The Catholic Church Like it or LEAVE IT!

This was supposed to be a congratulatory piece on our new pontiff His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI... and although I personally do want to extend my best wishes and prayers to our new Pope.... I for one will be fervently praying for him and for our Church.... we all need it. Ok... Bill O. you were right.... but don't let it go to your head... any idiot could have predicted the bad press.

I am sick of it... totally sick of it.... What is "it" you ask? It is the way that SOME "members" of the Catholic Church in America and Europe want to destroy MY Church... and yes... it is MY Church.... I was Baptized into... and have followed it's tenants carefully in my 46 years... there were times when I didn't agree.... times when youth and selfishness blinded me to the VALUE of the Churches teachings... and when the two worlds collided I stayed home.... I didn't expect the Church to change for me... to accept what the Church teaches means we have to accept what Christ teaches.... there is no room for comfort zones... if you aren't comfortable.... and you aren't willing to try to live up to the profession of your faith.... well... THAT is what freedom to worship REALLY is.... it's the freedom to visit every kind of faith available... and choosing the one that most represents your faith....... or if you prefer not to believe at all. Unfortunately MOST if not all Christian Churches believe in the Culture of Life.... and MOST do not consider Homosexuality a life style choice one cannot control THAT is not only their right but.... according to God's word.... it IS RIGHT.

With the death of PJP2 memorabilia from his reign and memorials on DVD are popular, I also bought one of these memorials... and was surprised to hear PJP2 say.... that even if it meant that there were NO Catholics left.... he could not support things that were contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ.... I almost clapped in spite of myself. I don't think he was speaking to hear himself talk... and that's likely why so many Catholics have chosen to leave the Church.... in recent years.... Now... if we can only convince all the rest that stay only to try to force feed their culture of death and sin agenda down our throats.... this includes those radical priests and bishops that forget to whom they have sworn allegiance to.... Did they really meet a radical God when they studied in the Seminary? Would Jesus give the thumbs up to their feel good messages from their progressive pulpits? Jesus was all about love they say.... He loved everyone.... I have to agree.... He sure did...... He also told us to love the sinner.... but to hate the sin.... and His message hasn't changed in the last 2000 years.... Oh.... and another thing.... He tells us to Go... and Sin no more....

I have no doubt that our new servant Pope Benedict XVI will continue in the same tradition the Church has been dedicated to ever since Jesus told St. Peter he was the rock on which the Church would be built... after all.... We have only God's word on it.... Jesus' teachings.... and the Holy Spirit to help us stay the course on our path to eternal salvation.

When you think of s I n ..... Remember...... I is in the middle of sin.... reminding us of how we sin most.... when we put our wants and needs above what is right... and above all else.

Dean needs to grow up....

I just left Howard Dean's new web site... they are asking bloggers to submit to them ideas for billboards to be placed in Tom Delay's home state prior to the up coming election..... As a card carrying Democrat.... I couldn't resist...... here's mine....

Tom Delay tried to help Terri HAVE HER DAY!!! Support Tom Without Delay!!! From a Disgruntled Democrat

Hmmm..... some how I don't think I will win....

Actually I went to the website looking for his email address... I wasn't disappointed.... so I will quit for now.... I want to tell him how I as a Democrat REALLY feel.... not that it will do any good or anything.... but at least... they can't say NO ONE ever told them, like they did in the 2004 Election. I suspect it will go something like this....

Dear Mr. Dean......

Grow up.... and another thing... Don't use Terri Schiavo in the 2006 nor 2008 Election... it only confirms what we already know.... it's only ok to pick up an issue when you think it will advance your cause.........hmmm.... isn't that what you are accusing the GOP of doing??? Thought so....... Same old........Same old....

Sheeeeeeesh...........

Santorum in 2008!!!

This is ONE STAND UP GUY!!!!

I urge all Republicans and interested other parties (disaffected Democrats like myself) to support Rick Santorum for President in 2008!

Continue the Growth of the Culture of Life....

Don't wait...... Tell the GOP you want Santorum in 2008

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61804-2005Apr17.html

Patriot Act Art?

The stamp art of one Al Brandtner, the Chicago artist who rendered "Patriot Act," is a dangerous use of this man's freedom of speech.... The exhibit, has been dubbed as one of the most controversial exhibits displayed at Columbus College's Glass Curtain Gallery. "Patriot Act" is a sheet of mock U.S. stamps showing President George W. Bush with a gun to his head. With freedom comes responsibility... and Mr. Brandtner and Michael Hernandez de Luna, the curator of the show have shown they regard this responsibility as inconsequential... personally I find it not only offensive but dangerous leftist pandering...

