Facebook labels news story about a monk who changed his name to comply the identity policy "abusive"

Yesterday, given Facebook's policy prohibiting (at least some) members of the clergy from using their ecclesial titles as their name, I asked a simple question: is Facebook anti-Catholic? Given a story coming out of St. Nazianz, Wisconsin, the answer may be in the affirmative.

A Byzantine Catholic priest, Father Moses Wright, was recently notified by Facebook that he had to remove "Hierodeacon" from his name because it was not part of his authentic name and identity. Not wishing to comply with the declaration, Father Moses found a clever way around the situation:

But the Byzantine monk decided he wouldn’t wait for Facebook to change its policy. Instead, he decided to change his name. On Aug. 13, he posted a new announcement:

“Thanks Facebook! After 21 years of using my monastic name, and never officially changing it, today I will petition the State of Wisconsin to ‘OFFICIALLY’ become Monk Moses,” he wrote in a post, which received 80 “likes.” 

He then drove to the Manitowoc County Courthouse to begin the process. A post that afternoon let friends know:  

“Name change paperwork filed! Take that Facebook bullies!”

It might be a bit drastic, but it certainly is clever and would seem to be in keeping with Facebook's policy.

Hearing of the story, The  Compass, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Green Bay, published an article on the monk's decision to change his legal name so as to comply with Facebook's policy regarding authentic name's and identities. Both The Compass and Father Moses shared the story on their Facebook pages, but then something unexpected happened:

Within hours, authorities at Facebook removed the story from The Compass Facebook page and Fr. Wright’s personal page. In addition, it blocked the link from being reposted. Anyone seeking to post the story on Facebook received one of two messages:

• “Warning: This Message Contains Blocked Content: Your message couldn’t be sent because it includes content that other people on Facebook have reported as abusive.”
• “You can’t post this because it has a blocked link. The content you’re trying to share includes a link that our security systems detected to be unsafe. Please remove this link to continue.”

That's right: if you disagree with Facebook's policy and write about it, your words might branded as abusive. I wonder if that will happen with these posts.

So much for dialogue, open-mindedness, and free speech.

Is Facebook anti-Catholic?

Several months ago, Facebook - which I use with some regularity - unnecessarily began requiring members of the clergy to remove their ecclesiastical (Father, Deacon, etc.) titles - which are also their professional titles - from their names. This odd requirement from Facebook has not yet been made across the virtual board, but is slowly moving forward.

The well-known and excellent blogger Monsignor Charles Pope recently received the order from Facebook to remove "Msgr." from his name, claiming it is not the name he uses everyday. To prove it is, Facebook is demanding he produce two government documents testifying to this effect. Msgr. Pope summarizes Facebook's argument (Capello tip to Deacon Greg Kandra for the text of Msgr. Pope's e-mail):

They explain the reason for their action as:

We ask everyone on Facebook to use the name they go by in everyday life so friends know who they’re connecting with.

But of course this IS the name that I go by “in everyday life.” Further, I have had a Facebook account under the name of “Msgr. Charles Pope” for over 6 years now. This is my name, this is who I am. I have 5,000 friends on Facebook who know me by this.

If Msgr. Pope does not comply, Facebook will shut down his account; Msgr. Pope has now done this on his own.

When I created an account on Facebook several years ago, I did not include my ecclesial title in my name; I thought it unnecessary, but did not fault those who chose to include their title.

On the surface of things, I do not have a complaint with Facebook forbidding the use of professional title. After all, the official policy of Facebook clearly states that "by joining Facebook, you agree to use your authentic name and identity." I cannot deny that my parents did not give me that name "Father" at my birth.

That being said, Facebook does not follow it's policy in the case of drag queens who are allowed to use their "stage" names on Facebook instead of their authentic names and identity. If a drag queen can use a pseudonym, why can clergy not make use of their authentic titles which function as their names? The policy is not logically sound.

What is more, I know of at least four meteorologists who are able to use the professional title of "Meteorologist" before their names. To be fair, these pages are those of "news personalities," but it does not seem Facebook provided Msgr. Pope with a similar option (which really shouldn't be necessary because he is known as Msgr. Charles Pope).

