Voting your conscience

Kansas bishops remind us of the moral duty to vote, and to vote in accordance with our consciences. As they rightly point out, conscience is formed by the truth. John's Gospel constantly calls us to explore the Truth.

Check out the link to the Colorado Catholic Conference's discussion of our duty to form our vote deep within our consciences, and not from bumper stickers.

Stem cell science

This is an excellent explanation of what a stem cell is, and how it works. An educated citizen is the key to protecting human life.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/stem-cell.htm

Protection of Minors

Senate Bill 403 was passed by a margin of 65-34 "to prohibit taking minors across State lines in circumvention of laws requiring the involvement of parents in abortion decisions." Of the 24 Catholic Senators the following 7 supporting this pro-life legislation:

Brownback (R-KS), Dewine (R-OH), Kohl (D-WI), Landreiu (D-LA), Salazar (D-CO), Santorum (R-PA), Sunnunu (R-NH) and Voinovich (R-OH). Of those, 3 were courageous enough to oppose the abortion industry in this year's election (Dewine, Kohl, Santorum).

Ironically, 34 Senators did not think it was important to prohibit people from circumventing the law. Shall we ask them: "where is your brother Abel?"

What have YOU done?

"What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground," the Lord said to Cain in Genesis 4:10.

Are we like Cain; do we ask "Am I my brother's keeper?" In his landmark encyclical, the Gospel of Life, the late Pope John Paul II reflected on this passage and applied it to our society today. How does the voice of our brother's blood cry out to the Lord? Abel was an innocent man, slain out of convenience, envy, and a quest for power. John Paul wrote: "Some threats (to human life) come from nature itself, but they are made worse by the culpable indifference of those who could in some cases remedy them."

How are we culpable? Do we recognize the image and likeness of God in the homeless man pushing a grocery cart, the elderly woman using a walker, the pregnant teenager waddling alone, or the faceless, nameless child within that girl's womb? Do we respect those people, or do we marginalize them as statistics? What is our culpable indifference in the life giving and life extinguishing debates that swirl around us? Do we care that our society terminates 1.5 million children before they get a chance to breath? Do we care that in some European countries terminating the aged and infirmed is legal? Do we care that it is also legal in some states? Do we care that a woman on life support was starved to death virtually on national television, while legal experts debated the rights of her husband? Wake up.

"Where is your brother Abel?"

Catholic Senators

On the recent EMBRYONIC stem cell legislation vetoed by President Bush, there were 24 Catholic senators who cast a vote. It would be easier to list those who voted in accordance with their Catholic faith: Brownback, Dewine, Sunnunu, Santorum, and Voinovich. That's right, 5 were faithful to what all 24 of them profess as deeply held, personal values. Dewine and Santorum put their money where their mouths are: both are up for reelection this year and both have huge targets pasted on them by the liberal left.

Catholics of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Kansas: these brave men have honored you and more importantly, the Christ you serve. They were willing to risk personal power for their commitment to the Truth. These men did not hide the light under a bushel basket, but put it on the table so all could see by it. The rich man asked Jesus: what must I do to gain eternal life? The answer is in Mathew Chapter 19.

Pro-life or anti-abortion

The mainstream media has a penchant to label pro-lifers as "anti-abortion extremists." Politicians are labeled pro-choice or anti-abortion based on their votes on whether or not to fund the multi-million dollar corporation, Planned Parenthood. But the abortion question is such a small portion of the pro-life agenda.

Take, for example, Senator Orin Hatch. A self proclaimed pro-lifer, he's now become simply anti-abortion. Hatch led a group of Republican and Democratic senators to a dual with the President on federal funding of EMBRYONIC stem cell research. What's that mean: we conceive a human being and then "donate" his or her remains to science for experiments. We had a guy in the last century who thought he could find something useful for about 8,000,000 people--one purpose was to donate their bodies to scientific research. We called him Adolph Hitler, who was, by the way, pro-abortion. The new Germany, by the way, does not fund the destruction of human life in the name of science anymore. Odd how they learned from history and the "victors" thumb their nose at it.

