In San Francisco Archdiocese . . . Rumbles Against Liberal Culture Roll Through

By DEXTER DUGGAN

Not long before San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone rattled California’s liberal political and cultural establishments in early February with a reminder about modeling basic Catholic beliefs to high school students, one of his priests at a parish near the Golden Gate Bridge sent out modest shock waves of his own in the land of the San Andreas Fault.
A lifelong San Francisco resident, Dolores Meehan, lauded these developments in a February 23 interview with The Wanderer, explaining that “the prevailing culture coming out of City Hall” isn’t something that many people want their children to grow up with. … Continue Reading

Who Are The Muslim Moderates?

By JAMES K. FITZPATRICK

The February 5 edition of First Teachers featured a discussion of the Obama administration’s decision not to use the terms “Muslim terrorists” and “radical Islam” in describing the assassins of the editors of the French publication Charlie Hebdo and terrorist groups such as ISIS. Several readers have written to add their thoughts to this topic.
J.D.C., a reader from Texas, is convinced that concerns for political correctness distort the way many Americans think about Islam. He writes, “It is not the role of the government of the United States to define what is genuine Islam and what is not. It is even perilous for any non-Muslim to draw this distinction. ‘Moderate Muslims’ commit many horrible crimes, as when Saudi moneybags buy sex slaves from India and Pakistan, but won’t let girls flee burning buildings unless properly dressed. As far as I can tell, what makes a Muslim moderate is that he is in some sort of shaky alliance with the United States, not much more. When Catholic leaders seeking to appear ‘enlightened’ and ‘ecumenical’ pretend that Islam is some sort of kindred religion, or offer up mealy-mouthed excuses for Muslim behavior, it becomes hard to take them seriously.” … Continue Reading

No Compromise When It Comes To The Preborn

By REY FLORES

“Right now, we are just trying to convince people that it is not right to abort children through the ninth month of pregnancy and that is an uphill battle in itself without having to explain to people that unborn babies conceived in rape and incest have the same right to life.”

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The above message was sent via Facebook last week to my friend Rebecca Kiessling. If you aren’t familiar with Rebecca, she is one of the most powerful pro-life speakers that one would ever hope to hear.
Rebecca was conceived through rape. Her mother almost aborted her, but obviously God had other plans for both mother and baby. Rebecca was indeed born, and was raised by an adoptive family.
Today Rebecca is an attorney and the founder of Save the 1, which is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to educate everyone on why all preborn children should be protected by law and accepted by society, without exception and without compromise. Save the 1 works to educate pro-life advocates, leaders, and clergy on how to articulate a proper defense of children conceived in rape or incest, as well as those with special needs. … Continue Reading

MOVIE REVIEW: ‘The Drop Box’

Rey Flores – March 1, 2015
If there’s a genre of film that I am not necessarily a big fan of, it’s documentaries. They seem so academic and formal that little room is left for the humanity of the person aside from facts and history. ‘The Drop Box’ is the exception to the rule.
‘The Drop Box’ tells the story of one man’s efforts to protect and care for newborn babies who might have otherwise been abandoned on the streets of Seoul, South Korea. Pastor Lee Jong-Rak built a ‘baby box’ – a safe harbor to welcome and care for these babies.
So far, more than 600 babies – many of whom … Continue Reading

Rest In Peace, Dr. Jack Willke

By JOSEPH SCHEIDLER

(Editor’s Note: LifeSiteNews reprinted this tribute to Dr. Jack Willke by Joseph Scheidler from the Pro-Life Action League, which Scheidler founded in Chicago in 1980. All rights reserved.
(Dr. Willke died at his home in Cincinnati, Ohio, on February 20. He was 89.)

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The Handbook on Abortion by Dr. Jack and Barbara Willke became my Bible just as soon as abortion became legal nationwide in 1973.
It had been published in 1971 and was already on the shelves when the U.S. Supreme Court made abortion on demand the law of the land. I don’t know what we would have done without it. It answered all the questions we pro-lifers had in those early days, and we were glad someone had done our work for us.
The book ended up being used worldwide and was eventually translated into 32 languages and went through multiple reprintings.
Jack was an obstetrician who quit delivering babies in the late 1960s in order to work full-time in the abortion battle.
But who was Jack Willke? And why did he do all his writing and give his talks with his wife, Barbara? … Continue Reading

Except Which Party Runs Congress… Little Changes In USCCB’s Open-Borders Push As Years Pass