I've been warning for some time now of a steadily growing "soft" persecution of the Church in the United States of America. It might seem insignificant, but this policy is yet another step on the road.

A news round up - 10 February 2015

The news you may have missed:

• Two new pieces of legislation passed by the city council of Washington, D.C. would force Catholic organizations - such as universities and hospitals - to recognize groups contrary to their mission or to provide abortions, sterilization, artificial contraception, and even in vitro fertilization.

• By overturning a law aimed at protecting people from physician 'assisted' suicide, the Supreme Court of Canada has made it legal for doctors to prescribe death for any Canadian who 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." This would include even those with mental illnesses. What could possibly go wrong with this?

• The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes have now recorded its 69th recognized miraculous healing.

• Abortion clinics in New York are inspected less frequently than pizzerias.

• Over the course of just two days, 5 churches were desecrated in the Diocese of Bellay-Ars in France.

• I've long known the Church in northern Europe has been struggling for years. It is apparently particularly bad in the Diocese of Groningen-Leeuwarden, which will close 75% of its parishes over the next three years.

• Legislators in Wyoming hope to pass legislation bringing back execution by firing squad. This is surely entirely unnecessary.

• The statue in the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall of Blessed - and soon-to-be Saint - Junipero Serra, the founder of California, may soon be released because he is, according to some, a "controversial" figure, even though none of the charges brought against him can be historically substantiated. 

The news you may have missed - 30 January 2015

• Parents of a girl in a France named her Nutella, after the delicious chocolate-hazelnut spread, but a court has ordered her to named Ella instead because "it is contrary to the child's interest to have a name that can only lead to teasing or disparaging thoughts." While I don't support named children after Nutella, I do wonder how such a case ever found its way before a judge.

• Another piece of evidence has surfaced to demonstrate how far American society has fallen from decency and consideration. Staff at the City University of New York's Graduate Center have been cautioned against referred to students as "Mr.," Mrs.," or "Miss" So-And-So because using such titles once thought appropriate in civil society may now be interpreted as disrespect. If that's the case, I suggest we all stay home and never think of going outside again.

• Catholics in Boston are being purposely excluding from serving on the jury in the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev - the "Boston Bomber" - because of the Church's teaching regarding the application of the death penalty.

• A survey from the Pew Research Center indicates the majority of Italians believe most Europeans would call Italy the mostly like nation of the European Union to be named the least trustworthy. Greeks, curiously, see themselves as the most hardworking of the European peoples.

What do you mean the Catholic Church no longer expects Jesus' return?

A news story of sorts is slowly circulating its way through social media, spread largely by Protestants with a certain animosity toward Catholics (as several friends have indicated after seeing it on their Facebook news feeds). When you see it, don't believe it.

The news story purports that on April 25, 2014, Giorgio Cardinal Salvadore, whom the article describes as "a spokesperson for the Vatican" announced that the Catholic Church is no longer expecting the Second Coming of Jesus Christ because "'he was probably drinking wine' at the time when he made the comments."

This is, of course, absurd and completely false. How do I know. Because Cardinal Salvadore does not exist. See for yourself and check the list of living Cardinals.

There is, however, a Salvatore Cardinal De Giorgi. the Archbishop Emeritus of Palermo, who retired in 2006 and was certainly not a Vatican spokesman in April of 2014. In fact, he was too old to vote in the conclave that elected Pope Francis. Curiously, despite not seeming to have died (at least I did not find a mention of his death), he isn't listed among the living Cardinals. I'm not quite sure what to make of that.

It's the oldest trick in the book. Take a foreign name and tweak it a bit so that it still sounds like a name, attribute a position to him he never had, and assign words to him he never spoke. If it's a fictitious character, he can't really accuse you of slander or libel and he can't defend himself. That, and people who will simply assume the false words are true because the name and the position sound true.

Remember: You can't believe everything you see on the Internet. Especially from people who hate Catholics.

