Category: Catholic

Legitimate Reason to Leave the Catholic Church ??

~ Pharmer

Magdi Allam made international news when he converted from his Muslim faith to Catholicism on Easter, 2008, at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, with Pope Benedict XVI officiating.

Allam now says that he is leaving Catholicism, but will always remain a Christian.  He is upset that the Catholic Church has stood by for the “Islamization” of Europe, which he sees as an affront to Western civilization, and the “fundamental rights of the person”.   He points to the persecution of Christians in the Muslim countries, and  explains that a practice of appeasement will not be effective in stopping the maltreatment.

“I am convinced,” Allam stated, “that Islam is an ideology inherently violent as it has been historically conflictual inside and warlike outside.”

Pharmer does not see all Muslims as being cut from the same cloth, though Allam is certainly correct about the more extreme Islamic groups.  The main difficulty with Islam occurs when it is practiced as a political system, rather than as a religion.  There are those who hold that Islam is inherently a political system.

There are some additional forces driving people from the Catholic Church.  In the U.S.  the Church has been very weak in speaking up for the rights of the unborn, the elderly and disabled, preferring to sell them out for government funding of their charitable and educational interests.   The U.S. Catholic church has also seen fit to place charitable functions and health care into the hands of a very corrupt government.   After doing this, the Bishops then feigned surprise that abortion, birth control coercion, and IPAB death panels were a part of the government health care plan, brought by the most pro-abortion/infanticide president in history.

Yours truly thinks it is plausible that the Catholic leadership in the U.S. knew what was coming all along.  It is observed that the nominally Catholic lawmakers who pushed this abortive health care agenda are still able to publicly partake in the Eucharist.  This serves as an indication that Obamacare, and all the death and destruction it is bringing our way, might  have  been pre-approved by the church leadership in America.

Does it make sense, with this in mind, to follow the example of Magdi Allam?   Pharmer is not taking such a step.   Perhaps it makes more sense to stick with the ideals of the Catholic religion as an ethical system apart from so many current clergy and leaders who not taking it seriously.

Perhaps it also makes more sense to abstain from the Eucharist in the place of Biden, Pelosi, et al, and do penance for having allowed them to govern us.  

 

Sister of Charity, Marge Kloos Agrees to Plead Guilty of Vote Fraud

~ Pharmer ~ 1 Comment

Sister Marge Kloos, 54, of the Sisters of Charity has agreed to plead guilty to a charge of fraudulent voting. She apparently sent in an absentee ballot for Sister Rose Marie Hewitt, who had been ‘celestially discharged’ on October 4th 2012.

Is Sister Marge a democrat? Pharmer bets the Pharm on it. The Chicago native joins the embarrassing list of Catholic left-leaners who signed  this Letter to John Boehner, which exhorts him to stop his cooperation with the “reckless Teaparty”.

Sister Marge  has resigned from her position as the dean of the Division of Arts and Humanities at Mount Saint Joseph College, in Delhi twp., Cincinnati, Ohio.

Sister Joan Cook, president of the Sisters of Charity says that her organization is  cooperating with the investigation of Sister Marge Kloos.

Pope Benedict XVI resigns, effective Feb 28.

~ Pharmer

It’s best to get the news in the Pope’s own words, brought to you by NewsMax.

Text of Pope Announcement he Will Resign Feb. 28.

“Dear Brothers,

I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the barque of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.

Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.”

 

Prayers for a peaceful retirement for Pope Benedict, and for the best guy to be chosen to succeed him.

It’s a good guess that the Pope wants the Church to have a vigorous and energetic leader during the tumultuous times ahead.  Pope Benedict has an IQ of  nine hundred 😉  but is the polar opposite of so many of our leaders today, who could not let go of power.   He knows that  it’s the mission, not the man, and likely wants to help pick the next Pope.

(Pharmer  would like it if  Cardinal Francis Arinze, were chosen, but that might be a long shot because he is 80 years old already, and might not feel up to the rigors of the job. Another possible pick is Cardinal Peter Turkson, of Ghana.  It would be good to have a Pope from an area of the world where the Church is growing, and where Catholics have  faced persecution, who would be ready to face the turmoil to come.)

Lawyer for Catholic Health Intitiatives Tosses out Church Directives in Lawsuit Defense.

~ Pharmer ~ 2 Comments

In malpractice case, Catholic hospital argues fetuses aren’t people | The Colorado Independent.