Why the President?... My guess is the protection afforded this artist by the clear double standard the "general public" has allowed not only to exist but futher enables it to escalate to intolerable heights. The implication is clear.... In creating "Patriot Act".... the artist ... in living color relates and advocates his feelings that whoever would or could shoot President Bush would be carrying out a patriotic act.

That to me is UN-AMERICAN....

Why not Supreme Court Justices? Why not depict judges across this nation who in the ensuing months or year have sought to circumvent existing laws by their rogue personal interpretations and created precedence where none should have existed. What outrage would ensue if this artist had represented his freedom of speech in this manner?....... Given the current climate surrounding the judiciary..... It's my guess Mr. Hernandez would be drawing on some jail house wall to combat his consternation or for entertainment and I would have no reason to be outraged.... No.... I would be willing to bet that had Mr. Hernandez depicted the images of the six Justices of the Supreme Court with an unknown hand brandishing a gun and pointed at the head of each of our honorable justices.... the firestorm that would have resulted from the Secularist Left... would have burned a hole right through the first amendment.

Freedom of Speech cannot completely remove us from the Responsibility of maintaining that Freedom.... and holding a gun to the head of the President of the United States has got to be the MOST irresponsible infantile psychobabble we have been insulted with lately. Double standards continue to lower the standard of our country's morality till everywhere we look..... We are blinded by injustice and accepting of arrogance and ignorance.

NEW!!! Join the discussion....

LWOP in conjunction with Truly Open Court invites you to join us....

To access the board and join the discussion........ click the link....


http://technologyprocess.com/TOC/index.php

The Reality of Blind Justice

I had read it before... I knew I had. I was too worried I guess wondering why a Florida judge had turned a blind eye in determining the facts in the long battle regarding Terri Schiavo. I wondered... how could the judge not see for himself, why did he ignore the evidence clearly demonstrated on the videos that Terri reacted to her surroundings. Why didn't he go see for himself.... go to her hospice room and decide based on his own observations. Had he poured over the scans and the reports of doctors from years past that included instances of pain reception and her speaking words, documented by even her husband. Why did he not examine the bone scans that clearly showed evidence of abuse?


Why not? Why not give the poor woman the benefit of the doubt? The answer is simple... Judge Greer couldn't.

Judge Greer is blind.

Unless all the testimony in the case was transcribed into Braille for him..... which I have no idea of knowing... there is no way of him reading the actual statements of the witnesses.....there is no way to transcribe a video for viewing by the blind..... there is no way to transcribe bone scans, CT scans, or any other radiology results.... and more to the point no way for him to personally observe Terri Schiavo.

I am an advocate for people with disabilities. I believe that no one should be denied the right to be the best that they can be..... in whatever profession they choose. That said, realistically I have to clarify myself here. My beliefs do not extend to the absurd. It is absurd to give a blind person a driver's license. It is absurd to give a hearing impaired person a position of answering 911 calls. It would be absurd to give a mute person a job as a police dispatcher. It would be absurd for anyone with a disability that precludes them from performing a task effectively be given the duty and obligation of protecting public safety or common good. Nor should judges who are legally blind be able to judge cases in which they alone are responsible for a verdict regarding evidence they can not evaluate.

There is no way that Judge Greer could have made a full and clear determination of the facts. I do not understand how by virtue of his disability he is allowed to be a judge on cases where the perception of vision is as paramount as the perception of his ethics and his interpretation of the law.

Lord Have Mercy....

Pope John Paul II

1920~2005


Our beloved Father Pope John Paul II

has stepped out of the shoes of the fisherman....

it will take an exceptional man to take his place....

His lessons of mercy and love... are a challenge to the world....

May he rest in the eternal peace and love of the Lord....

Pope John Paul II..... He tried to bring Mercy to the world

In Honor of Divine Mercy Sunday....Sr. Faustina
You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth

for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for

the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable

Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world

and empty Yourself out upon us.

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth

from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of

Mercy for us, I trust in You!

Our Father
Our Father, Who art in heaven,

hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come;

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive

those who trespass against us; and

lead us not into temptation, but

deliver us from evil, Amen.

Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace.

The Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou amongst women,

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour

of our death, Amen.

The Apostle's Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ,

His only Son, Our Lord,

Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified; died, and was buried.

He descended into Hell; the third day

He arose again from the dead;

He ascended into Heaven,

sitteth at the right hand of God,

the Father Almighty; from thence

He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church,

the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body, and

the life everlasting. Amen.

Then, on the large bead before each decade:


Eternal Father,
I offer you the Body and Blood,
Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son,
Our Lord, Jesus Christ,
in atonement for our sins
and those of the whole world.

On the ten small beads of each decade, say:

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion,
have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Conclude with (Say 3 Times):
Holy God,
Holy Mighty One,
Holy Immortal One,
have mercy on us
and on the whole world.
Optional Closing Prayer

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion -- inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.

Our Lord said to Saint Faustina:

Encourage souls to say the Chaplet which I have given you ...

Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death ...

When they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying,

I will stand between my Father and the dying person,

not as the Just Judge but as the Merciful Savior ...

Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last home of

salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened,

if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would

receive grace from my infinite mercy.

I desire to grant unimaginable graces to

those souls who trust in My mercy ...

Through the Chaplet you will obtain everything,

if what you ask for is compatible with My will.

How fitting that Our Holy Father go home to his Father in heaven....

after participating in the celebration of the Divine Mercy Mass....

~ + ~

Too Little... Too Late for Terri....

Dear Terri,

They just wouldn't listen,

I know you are in heaven now... You fought the good fight.
You have inspired a nation and a world to preserve life...
A silent witness's testimony to the depth of your being.
They can not say you were not there...because you touched me.

Fly Free Terri ......... fly with the angels....
Free from the confines of your tragic earthly limitations...
Free to walk unhurriedly on the gilded paths of kinder heaven...
Free to stand in the radiant light of our Savior's pure love...
Free to unfold your loving arms and embrace your true guardian...
Free to join with the angels in triumphant celestial choir...
Free to splash in pools of hallowed compassionate angel tears...
Free to converse with cherubim and seraphim on a gentle plain...
Free to drink freely from the living waters of our Lord's love...

Fly Free Terri.....We won't forget you....
you have left your eloquent lessons on our hearts.


We called them... we marched... we emailed.... we debated...
we screamed.... we raged against the injustice waged upon you...
we reasoned.... we huddled.... we cringed.... we endured....
we prayed.... fervently..... endlessly..... we hoped....
we always had hope.... each tiny victory brought relief....
each defeat..... we did not break down into despair...
We know you fought.... struggled.... and showed determination....
we know that you did not want to go.... you clung to hope....
you did not despair either Terri... you just went on....

You have shown us the enemy.... and we will prevail....

Follow the Money.........

Myths 3 and 4) Removal of food was both legal and court-ordered.
Fact 4 first) You can look at the court documents if you don't believe me - or ask Pat Anderson, who, herself admitted in court papers that the courts had only allowed removal of said feeding tube, not regular food and water. Michael Schiavo illegally ordered this.
Fact 3, then) The law only allows the removal of "life-prolonging procedures," not regular food and water:
765.309 Mercy killing or euthanasia not authorized; suicide distinguished.-- (1)Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to condone, authorize, or approve mercy killing or euthanasia, or to permit any affirmative or deliberate act or omission to end life other than to permit the natural process of dying. (2)The withholding or withdrawal of life-prolonging procedures from a patient in accordance with any provision of this chapter does not, for any purpose, constitute a suicide.

The only exception is given by "life-prolonging procedures," but does this include regular food and water?

765.101 Definitions.--As used in this chapter:
(10)"Life-prolonging procedure" means any medical procedure, treatment, or intervention, including artificially provided sustenance and hydration, which sustains, restores, or supplants a spontaneous vital function. The term does not include the administration of medication or performance of medical procedure, when such medication or procedure is deemed necessary to provide comfort care or to alleviate pain.

LEGAL - Special Note:
(Special Note: Actually, sources tell me that at the time of Schiavo's alleged expression of an aversion to artificial life support, feeding tubes were not included under that definition. That inclusion did not occur until the passage of an amendment to the Florida Statutes in 1999. As you well know, new legal definitions cannot be retroactively applied to prior situations.)