Republican candidate attacked for his Catholic faith left the Democrat party because of its anti-Catholicism

Two weeks ago I shared with you a political advertisement in the state of Washington that smacks not only of anti-Catholicism, the last acceptable prejudice in the United States of America:

Despite the bigotry so clearly expressed in the advert, there is good news to report: The ad was unsuccessful. The people of Washington elected him to the senate by a margin of 13 points.

But there's also a surprising twist to the story. Before becoming a Republican, Miloscia had been Democrat. Why did he switch parties? Because of the anti-Catholic sentiment within the Democrat party.

Anti-Catholic sentiment continues to raise its ugly head

For decades, political cartoons - and rhetoric - were filled with blatant anti-Catholicism, right up until the election of President John F. Kennedy. Here are just a few examples (in no particular order):

Following the tragic assassination of President Kennedy, anti-Catholic political rhetoric became more subtle and nuanced. That is, until yesterday, when an attack against Mark Miloscia, who hopes to be elected to the Washington state Senate, when this cartoon was published online and widely circulate on Twitter:

The anti-Catholic smear was so blatant that The News Tribune ran a story on the ad.

Miloscia's opponent in the Senate race, to her credit, criticized the ad as an inappropriate attack. Shari Song wrote on her Facebook page:

There are lots of things in my opponent's record that are fair game to take issue with. But I respect Mark Miloscia’s religion and I certainly don't condone ANY of my supporters making attacks on that basis. I understand one of my supporters may have crossed the line of what is appropriate in that regard, and I've asked them to stop. This campaign should be about the issues, not personal attacks.

To be sure, anti-Catholic political cartoons have not ceased being published, but there do seem to be more of them in recent years, a trend which are to be disconcerting, at the least. Here are four, from 2005, 2010, 2010, and 2014:

To better understand both the history of anti-Catholicism in the United States of America and to therefore understand where it be may heading, there two essential books you should read:

• Anti-Catholicism in America: The Last Acceptable Prejudice, by Mark S. Massa, S.J., and
• The New Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice, by Philip Jenkins

If you still think the U.S.A. was founded for religious freedom for all, you're in for a bit of a surprise when you read the actual history of how Catholics were treated from the beginning. Maryland exists for a reason.

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/10/24/3450087/mark-miloscia-hit-with-anti-catholic.html?sp=/99/296/#storylink=cpy

The Dirty 100 and the immaturity of NOW

At least twenty-four (24!) of the persons, businesses, or organizations named by the National Organization for Women as the "Dirty 100" are themselves Catholic, owned by Catholics, or made up of Catholics (there may be more; I know one the businesses is Catholic and I suspect others are, as well). Shockingly - and bizarrely - the Little Sisters of the Poor have, as it were, made the cut.

Now, pay attention (yes, that was purposeful): Notice the percentage of the groups that are Catholic: at least 24%. Yet we are to believe that our secular society does not have an anti-Catholic prejudice? Get real. And wake up.

Why are these the Dirty 100? Because they do not want to pay for their employees birth control, sterilizations, or abortifacients. How vile and cruel they are. You would think the NOW would be demanding instead that businesses provide mammograms for free.

An especially curious aspect of this list is its placement on NOW's web site: you can "take action" and "Ditch the Dirty 100" before you can even see the list NOW has compiled (you even have to click on "take action" to be able to click on the list).

The link to the list is at the very bottom of the page - beneath a declaration that "I do not believe that the religious beliefs of an employer trump the religious freedoms and bodily autonomy of their company’s female employees" and that "I cannot support businesses, nonprofits, and religious entities that do not respect the reproductive rights of their employees" and a spot for your contact information. It is almost as if NOW doesn't actually want you to know who the Dirty 100 are.

To my mind, this shows not only a certain mindlessness on the part of those who support the creation of such a list and insanely think that of all of the life-saving medicines and treatments available to women that only contraception should be free of charge, but also a certain immaturity on the part of NOW's leaders (and former leaders).