This legal maneuver doesn’t  enhance the public image of Catholic Health Initiatives, and you can bet that Obama’s vultures are circling.  It appears from reports that Lori Stodghill lost her life at Thomas More Hospital in Canon City due to a pulmonary embolism which led to a massive heart attack.  Her two unborn babies also died, and  the current lawsuit argues that this need not have happened.  Dr. Pelham Staples, the  hospital’s obstetrician on call did not answer his pager, for reasons unspecified in the reports.

The surprise inside this case is the lawyer, proffering a defense that the babies are not legal persons, and therefore are not protected by Colorado malpractice statutes.  Lawyer Jason Langley argued that the court “should not overturn the long-standing rule in Colorado that the term ‘person,’ as is used in the Wrongful Death Act, encompasses only individuals born alive. Colorado state courts define ‘person’ under the Act to include only those born alive. Therefore Plaintiffs cannot maintain wrongful death claims based on two unborn fetuses.”

This kind of defense is not a good idea for Catholic Health Initiatives for a number of ethical reasons.   It could also cost their member institutions  more in philanthropic contributions than the cost of losing the Stodghill lawsuit.

It also undermines any Catholic objections to the HHS mandate.  Obama’s team must be laughing themselves silly to see such a bad maneuver by this significant group of  ideological opponents.

Is this battle worth losing the war?

 

 

Federal Court Temporarily Blocks HHS Contraception Mandate for Private Business Owner | CNS News

~ Pharmer

“This is a big #^@&(N deal”…as Joe Biden would say.    A Federal court is blocking Obamanator’s HHS mandate for O’Brien Industrial Holdings, which operates several smaller companies: Christy Industrial Services, Christy Minerals Co., and Christy Refractories Co. The owner, Frank O’Brien is a Catholic, who wishes to adhere to his religious beliefs in operating his businesses.

The three judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a preliminary injunction which blocks the HHS mandates unconstitutional effects upon this privately owned company. Among the many lawsuits challenging the HHS mandate, this is the first decision rendered by a Federal appeals court.

Frank Manion of the American Center for Law and Justice is handling this case, which was first dismissed by a Federal district court judge before it was taken before the Eighth Circuit Court. The ACLJ has filed two other lawsuits against the Federal Government regarding the HHS mandate, and numerous Amicus briefs for other court challenges.

Federal Court Temporarily Blocks HHS Contraception Mandate for Private Business Owner | CNS News.

Life News: Obama Continues War on Women

~ Pharmer

Obama waged another battle in his war on women during the October 16 Town Hall debate against Romney.

“There are millions of women all across the country who rely on Planned Parenthood for mammograms, for cervical cancer screenings,”  Obama lied.

He said the same thing in an interview with Glamour magazine.  The problem is that no Planned Parenthood facilities do mammograms.  Life News has assembled links to some of the evidence and admissions from Planned Parenthood that they do NOT  have mammography equipment  at any one of their facilities, and are not  certified for such procedures.  Komen Foundation had sought to cancel grants to Planned Parenthood, on this basis, but backed down due to a media assault from the abortion giant.

The tax payer  funded, non-profit Planned Parenthood has allocated six million dollars for  ads to reelect Obama and the democrats.  There’s another  half million dollar ad dump in Ohio and Virginia, and another quarter million going for ads in Colorado, newly announced by America’s largest  abortion provider.

In answer to a question on jobs for women, Obama reiterated his plan to force employers to cover birth control, abortion and sterilization, otherwise known as the HHS mandate.  To help women in their jobs, Romney suggested flexible hours and a shot in the arm for employers and the economy, to allow opportunity for unemployed women.   Obama spoke of his  mandate  to  force employers to provide for  preventing or aborting  pregnancies.

Pro-lifer looks at the Vice Presidential Debate

~ Pharmer

The question concerning how the vice presidential candidates’ Catholic faith informs their view on abortion was easier for Ryan to deal with than for Biden.

Paul Ryan was able to clearly give his own pro-life position, but had to hedge on the policy which the Romney campaign has to put forth, which is to remove the public funds for abortion, but continue to permit abortion for rape, incest and so-called life of the mother exceptions.

Joe Biden looked down while delivering must of his answer, since, of course his so-called Catholic faith does not support his own pro-abortion position. It also does not support the extreme position of the Obama administration, which supports late term and post-birth abortion, and forces religiously run institutions and private businesses to pay for abortion, birth control and sterilizations through insurance.
Biden blatantly lied when he said that Catholic run institutions were not being affected by the HHS mandate.

Ryan asked: Then why is the Catholic Church still suing the Obama administration???