By DEXTER DUGGAN

PHOENIX — Arizonans are well-acquainted with the open-borders reputation of the regional bishops’ lobbying arm, the Arizona Catholic Conference, of whom the Diocese of Tucson’s liberal Bishop Gerald Kicanas is an unabashed champion.
These ideas were on display again in Washington, D.C., in February testimony. They’re ideas that were strongly rejected by a Republican Latino activist in a February 22 interview with The Wanderer. But first, some words from Kicanas.
Drawing to the conclusion of his prepared remarks before a U.S. House subcommittee on February 11 on “Interior Immigration Enforcement Legislation,” Kicanas said:
“We are hopeful that, as our public officials debate this issue, that immigrants, regardless of their legal status, are not made scapegoats for the challenges we face as a nation. Rhetoric which attacks the human rights and dignity of the migrant are not becoming of a nation of immigrants. Neither are xenophobic and anti-immigrant attitudes, which only serve to lessen us as a nation.” … Continue Reading

Neither Dignity Nor Justice . . . Canada’s Supreme Court Legalizes Euthanasia

By FR. JOHN FLYNN, LC
(Editor’s Note: Fr. John Flynn, LC, wrote this commentary for ZENIT News Agency. Fr. Flynn, a regular ZENIT contributor, holds degrees from the University of New South Wales and from the Pontifical Gregorian University. All rights reserved.)

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On February 6 the nine judges of the Canadian Supreme Court legalized euthanasia in a unanimous decision, reversing a previous 1994 ruling.
The move continued a tendency toward judicial activism that started with the striking down of abortion laws, then the introduction of same-sex marriage, and then the striking down of laws on prostitution.
While technically the court did not eliminate the legal prohibition regarding assisted suicide, it said that it no longer applied to a person who consents to the termination of his or her life and has a “grievous and irremediable medical condition (including an illness, disease, or disability) that causes enduring suffering that is intolerable to the individual in the circumstances of his or her condition.”
Commentators pointed out that this is not limited to terminal illnesses and could even apply to persons with psychological problems, including depression.
The effect of the decision is suspended for 12 months so that Parliament has an opportunity to pass a law on this matter. With an election coming up later in the year in October there is doubt that a law will be passed in the near future. … Continue Reading

San Francisco Economist . . . Changes Mind, Says Porous Borders Harm Families, Nations

By DEXTER DUGGAN

An economics professor at the Jesuit University of San Francisco offered ideas for significantly improving the lives of Central Americans in their home countries, rather than having a porous border, in an article posted January 8 at Christianity Today, a major evangelical magazine and website.
In “Border Crisis = Church Opportunity — The international difference a local congregation can make,” evangelical Bruce Wydick wrote that he used to think border security was callous, but changed his mind to see that orderly, fair entry is needed, in part because of the way the current migration system hurts families left back at home.
Wydick also explored the organized crime and its narco-trafficking as they affect the Latino countries.
“Many have called for an increase in border security,” Wydick wrote. “I used to think that this represented a callous and heavy-handed approach [to] the problem. But I have come to believe otherwise. Failing to regulate the flow across our borders makes us unable to genuinely act with compassion to those who have legitimate refugee status, such as seriously threatened children. … Continue Reading

Alex Schadenberg . . . Decries Canadian Supreme Court’s Striking Down Assisted Suicide Ban

By PEGGY MOEN

ST. PAUL — The Supreme Court of Canada made “a horrific decision” when it struck down the country’s ban on assisted suicide, said Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, here to address the February 11 Legislative Dinner of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life.
In his remarks, Schadenberg said the court’s February 6 ruling used “totally subjective” language, leaving Parliament to decide many particulars without objective standards to guide it. He said the ruling would allow both assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Assisted suicide, he explained, is when someone helps you to take your own life, while euthanasia is when someone “lethally injects you.”
Of the decision, he said: “You need to read it . . . to understand the end game,” especially if you think something like that can’t happen in the United States, Schadenberg told his audience of 200.
The United States might not allow active euthanasia now, Schadenberg said, but once killing is permitted, “the only question is how we’re going to do it.” … Continue Reading

Further Comments On Notre Dame

By JAMES K. FITZPATRICK

In the January 15 issue of First Teachers, we published portions of a letter from John Lyon to the administration at the University of Notre Dame, questioning the university’s decision to create a student organization designed, writes Lyon, “to provide peer- to-peer support, direct service opportunities, and friendship” for homosexual students, along with “the creation of a committee to advise the Vice President for Student Affairs on relevant matters, and the hiring of a full-time Student Development Professional in this area.” Lyon is an alumnus of the Notre Dame and a retired professor and university administrator with many years of experience. … Continue Reading