This immaturity also comes across in a recent - and impressive - interview conducted by Fox News' Megyn Kelly with Patricia Ireland, a former president of NOW:

Megyn's suggestion to call the list "groups with whom we disagree" is an excellent, reasonable, and civil suggestion, one met with disdain and mockery. Ireland claims she has "the right to say these people are wrong and to not patronize them," yet she patronizes them ("Bless their hearts") throughout the interview. It only shows her insincerity.

This immaturity is further shown by Ireland's refusal to answer Kelly's direct questions and her failure to acknowledge when Kelly shows her to be incorrect.

In the end, I suspect this campaign against the Dirty 100 will prove ineffective for NOW.

What anti-Catholicism?

A news round up - July 7, 2014

Some of the news you may have missed:

• Despite claiming "to providing primary care in a timely manner," a veteran just received an appointment with a doctor through the VA. There's just one problem: he died 22 months ago. And people actually want the federal government involved in their healthcare? 

• In a related story, another veteran died after waiting 30 minutes for an ambulance in a VA hospital.

• There is a 14th century castle for sale in Bavaria, though it looks to be in need of some repair.

• For the first time, a woman has been appointed rector of a Pontifical University: Sr. Mary Melone at the Pontifical University Antonianum in Rome.

• Writing in the Huffington Post, Ronald Lindsay suggests it is inappropriate to have six Catholic justices on the Supreme Court. If you think anti-Catholicism is not slowly growing again in the U.S.A., you are sadly mistaken and blind to the reality around you.

• 82 people were shot (14 of whom were killed) in Chicago over the July 4th holiday weekend. And some people wonder why don't like Chicago (35 people were shot [1 of whom was killed] in Chicago last weekend). And this for a city with some of the strictest gun restrictions in the country.

The worship of Satan at Harvard University

Amidst great protest from the Catholic world, the Harvard University - which is named after a Christian minister - will allow, in the name of "free speech," a Black Mass to be "reenacted" on its campus this evening at 8:00 p.m. as an "educational" experience, though the university has tried to distance itself in the manner of Pontius Pilate:

The 'black mass' had its historical origins as a means of denigrating the Catholic Church; it mocks a deeply sacred event in Catholicism, and is highly offensive to many in the Church and beyond. The decision by a student club to sponsor an enactment of this ritual is abhorrent; it represents a fundamental affront to the values of inclusion, belonging and mutual respect that must define our community. It is deeply regrettable that the organizers of this event, well aware of the offense they are causing so many others, have chosen to proceed with a form of expression that is so flagrantly disrespectful and inflammatory.

Nevertheless, consistent with the University’s commitment to free expression, including expression that may deeply offend us, the decision to proceed is and will remain theirs.

At the same time, we will vigorously protect the right of others to respond—and to address offensive expression with expression of their own.

All of this may sound nice, but let us not forget that Satan "is a liar and the father of lies" and "the deceiver of the whole world;" he is not one to be trifled with (John 8:44, Revelation 12:9).

In a letter to President Drew Fuast, Father Roger Landry, an alumnus of Harvard University, demonstrated how "silly" such a claim is:

We all know that if there were to be a seance to communicate with the soul of Adolf Hitler, Harvard would never countenance it, first because we’re clearly dealing with conjuring evil, and second because it would be terribly injurious to Jewish members of the Harvard community and the wider community.

We also all know that if an “independent student organization” were trying to host an event in which there would be reenacting the burning of a copy of the Koran, it likewise would never be permitted, because Harvard would never associate itself with the desecration of Islam’s sacred text or allow its name or property to be used in something that would obviously outrage the spiritual sensibilities of Muslims.

A ceremony invoking Satan, mocking the Catholic Mass and desecrating what Catholics believe to be the Body of Jesus Christ — or if, implausibly, an unconsecrated host will be used, something that is at least meant to symbolize the Eucharist — should be treated in the same way.

Curiously, President Faust (readers may coincidentally recall Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust), president of Harvard and a descendant of Jonathan Edwards.