Notice that it doesn't say anything about regular food and water, but if you want further proof, look at federal law:

Finally, In the OASAM Code of Federal Regulations, Part 35: NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY IN STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES provides that necessary and appropriate rehabilitation services and physical motor skill therapy may not be denied a substantially disabled patient in the United States of America, Section 35.130(e)(2) states, “Nothing in the Act or this part authorizes the representative or guardian of an individual with a disability to decline food, water, medical treatment, or medical services for that individual.

(Read that a couple of times, if you don't get it. It thus allows the mandatory rehab and food and water, as well as a few other things, that I've missed.)

Also please note that Schiavo’s decision to hold Terri at Hospice after it was clear that she was not "terminal" within Medicare guidelines was an improper use of the ward’s assets. In order to receive federal payment for hospice care, the facility must obtain a certification from the attending physician within two calendar days of initial admission that the patient’s "prognosis is for a life expectancy of 6 months or less if the terminal illness runs its normal course." 42 C.F.R. § 418.22(b) Terri has been in Hospice 3 years. Where are the physician certificates authorizing this?

Personal Note... it has been stated in the press by George Felos... that the HOSPICE DONATED HER CARE....

Must be Felos's connection to the hospice that got them to agree to that.......considering this same Hospice was found by Medicare to be illegally bilking the system for funds after submitting claims for patients that did not QUALITFY for hospice care as it is clearly defined....

Why???? Agenda Perhaps....

Facts that support both pro- and con- found here....

http://hometown.aol.com/Gww1210/myhomepage/wolfson.html

Little is left of the guardianship money. Some of it has gone to Schiavo's care and much of it has been used to press the legal case as Michael Schiavo has sought to fulfill what he says were his wife's end-of-life wishes. But even if all the money had gone to Terri Schiavo's care, it wouldn't have been enough.

Back in fall 2003, George Felos, Michael Schiavo's attorney, said he had an agreement with the hospice to settle Terri Schiavo's bill when the case was over. That day appears to be coming soon.

Gary Karr, spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the agency hasn't seen a request for payment of any kind for Schiavo's care in three years.

"The care is being paid for privately," he said. "She's spending her own money."

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansa...on/11212121.htm

WHO IS DR. JAY WOLFSON

TERRI SCHIAVO'S SOON TO BE APPOINTED GUARDIAN AD LITEM?

Who is this person that Judge Demer has appointed -- or will be appointing -- for Terri Schiavo? My God! More insanity. It seems to never end. Besides the attack on a secretary in 1994 here are some particulars on him: (our thanks to Eleanor for the research and following 'attack' article)

Dr. Jay Wolfson is director of the Florida Health Information Center at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

He is also a lawyer.

The University of South Florida is intimately connected to Hospice and Hospice of the Florida Suncoast (the corporate owner of the hospice where Terri was being dehydrated and starved, and where she is once again interned).

The USF website gives information on continuing professional education to be held November 6th by the University of South Florida's Center for Hospice, Palliative Care and End-of-Life Studies.

The University of South Florida, Dr. Jay Wolfson's employer, has a partnership with, among other hospice organizations, the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast.

You might want to keep this contact information in case we need calls, etc. going in to him.

http://www.sweetliberty.org/bulletins/terri/wolfson.htm

Gary Karr, spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the agency hasn't seen a request for payment of any kind for Schiavo's care in three years.



2003 - 3 = 2000

March 11, 2000 is when Terri Schiavo was without court knowlege or her parents moved to hospice....OBVIOUSLY according to Gary Kar...... THERE WAS A CLAIM FOR PAYMENT OF HER CARE........AT THAT TIME.......

No Blog Today....

There will be no blog today....

Our prayers go out to our fellow Catholics, and those around
the world as they pray for the failing health of our beloved
Pontiff Pope John Paul II.... and his impending death....

Our prayers also go out to the family of Terri Schiavo...
as they struggle to come to terms and find peace in confronting
the death of their daughter.... She will not be forgotten.

Our prayers also go out for people all over the world praying
today.... that they will pray that we will become a world where
no life is ever considered inconsequential... or ever devalued
in any way.... This is the message of Pope John Paul II.... now
as he lay dying... He shows us once again personally.... there
is no shame in the fragile human condition or in human suffering
....it is after an inescapable fact of life.

No matter what our personal comfort zone tells us. Perhaps we
need to look past that comfort zone.... and embrace life!

We have so much to learn from it....