Christ Died One Day for me too. 

Testimony before Oregon Senate Judiciary Committee, April 5. 2013. Thank you fellow Catholic, Rachel Lucas and Safer Oregon.


Dear Chair Prozanski and Committee Members,
My name is Carolyn Wendell and I am speaking in opposition to SB 347, SB 699, SB 700 and SB 796.

I am here representing three teenage girls who in 1966 were kidnapped, robbed, beaten, threatened with death, then all subsequently raped one after another by three serial rapists.  I am one of the three. 

Our lives for these 47 years have been tragically affected by this long night of darkness; filling us with fear on so many levels, beating us down emotionally.   One friend suffers from anorexia because of her rape and to this day hasn’t spoken to her husband about this night although he was part of her life in 1966.  The other friend is a recluse, divorced because of the wreckage she made of her life after assault.  She lives alone: afraid of the world.  She has no children except the little boy she was impregnated with by her rapist.  The baby ended up in a quart jar at the side of her bed in our apartment.   She named him Sam. 

Back then it wasn’t deemed necessary for victims to have counseling. There were so many layers of pain that just remained buried.  I didn’t know there could be an answer to my fears. 

A doctor told me I had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) a few years ago.  This didn’t compute.  Then recently another physician heard what had happened to me during a PTSD episode in his office and was adamant that I take classes in concealed carry firearm protection as a very important aspect of healing. 

I erroneously believed that guns somehow fired themselves. I hadn’t even held a gun so breaking down this emotional wall really “empowered” me.  After my concealed carry class I knew this would be a big part of my healing. 

The road to advocating for firearm protection is just beginning for me to help myself and other assault victims of every kind.  I have joined the new group Safer Oregon.  The timing is perfect. 

As a mother of five and grandmother of twenty-four my life has always been about protecting them.  Now that I am older and have suffered many surgeries and a mini-stroke so it is hard to even protect myself.  For the first time in forty-seven years I feel that I have a chance to regain some strength.  Life is not over for me.

The Second Amendment should always be an option.  There are so many women that have been assaulted and feel like there is no way to regain confidence.  The answer for some may be a handgun (with a laser). Those of us who are weaker have a way to level the playing field.  

I believe in safety and having a firearm makes people safer.  Knowing about weapons allows the mind to be calmer and make the correct decisions.  Safety is drilled into our minds.  With children in our lives safety is the main issue.

My friends and I had been together since we were in Kindergarten.  We were Bluebirds, Camp Fire Girls, and took ballet together.  In 1966 we had just moved into our own apartment.  Then our lives were changed forever that night.  No one should be abused in any way by another.  Having the Second Amendment in place, with concealed carry allowed, may give pause to someone before they think of hurting others.  Please remember us.


We Three
Thank you committee.

 
"For victims of crime, with support and counseling, the wounds do heal, but we still bear the scars. In some ways, they never really do go away. No matter how much time passes, you always feel that vulnerability and fear re-victimization in a very primal way. One of the pivotal moments of my healing was my decision to obtain my concealed handgun license. Having my CHL helps empower me to protect myself and my family. It also helps heal the wounds of vulnerability and victimization from the time when I was unable to defend myself from harm. There is a saying that, when seconds count, police are minutes away. And no one knows this more than victims of violent crime. In a very real way, taking personal responsibility to protect myself and my loved ones rights another wrong. I left to others the responsibility to protect me, and because of that, I almost lost the life that God had given me. I see now that this responsibility cannot be abdicated, nor should it be. I now see that, along with law enforcement and our judicial system, I have a role in the protection of myself and my family. Sir Robert Peel, founder of our modern day police system, (and source of the nickname, bobbies) said that police are merely ‘members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen.’ In his words, ‘the duties of protection and self defense are incumbent upon each of us.’" Rachel Lucas, Founder of Safer Oregon.

"Catholics and Gun Ownership" Matt Abbott, Renew America



Friday, May 31, 2013

Pope Alarm: Worldwide Holy Hour, June 2 - First Time in History

 
 

POPE ALARM !!!


https://www.facebook.com/CatholicVote?fref=ts go to CV at Facebook or online.