At least to her partial credit, President Faust will not attend the Black Mass and will instead attend Holy Hour at St. Paul's church on the campus of Harvard University. Let us pray the Lord to touch her heart and reveal to her the gravity of what the university is allowing to take place:

St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

St Michael's stunning gold & peacock featured wings. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Latin 1156B, 15thC Hours pic.twitter.com/SOHBYR3eQd
— Sarah Peverley (@Sarah_Peverley) May 12, 2014

Let us also remember the words Pope Francis preached within the first Mass he celebrated as the Bishop of Rome:

When we do not profess Jesus Christ, the saying of Léon Bloy comes to mind: "Anyone who does not pray to the Lord prays to the devil." When we do not profess Jesus Christ, we profess the worldliness of the devil, a demonic worldliness.

News round up - April 30th

The news you may have missed:

• The State Journal-Register reports that a proposed tax in Illinois on sugary beverages "may be falling flat" with legislators. When news of this proposed tax first surfaced, I offered my thoughts on it: a foolish bill that, if passed, would simply backfire.

• President Obama told a gathering of Malaysian youth yesterday that "the world is less violent, it is healthier, it is wealthier, it is more tolerant and it offers more opportunity than any time in human history for more people than any time in human history." If you live in the Middle East or in Africa, you probably haven't noticed a less violent world. You won't have noticed a healthier world if you life in the U.S.A. where childhood obesity continues to rise, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control earlier this month. Likewise, the poor of the world aren't getting any wealthier and Christians throughout the world remain the most persecuted people in a more tolerant world, and face growing persecution besides as John L. Allen, Jr. has recently demonstrated in his book, The Global War on Christianity.

•  Bryan Singer, the director of the forthcoming X-Men movie called a lawsuit alleging he sexually abused a minor some years ago "a sick, twisted, shakedown."

•  After he quoted Sir Winston Churchill in reference to Islam, Paul Weston, who ran for political office, was arrested for racially aggravated crime.

• Tens of thousands of Hungarians marched on Sunday in protest to the growing anti-Semitism in Hungary after the Jobbik party recently won 21% of the national vote.

• Doctors in Britain who object to "any form of contraception" because of their conscience are no longer eligible for specialization as obstetricians or gynecologists. Roman Catholics are particular singled out. In all likelihood, we will see this soon in the U.S.A., as well.

News round up - April 24th

The news you may have missed (the last one is my favorite):

• A memorial to Blessed Pope John Paul II in Krakow (where he had been Archbishop before his election to the See of Peter) has been vandalized ahead of his canonization on Sunday.

• While we're on the topic of anti-Catholic vandalism, a display for Divine Mercy Sunday in Chicago's Daley Plaza clearly displeased a vandal.

• Aborted babies in Canada are being used to heat hospitals in Oregon. This report comes shortly after we learned the same is being with hospitals in Britain. It is deplorable that the bodies of dead babies are labeled as "medical waste," thereby allowing this to happen.

• A man in the United Kingdom has invoked the medieval right to trial by combat to contest a motor vehicle violation. The court has refused his claim. You cannot make this up. It was not until 1819 that the British Parliament put an end to trial by combat as a means of legal recourse.

A news round up - March 30th

• MSNBC host Joy Reid implies Catholics on the Supreme Court cannot be trusted. And you thought anti-Catholicism was dead.

•  Young men attending university in North Korea now have a required hair style.

•  A man from the north of Italy spent part of yesterday on the dome of the Basilica of St. Peter protesting Italy's economic situation. This was his fourth time doing so. How does that happen?

• The Shroud of Turin will be displayed for public veneration between April 19 and June 25, 2015 in Turin.

• Since the civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, 98 churches, 1,900 mosques, 1,600 schools, and 60% of the nation’s hospitals have been at least partly destroyed. 

• Each year in San Francisco 16,000 children are born and 18,000 are aborted. Welcome to the culture of death.

• President Obama has delayed, yet again, the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Art. As Timothy McCartney said: 

When Obama is done with all his unilateral amendments and delays, all that is left of the bill is forcing nuns to buy birth control.
— Timothy P Carney (@TPCarney) March 26, 201

Curiously, the new deadline is on the "honor system."

