Lesson learned: Senator Murkowski is, sadly, another Catholic in public office who flaunts The Faith and The Truth with her steadfast pro-abortion views. As bishop after bishop have proclaimed, Catholics in public office cannot stand in good conscience in The Church while enabling the killing of the innocent unborn, just as they cannot tolerate the killing of a person on the street or in a robbery.

Although Catholic Democrats come under most public criticism for this by the faithful (because most Democrats are pro-abortion), there are CINO (Catholics In Name Only) RINOs as well (Republicans In Name Only), and both gladly trade on their Catholicism for votes while refusing to uphold the principle of Life. 

It was very telling that Alaksa Right To Life, other pro-life organizations and media (see Defend Us In Battle), as well as prominent pro-life individuals, endorsed Mr. Miller over an incumbent Catholic (see Gun Lovin’ Alaska Catholic Club blog), while the WISH List a women’s “pro-choice” political action committee endorsed Senator Murkowski. I tried to find Mr. Miller’s religious affiliation to no avail (he doesn’t list it on his campaign bio and a Google search came up empty). But I will take anyone of any faith any day who is unapologetically pro-life over someone who trades on his or her faith assuming people will step in line.

(Bishops) need spiritual discernment and not just political calculation of the risk of the possibility of the message being received. … We have to dare to speak to the deep heart, where the Spirit of the Lord is touching people beyond what we can calculate.

It makes perfect sense: How can anyone think they can gain more souls for the Lord by circumventing His Word? There is no way to comprehend His plan and how He touches peoples’ hearts. Our bishops are to ensure their flocks are getting and comprehending His Word and not worry about what people think of it. God will take care of the rest.

Come to think of it, this is applicable to priests at the parish level as well. Michael Voris of RealCatholicTV has the rest:

Cardinal Marc Ouellet tells the bishops to end calculation and return to The Truth. Stop telling the people what you think they want to hear and tell The Truth, for it is The Truth and The Truth alone that saves.

It’s important for Catholics to understand why this is happening. While many of our dioceses went through (or are still in) a period of “hipness” to ”attract” young people, that’s exactly what drove them away — a lack of substance. While trying to be “relevant” to the young (and even not so young) the Church watered down the Mass and its emphasis on certain Church teachings. While evangelicals got a bump for a number of years by its sheer emotional pull, people soon find out that after a service, when the “alleluias” are over, there isn’t much there, there.

The American Church must never forget the substance and challenge of The Faith. For too long “Modern” Catholicism focused on emotion, not substance. But emotion does have a place — as a tool, not an end. It’s a lesson the Church in America has had to learn the hard way. Sadly, some still have not learned. Perhaps, this new exodus from the evangelical movement will give Catholic dioceses an opening to present the Truth to those so desperately seeking it.

As usual, Michael Voris at RealCatholicTV gets to the heart of the matter. Please take a view and let us know what you think.

Can the Catholic Church learn from the exodus of many from evangelical “mega churches”? 

They would, at the slightest bit of evidence, or at the best guess of evidence (or legend), market sites related to significant figures of the Church: this saint ate here, this saint preached here, that saint died over there. So, there is ample reason to suspect that if the Blessed Mother was not assumed body and soul into Heaven, there would be some landmark, somewhere, marking the spot of her death or burial. There is none. Hmmm.

Also, it is important to know that, as Catholics, we believe Mary, in her complete human body, was assumed into Heaven, because as the Mother of Christ, just as she brought Him into the earthly world with a soul uncorrupted by original sin, so, too, her body left this world uncorrupted.

Pope Benedict XVI calls believers to entrust themselves to Mary, who “assumed into heaven, has not abandoned her mission of intercession and salvation.”

 Four priests and the power of The Faith saved lives at an abortion center.

According to the article:

Bulgarian archaeologists excavating under an ancient basilica last week unearthed a reliquary, or a container full of human relics.

Bone fragments of a human skull, hand and tooth were found inside. …

The archaeologists believe that a date inscribed on the alabaster jar, June 24, is a good sign that the reliquary houses John the Baptist’s remains.

June 24 is the day Christian’s celebrate the birth of Jesus’ contemporary.

Seems a bit too coincidental to me. Besides . . . Bulgaria? How and why would John The Baptists’ remains find there way there? Of course, anything is possible. The Vatican is taking a cautious, wait-and-see approach. Fabrizio Bisconti, superintendent of the Vatican Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology, told CNN more information and research is needed before the Holy See will opine on the discovery (see CNN’s Belief Blog for more, including video).

It’s interesting to contemplate, but misidentifications, not to mention forgeries, in ancient and Biblical antiquities are common. We look forward to more information confirming or dismissing what would be a terrific find.

Saint John The Baptist’s remains may have been found. The authenticity of the find, however, impacts little on Catholic faith.

Not quite phoning God: The iPadre, Father Paolo Padrini, looks over morning prayers on his iPhone application.

I got the idea about the “iPadre” from I saw something on television a few days before. I caught it in the middle, and didn’t get the whole story, but I did see where this priest was a Apple aficionado and had developed an iPad app for the Roman Missal and used it rather than the actual Missal at Mass.

I heard the reporter use the moniker “iPadre” for him. So, I Googled “iPadre” and only one news article registered, much less any television reports (the one I found was from a local station and buried on his Web site), and that article was from the The Georgia Bulletin (Archdiocese of Atlanta) — strange, since I also thought the iPadre was in Italy. Stranger still since the article was about a priest in Diocese of Providence.

Oh, well, what do I know. The “Heat Index” has hovered around 110 degrees for about two months. Maybe I was suffering from heat fatigue and thought “Italy” because I heard an Italian name, which Father Finelli has. I further researched Father Finelli, found more information, was quite impressed and wrote a blog about him. I’ve heard from some people and have had interesting discussions about the use of technology in bringing the Word to more people.