Oregon Parish Adoration Chapels...check it out.
Contact your parish for information on this event.  Some Oregon parishes are having a Adoration/Benediction after masses.  Some may have changed mass times to coincide with the Pope's Holy Hour. 


The Pope has asked the universal Church to pray for two intentions during the hour of adoration:
  1. For the Church spread throughout the world and united today in the adoration of the Most Holy Eucharist as a sign of unity. May the Lord make her ever more obedient to hearing his Word in order to stand before the world ‘ever more beautiful, without stain or blemish, but holy and blameless.’ That through her faithful announcement, the Word that saves may still resonate as the bearer of mercy and may increase love to give full meaning to pain and suffering, giving back joy and serenity.
  2. For those around the world who still suffer slavery and who are victims of war, human trafficking, drug running, and slave labor. For the children and women who are suffering from every type of violence. May their silent scream for help be heard by a vigilant Church so that, gazing upon the crucified Christ, she may not forget the many brothers and sisters who are left at the mercy of violence. Also, for all those who find themselves in economically precarious situations, above all for the unemployed, the elderly, migrants, the homeless, prisoners, and those who experience marginalization. That the Church’s prayer and its active nearness give them comfort and assistance in hope and strength and courage in defending human dignity.
From the Cook Islands to Chile, Burkina Faso, Taiwan, Iraq, Bangladesh, the United States, and the Philippines, people will unite in prayer with Pope Francis this weekend before One Lord and in One faith, for an hour of Eucharistic Adoration.
The Worldwide Eucharistic Adoration, will be broadcast from St. Peter’s Basilica next Sunday, 2 June from 5:00pm-6:00pm local time. Its theme is: “One Lord, One Faith”, which was chosen to testify to the deep unity that characterizes it in this Year of Faith.
“It will be an event,” Archbishop Fisichella president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, explained, “occurring for the first time in the history of the Church, which is why we can describe it as ‘historical’. The cathedrals of the world will be synchronized with Rome and will, for an hour, be in communion with the Pope in Eucharistic adoration. There has been an incredible response to this initiative, going beyond the cathedrals and involving episcopal conferences, parishes, lay associations, and religious congregations, especially cloistered ones.”
Dioceses worldwide will be synchronized with St. Peter’s and will pray for the intentions proposed by the Pope. The first is: “For the Church spread throughout the world and united today in the adoration of the Most Holy Eucharist as a sign of unity. May the Lord make her ever more obedient to hearing his Word in order to stand before the world ‘ever more beautiful, without stain or blemish, but holy and blameless.’ That through her faithful announcement, the Word that saves may still resonate as the bearer of mercy and may increase love to give full meaning to pain and suffering, giving back joy and serenity.”

Dear Lord, Please remind and help us to pray before You on June 2nd.  Thank You for deeming  us worthy to be Your children.
 

 
 



Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Archbishop Sample Appoints New Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia


Archbishop Alexander Sample has appointed of Father Peter Smith as Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia. Father Smith will succeed Msgr. Dennis O'Donovan, who is retiring at the end of June.
 
(The Vicar General assists the Bishop in the general care and administration of the diocese. 
The Moderator of the Curia coordinates the ministries and services of the diocese. VOCAL)
Father Smith was born in 1958 in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. He earned a bachelor's degree in Commerce in Business Administration and Marketing in 1981 from the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg. He earned a law degree from the University of Natal Law School in 1983. After entering the seminary in 1996, he earned a master's degree in Theology in 2000 and a Master of Divinity degree in 2001, both from Mount Angel Seminary.

Father Smith was ordained a priest by Archbishop John Vlazny on June 9, 2001 at St. Mary's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Father Smith is a member of the Brotherhood of the People of Praise. He served as parochial vicar at Our Lady of the Lake Parish, Lake Oswego, and then he studied at the Catholic University of America, earning a Licentiate degree in Canon Law (J.C.L.) He has served as pastor at St. Rose of Lima Parish in Portland since July 2006.

excerpts from the Catholic Sentinel

Monday, May 27, 2013

Oh...