Catholic services forbidden on military base, Protestant services continue; priest sues

The Reverend Ray Leonard, a Roman Catholic priest, was recently contracted to provide pastoral care at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base.  However, he has been forbidden to provide pastoral care during the partial government shutdown though he wishes to do so completely free, though others have not been so forbidden, as CNN reports:

Leonard also claims "members of religions, other than the Roman Catholic religion, have been afforded access to the chapel to engage in religious exercise in conformity with their respective faiths."

The notice from chapel staff says, "Protestant services will continue to be held in the Subase chapel Sundays @ 1030. We apologize for the inconvenience" [more].

Frankly, this is simply outrageous.  The headline should have read: "Catholic services forbidden, Protestant services allowed".  To those who deny my claims that there is an coming persecution of Catholics in the United States of America, how do you explain this?  It cannot be simply an oversight.  Why this important piece of information comes at the bottom of the article and not at the top is beyond my understanding.


Because the free exercise of Father Leonard's religious liberty has clearly been violated, he has filed a law suit with the assistance of the Thomas More Law Society.

In his affidavit, Father Leonard provides what might be termed a "money quote":

In China, I was disallowed from performing public religious services due to the lack of religious freedom in China. I never imagined that when I returned home to the United States, that I would be forbidden from practicing my religious beliefs as I am called to do, and would be forbidden from helping and serving my faith community.

California Governor vetoes bill extending statute of limitations against Church but not against public schools

A short time ago California legislators sent Senate Bill 131 to the desk of Governor Jerry Brown that would lift the statute of limitations in sexual abuse cases against children involving Catholic priests, but the same legislation would not the lift that statute in cases of sexual abuse against minors involving others:

The current bill from Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, would have lifted the statute of limitations for a group of alleged victims who are 26 or older and missed the previous window [the statute of limitations had already been lifted in such cases in 2002] to file lawsuits because of time and age restrictions.

Catholic Church leaders, including the Diocese of Monterey, and representatives of other organizations in opposition, such as private schools and the State Alliance of YMCAs, said the proposal to allow claims is unfair because it does not allow accusers to sue public institutions [more].

Governor Brown courageously and rationally vetoed the legislation for the very reason the Church and other organizations opposed its passage.  In his veto statement he said:

This bill does not change a victim's ability to sue a perpetrator.  This bill also does not change the significant inequity that exists between private and public entities.  What this bill does do is go back to the only group, i.e. private institutions that have already been subjected to the unusual "one year revival period" and makes them, and them alone, subject to suit indefinitely.  This extraordinary extension of the statute of limitations, which legislators chose not to apply to public institutions, is simply too open-ended and unfair.

The discrimination between public and private institutions in California law has a long history and allows victims to sue the Catholic Church but not the public school system, a history which Governor Brown explores in his statement and calls "unreasonable, if not shocking."

Illinoisans, you're about to lose your religious liberty

After President Obama was re-elected to the Presidency of the United States of America I expressed my disappointment and concerns for the future, saying:

As a student of history, what do I see as I look to the coming months and years?

"Gay marriage" is now legal in nine of the fifty States.  The push for its legalization in other States and on a federal level will not end or slow down.

Here in Illinois, we have seen the effects not of legalized "gay marriage," but of civil unions.  After legalizing same-sex civil unions, the State forced Catholic Charities out of foster care and adoptions.  The same has happened in Boston and will continue to happen with increasing speed in other cities and States.

Laws were enacted some years ago to classify certain attacks as "hate crimes," many of which include attacks on those who take part of the gay subculture.  Though such laws have unfortunately not included attacks against people of faith as hate crimes, I do not deny or dispute the good such laws can do.

New laws, however, will soon be enacted that will classify the teachings of the Church on homosexuality, contraception, abortion, and marriage as "hate speech."  Such laws will be the beginning of a concerted and purposed persecution of the Church; the government will seek to silence the Church by removing her pastors.