But something still stuck in me. I’m the type that simply cannot go unfulfilled in the pursuit of a story and my instincts are pretty good. I’m the type that just has to know. I’m not satisfied until I’m satisfied all avenues are exhausted to confirm or deny any hunch I have. Yesterday, I was still thinking about it. Then, it hit me: Although one might think it specific enough, instead of “iPadre,” Google instead, “priest uses iPad at Mass.”

Thank you Saint Anthony! (Don’t laugh, he helped me find deleted blog posts on another blog, once — Google and Yahoo! cache them.) So, today, here’s a post about the real iPadre!

He happens to be Father Paolo Padrini, 36, an Italian priest who consults with the Vatican, (indeed, from Italy) and another Mac head (see boing boing). Now that I know his name, there’s miles of info on him. He created the Roman Missal app for the iPad and it became available for free in July in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Latin. He created it with his own money and mind — the Vatican, though approving, had no role in its initiation or creation. According to Rebecca Boyle at PopSci.com, via the AP, an audio version with suggestions for homilies will be available before too long. But it wasn’t his first Apple app. He also invented an iPhone app called the iBreviary, which contains the book of daily prayers used by priests. More than 200,000 people have downloaded it (AP/PhysOrg.com).

All of this is seen by both the Vatican and Father Padrini, who serves as an advisor, fittingly, to the Vatican on social communication, as a plus, both in reaching young people and logistically for priests, especially for those who travel much. Having the Bible, Missal, Breviary and more at the their finger tips, in one piece of technology, rather than several bound editions, is convenient.

So, we have iPadres on two continents. Doubtless, the American iPadre is one of those 200,000 downloaders. Both priests are doing creative, yet labor intensive, work in the Lord’s vineyard to bring the Faith to more people. It wasn’t by design, but I was happy to learn about both. Confession is, after all, good for the soul.

Not all bombs are massive, obvious things. Sometimes they are very small and deceptive, but with much bigger impact. This one is quiet, but no less devastating; actually more so. No one speaks about it much, which adds to its insidiousness. That’s why it is up to The Church, especially its bishops, to reinvigorate its role in promulgating the the sanctity of life that is the basis for a truly stable and sustainable culture.

Size can be deceiving: The bomb killing the West is very small indeed.

The letter below is a very important read. It was shortened for length, but you will get the picture. More like a horror film. Now, more than ever, it is important for all of us to engage civicly and do our part to restore the proper promulgation of the Faith in the public square and work to keep our institutions intact.  

As someone who treasures our Catholic Faith, I write with great concern.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo recently said that Catholics who lobbied for the health care reform law — ignoring the Bishops’ warnings about abortion funding and weak conscience protections — had caused “confusion and a wound to Catholic unity.”

And to make matters worse, among those working against the Church on pro-life health care were educators at our Catholic colleges.

And then there is this: President Obama’s latest addition to the powerful Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a same-sex marriage advocate whose concept of “sexual liberty” would trump our religious liberty.

And what were the credentials by which she was selected for this honor? Since 1991, she has been a celebrated professor at Georgetown Law Center — at a Jesuit Catholic university.

When Catholic colleges help advance the secular assault on morality and religious liberty, faithful Catholics need to stand up in defense of the Faith!

We cannot ignore the fact that certain Catholic colleges are employing and honoring dissenters who actively undermine the Church on abortion, marriage, healthcare and conscience protections. …

Chai Feldblum, the recent Georgetown law professor who is now at the EEOC, helped author the “Employment Non-Discrimination Act ” (ENDA) which is before Congress. This bill could cripple Catholic schools, hospitals and other charities by forcing them to provide benefits to same-sex couples.

Feldblum joins the EEOC just as it considers an appeal by Belmont Abbey College, a faithful Catholic college in North Carolina which has been charged with discrimination for refusing to cover birth control pills in its employee health plan.

If the appeal is rejected, Belmont Abbey and other faithful Catholic colleges could be forced to close their doors rather than compromise their Catholic identity! …

But the irony here is that the celebrated professor of a Catholic university is now a threat to faithful Catholic colleges! …

Consider the damage that liberal Catholics caused during the last days of the healthcare debate, when they undermined the Bishops’ demands for pro-life and conscience provisions.

For instance, an influential group of 25 leading “theologians” — 11 of them citing Catholic college credentials — lobbied Congress to reject concerns about the bill. That gave legislators cover to vote for the bill with a “clear conscience.”

And according to the Associated Press, the University of Notre Dame’s president emeritus Father Theodore Hesburgh helped House Speaker Nancy Pelosi convince a pro-life congressman to switch his vote in support of the health care bill.

Soon after the health care law was signed, Georgetown welcomed “special guest” Nancy Pelosi to a university celebration despite her firm opposition to any pro-life compromise in the law. …

Several leading Catholic colleges and universities have long been a source of disunity in the Church by employing dissident theologians, honoring pro-abortion politicians and hosting performances of the obscene play, The Vagina Monologues. …

The federal takeover of student loans — so that money is loaned directly from the U.S. government — is raising new concerns about protecting Catholic colleges from government intrusion. …

And the EEOC is expected to rule on Belmont Abbey College, potentially setting up a court battle that could have devastating consequences for the religious freedom of Catholics! …

If we want to restore a Culture of Life to America . . . if we want to protect the institution of marriage . . . if we want to hand on the Faith to future generations . . . then we must ensure faithful Catholic education, and we must oppose dissent and disunity.

We have all had enough of scandal. …

And may God bless you for all that will be accomplished with your support!

Rick Santorum