 
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Friday, May 24, 2013

Teens Teaching Porn to Adults: In Oregon at "Education" Conference

FYI - Even though the three candidates we endorsed did not win, Brad Victor, Oregon Education Department “sexuality education expert”, said that if parents will speak out at every level, sex education can be easily derailed in a school district—even one where the programs are already firmly in place. The sooner parents start their challenges, however, the better.

If you read this to the end, your head will spin, if not explode.  The evil is so prevalent in this conference for teens, it is child abuse to even let them attend.  The "adults" that want to normalize this type of sexuality want to feed on our children.

Contact Brad Victor (503) 947-5655  or brad.victor@state.or.us  See post at end for all the emails of those in the Ed. Department.


 by Rita Diller, National director of American Life League’s Stop Planned Parenthood Project.

When I walked into this year’s Oregon Adolescent Sexuality Conference in Seaside, Oregon, one of the first things I encountered was a table manned by three young teen boys. On the table was a collage that included many depictions of totally bare female genitalia—obviously pornographic and, one would think, illegal.

The collage included a drawing of a woman circa 1950 declaring, in the most base terms, what a woman’s private parts should smell like. It also included a drawing of a pigtailed little girl riding on a tricycle with the word “Vagina!” written above her, and another drawing of a young female child standing by a rose, with the word “Vagina” written below her on a chalkboard.
Saint Michael Protect Us in Reading This
“Everyone can come inside” are the words visible along the outer edge of the piece, which appeared to be a decoupaged plate.

The boys smiled nervously as hordes of teens, who had arrived for what some described as a field trip, passed the display table. Planned Parenthood was on the steering committee of this conference.
The booth belonged to Youth for Education and Prevention of Sexual Assault (YEPSA), a supposedly teen-led initiative from Eugene, Oregon.

At a booth whose stated mission was the prevention of sexual assault, I could only wonder why the teen boys would be manning a table containing graphic pictures of female genitalia, suggesting that “everyone can come inside” a pigtailed little girl on a tricycle.

With that question in mind, I checked on the Internet and found that the group puts on performances, the first of which was The Vagina Monologues. The students stated they just finished a run of a play that they wrote about the life struggles of a transgendered woman. They have a transgender education panel coming up, and they do art shows around teen sexuality and gender.

Day two of the conference found me very reluctantly attending a workshop led by YEPSA entitled “You Say Porn, I Say Porn!”

The program description did not even begin to touch the stark reality of the session. “To porn or not to porn, that is the question. YEPSA will be leading the masses through the very exciting world of pornography.” The session was held in a large room, filled with teens and adults. It started with a soft porn video commercial.

About 10 teen facilitators lined up across the front of the room and introduced themselves. They gave their names and the pronoun they prefer (“I prefer ‘she,’” “I don’t have a preference but I identify as male,” etc.). This was in keeping with a theory emphasized over and over at the conference—that gender is fluid and is determined only by the person in question and how that person feels at that particular time about his or her gender. In others words, biology has nothing to do with gender.

That was evidenced by a teen boy who attended lunch the first day dressed as a woman, complete with wig, pearls and dress. He soon put aside the outfit, and was once again looking like a teen boy the next time I saw him. Another young man was decorated with glitter on his face and a lilting voice, both of which he shed later in the day.

It was pointed out at the beginning of the conference that there were unisex bathrooms available for those who preferred to use them. There were separate male and female bathrooms available as well.
Getting back to the session, the facilitators asked everyone in the room to work on a group definition of porn. Since they said it wouldn’t be possible to come up with a real definition that everyone agreed on, we just needed to make it “pornish.”

Some of the pornish ideas were: Main purpose is to stimulate arousal. You learn different ways to have sex from porn. It has commercial purposes. It is an exaggerated depiction of fantasy. It is a beautiful thing. It objectifies people. It is whatever promotes a sexual response. It tries to get people thinking about sex.

Next, the room was divided into nine groups. The youth facilitators went from group to group, individually or occasionally in pairs, talking about different aspects of porn to the mixed groups of teens and adults.