Once her pastors are silenced or removed, the rights of the Church and of the faithful will be increasingly curtailed and taken away.  Once the freedom of religion is taken away, every other freedom will also be removed.

I know that many of you agree with my concerns.  At the same time, I know that some of you think my concerns unwarranted, far-fetched, and impossible.  This is America, you say, nothing like that can happen here.  History has heard words such as those before and not been impressed.

To illustrate the validity of my concerns, please take the following items into serious and thoughtful consideration.

A clause in the National Defense Authorization Act provides that no military chaplain can be required to perform a ceremony that would violate his (or her) conscience.  This protection presently applies even to called same-sex "marriages."

President Obama claims this clause - which is in keeping with the First Amendment - is "unnecessary and ill-advised" because, he says, this protection is already granted else in military policies.  Such a claim, however, is unconvincing.

Here in Illinois as the legislature prepares to pass the deceitfully named Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act.  Despite weak assurances from Senator Heather Heans (D-Chicago) - one of the bill's two sponsors - that the act protects religious freedom, it actually does not, as Bishop Paprocki recently explained:



In his questions of Senator Heans, Senator Dale Righter (R-Mattoon) also addressed the serious limits this proposed legislation will impose on religious liberty:



The stripping away of our religious liberty begins with the drive to redefine marriage and make it something it is not and cannot be.

Update: When I posted this earlier this morning I knew there was another story I wanted to tie in but I couldn't find it.  Now I have found it.

Following the Holy Father's address to the Roman Curia, an online petition has been started at the White House to "officially recognize the Roman Catholic Church as a hate group."   

Notwithstanding with the inaccurate casting of the words of Pope Benedict XVI, the petition, launched on Christmas Day, has - as of this writing - 1,775 petitions.  If it receives an additional 23,225 by 24 January 2013, the Administration will respond to the petition.

If you think there is not an active movement to completely remove the Church and those who are her faithful sons and daughters from public life, you are woefully blind to the reality around you.

Hypocrsy for the National Day of Prayer?

In keeping with a proclamation of the President of the United States of America given May 1, 2012, we were to have observed a National Day of Prayer on May 3, 2012.  Maybe you missed it; I know I did.

The proclamation of President Obama read as follows:

Prayer has always been a part of the American story, and today countless Americans rely on prayer for comfort, direction, and strength, praying not only for themselves, but for their communities, their country, and the world.

On this National Day of Prayer, we give thanks for our democracy that respects the beliefs and protects the religious freedom of all people to pray, worship, or abstain according to the dictates of their conscience. Let us pray for all the citizens of our great Nation, particularly those who are sick, mourning, or without hope, and ask God for the sustenance to meet the challenges we face as a Nation. May we embrace the responsibility we have to each other, and rely on the better angels of our nature in service to one another. Let us be humble in our convictions, and courageous in our virtue. Let us pray for those who are suffering around the world, and let us be open to opportunities to ease that suffering.

Let us also pay tribute to the men and women of our Armed Forces who have answered our country’s call to serve with honor in the pursuit of peace. Our grateful Nation is humbled by the sacrifices made to protect and defend our security and freedom. Let us pray for the continued strength and safety of our service members and their families. While we pause to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice defending liberty, let us remember and lend our voices to the principles for which they fought — unity, human dignity, and the pursuit of justice.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 3, 2012, as a National Day of Prayer. I invite all citizens of our Nation, as their own faith directs them, to join me in giving thanks for the many blessings we enjoy, and I call upon individuals of all faiths to pray for guidance, grace, and protection for our great Nation as we address the challenges of our time.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.

The reference to religious freedom the President makes, given the current move of the Administration to force Catholics and their institutions to violate their consciences, is particularly curious:

On this National Day of Prayer, we give thanks for our democracy that respects the beliefs and protects the religious freedom of all people to pray, worship, or abstain according to the dictates of their conscience.

In a second reference to religious freedom, President Obama invited the citizes of these united States to join him in thanking God "as their own faith directs them.

Why is it, then, that the Department of Health and Human Services, following the dictates of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, refuse to allow Catholics the freedom "to pray, worship, or abstain according to the dictates of their conscience."