The stem cell issue is shrouded by pro-choice and anti-abortionists alike as a means to fight disease. Indeed, the use of ADULT stem cells has led to a number of medical miracles. And there is much hope in futher use of ADULT stem cells. NOTHING to date has come of the thousands of human lives sacrificed under the EMBRYONIC stem cell hype. NOTHING.

This does not dissuade the likes of the Governator, Senator Ted Kennedy, and Representative Nancy Pelosi. The California governor didn't miss a beat by sidelining a cool million and a half from the cash-strapped state for these human experiments. The number 3 Catholic in the Senate was also unabated, bellowing: "We're not through, Mr. President." His thoughts were echoed by the Number 1 Catholic in the House, Pelosi. By rank order in the Senate, the number 1 Catholic would be the Majority Whip, Senator Rick Santorum. Santorum, by the way, sided with life, as he always has.

Thank goodness for the bravery of President George W. Bush in standing up to the political elites. However well intentioned those on the pro-destruction bent of stem cell research are in trying to cure cancer and other horrid diseases, when a generation offers human sacrifice to better their lives it causes one to pause...Or at least is should. It did in the 1940s when the greatest generation put an end to that other guy.

The baby bust

Today's Washington Times carries a story that seems to echo what many in the pro-life movement have predicted for years. The times article talks about the demographic crisis that is looming in Europe caused by decades of declining birthrates--which today stands at 1.48 children per woman. Check out the article at http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20051124-121045-6980r.htm

According to the Times article, and corroborated by recent books like George Weigal's The Cube and the Cathedral, most in Europe don't see the train wreck coming for their much heralded social welfare programs. They seem to miss the message that children grow up to work, pay taxes, and contribute to a society that cares for its infirmed and elderly. The current birth rate for Europe is nearly 3/4 of a percent below what scientists agree is the minimum for sustainment of the population. The European population has slid from 25 percent of the world population in 1900, to 10 percent today, and by 2020 it will be 7 percent, the Times article stated.

The message to Europe is simple: procreate, your life depends on it.

A life giving year?

October 31st marks the end of the Catholic Church's recognition of "Pro-life Month." Pro-life means much more than the abortion issue. 2005 was a mixed ba--let's recap:
- Terri Schindler (Schiavo)--legally starved to death as the world watched her die over a two week period...does anyone see the irony of her maiden name?
+ Congress attempted to intervene by requiring judicial review of the Schindler case
- Courts refused to hear the case
+ Millions seek "Living Wills" to protect their lives in the final stages--Terri's gift to them
- Senate Democrats filibuster a block of judicial nominees for their suspected pro-life track records
+ President nominated three possible pro-lifers to the Supreme Court, although one withdraws
- Senate Republican leaders pushe to overturn the President's executive order banning embryonic stem cell research, while House Resolution 810 backed this proposal
+ The White House said the president would veto HR 810 http://www.capwiz.com/nrlc/scorecard/descriptions/?session=109&chamber=H
- 1.6 million more children died as a result of surgical abortions in the United States
- Planned Parenthood established a Hurricane Katrina Relief fund to rebuild its facilities and provide emergency contraception pills http://www.all.org/stopp/rr0509.htm
+ The House passed the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, allowing parents to be involved in medical decisions for their minor children
Check out the links, there's lots more to be discovered.

Judging Harriet

Certain Republicans and Conservatives that want it both ways. In the past five years Republicans have argued until they were blue in the face that the the pre-eminent authority in nominations was the president. The Senate provides advice and consent only, the framers said. True enough, until the president didn't pick someone off their short list. The president ran on his judicial philosophy, and made it a significant platform of his campaign. He has a track record of nominating extremely competent people to positions of trust: John Roberts, Colin Powell, Condeleeza Rice, to name just a few. Why is it they won't trust him on the nomination of Harriet Miers? Credentials, they say. But the Consititution does not specify the academic or professional experience required of a Supreme Court justice. Republicans and Conservatives can't have it both ways: if you pressed the Senate to support the swath of judicial nominees stalled due to Democratic political bickering, then you must press the Senate for a quick up or down vote on Miers. It's called logic, and it's completely Consititutional. When you're president, you get to nominate whomever you please. It's George Bush's job right now.