One of the young teen female facilitators was very scantily dressed, with her entire midriff showing and wearing a very tight miniskirt. She literally bounced rather than walked. The young teens would come into these groups of mixed adults and teens and ask questions like: “How is porn different from real sex?” “How might watching porn from a young age affect you?”

A major discussion about how tragic it is that porn stars refuse to use condoms ensued in our group, with much wondering about why this is so. An adult male, who seemed to have way too much knowledge on all things pornographic, said it is because of lack of stimulation.

Most of the facilitators were teen girls. Much of the response to these young girls’ queries and the discourse about sex and pornography came from two older men in our group.

When one particularly thin girl finished questioning our group and left, I heard one of the men say to the other, “That was sexy. What do you do?” To which the man who knows too much about porn replied: “I work with teens.”

He had been discussing with the teens a social media outlet where one can post photos for just a few seconds, or as long as wanted, and then the pictures disappear, he said.

One teen facilitator asked whether it was okay for girls to send nude pictures to their boyfriends, and the adults generally agreed it was fine as long it was a boyfriend, but not to strangers. One woman finally pointed out that those pictures can go anywhere once they are sent and don’t disappear when the relationship dissolves.

The session was a dirty old man’s delight. These teen facilitators were probably high school age, some very young high school, with some appearing to be possibly middle school. Several of them were awkward and visibly uncomfortable with their role in this debacle, while others seemed far too seasoned and comfortable with the situation.

This is just a sampling of the plan that Planned Parenthood has for our teens. Check out our website at www.stopp.org, where I will be writing for several weeks on the unbelievably inappropriate materials and scenarios that were presented at this conference.

Oregon Education Department “sexuality education expert” Brad Victor prides himself on the fact that Oregon has the “most progressive sex education laws in the nation,” and brags about how he easily slid Oregon’s explicit Administrative Rule under the radar as a consent item at the state board level. The plan is that other states will follow suit. Many are already deeply embroiled in Planned Parenthood’s sex education. Those who are not embroiled are targeted.

Jim Sedlak’s book Parent Power!! is available free of charge on our website. It is a brilliant instructional tool that lays out the plan that parents can follow to get Planned Parenthood out of local schools. It is a plan that has been proven to work time and time again when parents follow it. Read Jim’s book today and take action!

"brad.victor@state.or.us" <brad.victor@state.or.us>
Cc: "rep.saragelser@state.or.us" <rep.saragelser@state.or.us>, "rep.jeffreardon@state.or.us" <rep.jeffreardon@state.or.us>, "rep.sherriesprenger@state.or.us" <rep.sherriesprenger@state.or.us>, "rep.shemiafagan@stateor.us" <rep.shemiafagan@stateor.us>, "rep.davidgomberg@state.or.us" <rep.davidgomberg@state.or.us>, "rep.chrisgorsek@state.or.us" <rep.chrisgorsek@state.or.us>, "rep.johnhuffman@state.or.us" <rep.johnhuffman@state.or.us>, "rep.julieparrish@state.or.us" <rep.julieparrish@state.or.us>, "rep.genewisnant@state.or.us" <rep.genewisnant@state.or.us>, "rep.shamiafagan@state.or.us" <rep.shamiafagan@state.or.us>
Subject: The Debasing of Women

Dear Mr. Victor,
If what I hear about is true about the Oregon Sexuality Conference in Seaside, Oregon is true, then you are among those who are personally responsible for the degrading of women, the animalization of men and the crumbling of culture. If the porn workshops, cross dressing and decoupaged plates of little girls with the word, "VAGINA" next to her is a lie, then please disregard my email. To appease to the lowest appetites of humanity and facilitate people, young and old, to nothing more than fodder for pleasure is repugnant.
All relationships, regardless of gender, should be based in a mutual understanding of dignity and respect.
As a woman, I need you to know that just because some woman say they are OK with being a "warm place to put it" --that is not so. By fueling the war on the women, that views us as mere receptacles for someone's DNA, you set us back to the days when at least society had the guts to say we weren't equal.

Please think about it.

Ms. CM LeMark