It's time for the present Administration to be more honest.

The new Kulturkampf

Just over a year ago when the Attorney General of the State of Illinois first moved to force Catholic Charities out of foster care and adoptions, His Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of Springfield in Illinois, made reference to the Kulturkampf of Otto von Bismarck.  Writing in his column in the Catholic Times, he said:

I write all this because we are seeing a different but very virulent form of Kulturkampf gaining ground here in the United States. In our American context, this has been referred to as the “Culture Wars,” which, like Germany in the 19th century, promotes a secular view of the world and seeks to diminish the role of religion and restrict the influence of Christians in general and Catholics in particular. Prominent in this secular agenda are the promotion of abortion and assaults on the traditional understanding of marriage and family life [more].

Bishop Paprocki is not the only one to make this connection.

A couple of weeks ago, His Excellency the Most Reverend Daniel R. Jenky, Bishop of Peoria, said, in a homily that has been very much taken out of context:

Remember that in past history other governments have tried to force Christians to huddle and hide only within the confines of their churches like the first disciples locked up in the Upper Room.

In the late 19th century, Bismarck waged his "Kulturkampf," a Culture War, against the Roman Catholic Church, closing down every Catholic school and hospital, convent and monastery in Imperial Germany.

Clemenceau, nicknamed "the priest eater," tried the same thing in France in the first decade of the 20th Century.

Hitler and Stalin, at their better moments, would just barely tolerate some churches remaining open, but would not tolerate any competition with the state in education, social services, and health care.

In clear violation of our First Amendment rights, Barack Obama - with his radical, pro abortion and extreme secularist agenda, now seems intent on following a similar path.

Now things have come to such a pass in America that this is a battle that we could lose, but before the awesome judgement seat of Almighty God this is not a war where any believing Catholic may remain neutral.

This fall, every practicing Catholic must vote, and must vote their Catholic consciences, or by the following fall our Catholic schools, our Catholic hospitals, our Catholic Newman Centers, all our public ministries -- only excepting our church buildings - could easily be shut down. Because no Catholic institution, under any circumstance, can ever cooperate with the instrinsic evil of killing innocent human life in the womb [more].

On the Square, Leroy Huizinga recently wrote of The White House's Contraceptive Kulturkampf.  In this new culture war, he sees a difference:

Unlike the war waged against Catholics in the nineteenth century by Germany’s Iron Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, a devout pietist Christian, our battle has been joined not only by many of our Evangelical brothers and sisters but also by many Mormons, Jews, and others of good will [more].

More anti-Catholicism from the New York Times

Last week the New York Times published an anti-Catholic advertisement from the Freedom From Religion Foundation calling Catholics to "quit the Catholic Church" because of the Church's oppossition to the mandate of the Department of Health and Human Services that clearly violates the First Ammendment:

The Creative Minority Report has transcribed the text of the ad.  Be sure to read The Anchoress' thoughts on the "intellectual dishonesty of the hysterical and adolescent" claims in the ad.  The Curt Jester notes, among other things, "Funny though how these atheists are upset about the lack of women priests when they don’t even believe in God."

At the time, I wondered if the NYT would publish a similar ad inviting Muslims to quit Islam.  Naturally enough, I knew the answer to that question was a solid "No."  Now we have more evidence of the NYT's anti-Catholic stance.

The group Stop Islamization of Nations, American Defense League recently attempted to run an ad in the NYT - mimicking the above article - inviting Muslims to "quit Islam" before the growing violence over the military's "accidental" burning of Qur'ans:

The NYT says it refused to run the ad “the fallout from running this ad now could put U.S. troops and/or civilians in the [Afghan] region in danger.”

While I don't doubt that "fallout" from such an ad would be severe and violent, I'm not so certain this is the real reason the NYT refused the ad, especially given the paper's history in Catholic matters.

Either way, The Catholic League notes that regardless of the reason for the refusal (be it anti-Catholicism or fear of Muslim violence - the NYT has "painted themselves into that corner."