Thursday, May 31, 2012

Shameless Bias by Omission

Shameless Bias by Omission

The relentless pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Thurs. May 31/12

Thank you Brent Bozell - Townhall.com - May 23, 2012

You’d think the largest legal action in American history in defense of religious liberty would be a major new story. But ABC, CBS and NBC don’t judge news events by their inherent importance as relates to the future of our freedoms. They deliver the news according to a simple formula. Does it or doesn’t it advance the re-election of Barack Obama? IF IT DOESN’T, IT ISN’T NEWS.

On Monday, May 21, 43 Catholic dioceses and organizations sued the Obama administration over it ridiculous narrow idea of how a “religious institution” can be defined under the Obamacare law. Never has the Catholic Church -- or any order, for that matter - undertaken something of this magnitude. It’s truly jaw-dropping that ABC and NBC completely ignored this action on their evening newscasts, while “CBS Evening News” devoted just 19 seconds to this historic event. NO, LET’S BE BLUNT. THEY SPIKED THE NEWS.

This is the worst example of shameless bias by omission I have seen in the quarter-century history of the Media Research Center. We recall the Chinese Communists withholding from its citizenry for 20 years the news that the U.S. had landed on the moon because it reflected poorly on their government. Never, never would the U.S. “news” media behave thusly -- they just did.

This is not an honest mistake. It was not an editorial oversight by the broadcast networks. It did not occur too late for the evening deadline. This was a deliberate and insidious withholding of national news to protect the “Chosen One” who ABC, CBS and NBC have worked so hard to elect and for whom they are now abusing their journalistic influence. Even when CBS mentioned the suit … they deliberately distorted the issue by framing it as a contraception lawsuit when it is a much broader religious freedom issue…

This should be seen as a very dark cloud on Obama’s political horizon. The Catholic Church , with 60 million Americans describing themselves a Catholics, has unleashed legal Armageddon on the administration, promising “we will not comply” with a health law that strips Catholics of their religious liberty. If this isn’t “news,” then there’s no such thing as news…

Catholic taxpayers who help fund National Public Radio were also ignored on the evening newscast with that sad joke of a title -- “All Things Considered.”… The print press isn’t much better. For the Washington Post, there was a little one-column story buried on page A. That fish wrap known as USA Today had a really tiny headline and 128-word item at the very bottom of A2. The N. Y. Times had a perfunctory 419-word dispatch on A17...

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York the head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops used the word “horror” to describe what Team Obama is mandating. On the only broadcast show to give him coverage CBS “This Morning” anchor Charlie Rose asked Dolan if the White House misled him on this issue… anyone who heard Obama’s 2009 commencement speech at Notre Dame about “honoring the conscience: of his opponents on abortion has proven he is completely insincere…

George H. Kubeck - Now you can understand better what I mean by the 2 faced- double-standard media! Access Townhall.com daily; be the first to read Brent Bozell’s column. Weekly, he is on Sean Hannity Fox News- 6 PM.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Reasons to oppose Same-Sex Marriage

Reasons to oppose Same-Sex Marriage

In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegonespot.com - Wednesday, May 30, 2012

(Tradition, Family and Property - 866-661-0272 - TFP@TFP.org - www.TFP.org )
1.) It offends God: This is the most important reason. Whenever one violates the natural moral order established by God, one sins and offends God. Same-sex “marriage” does just this. Accordingly, anyone who professes to love God must be opposed to it.

Marriage is not the creature of any State. Rather, it was established by God in Paradise for our first parents, Adam and Eve. As we read in the Book of Genesis: “God created man in His image; in the Divine image he created him; male and female He created them, God blessed them, saying: ‘Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.” (Gen. 1:27-28) The same was taught by our Savior Jesus Christ: “From the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother; and shall cleave to his wife.” (Mark 10:6-7).

Genesis also teaches how God punished Sodom and Gomorrah for the sin of homosexuality: “The Lord rained down sumptuous fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah. He overthrow those cities and the whole Plain, together with the inhabitants of the cities and produce of the soil.” (Gen. 19:24-25)

2.)It is not Marriage: Calling something marriage does not make it marriage. Marriage has always been a covenant between a man and woman which is by its nature ordered toward the procreation and education of children and the unity and wellbeing of the spouses…

3.)It violates Natural Law: Marriage is not just any relationship between human beings. It is a relationship rooted in human nature and thus governed by natural law. Natural law’s most elementary precept is that ‘good is to be done and pursued, and evil is to be avoided.” By his natural reason, man can perceive what is morally good or bad for him…

4. It always denies a child either a Father or a Mother: It is in the child’s best interests that he be raised under the influence of his natural father and mother. This rule is confirmed by the evident difficulties faced by the many children who are orphans or raised by a single parent, a relative, or a foster parent… Same-sex “marriage” ignores a child’s best interests.

5. It validates and promotes the Homosexual Lifestyle: In the name of the “family,” same-sex “marriage” serves to validate not only such unions but the whole homosexual lifestyle in all its bisexual and transgender variants… Legal recognition of same-sex “marriage” would necessarily obscure certain basic moral values, devalue traditional marriage, and weaken public morality.

6.) It turns a moral wrong into a Civil Right: Homosexual activists argue that same-sex “marriage” is a civil rights issue similar to the struggle for racial equality in the 1960s. This is false… Same-sex “marriage” opposes nature. Two individuals of the same-sex, regardless of their race, wealth, stature, erudition or fame, will never be able to marry because of a … biological impossibility…

7.) It defeats the State’s purpose of benefiting Marriage: One of main reasons why the State bestows numerous benefits on marriage is that, by it nature and design, marriage provides the normal condition for a stable, affectionate, and moral atmosphere that is beneficial to the upbringing of children - all fruit of the mutual affection of the parents. This aids in perpetuating the nation and strengthening society, an evident interest of the State…

8.) It imposes its acceptance on all Society: By legalizing same-sex “marriage,” the State becomes its official and active promoter. The State calls on public officials to officiate at the new civil ceremony, orders public schools to teach its acceptability to children, and punishes any state employee who expresses disapproval…

George H. Kubeck - The above are 8 of 10 reasons from Tradition, Family and Property. (TFP)

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Tough Love for Bishop Stephen E. Blaire

Tough Love for Bishop Stephen E. Blaire

The relentless pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Tues. May 29, 2012

Let’s try to decipher and explain the fears of Bishop Blaire of the Diocese of Stockton, California. First of all, I am happy to report that I put Bishop Stephen E. Blair on my e-mail list I believe a couple of months ago. Now, I am referring to the three article that appeared on http://calcatholic.com, 5/28/2012 titled: A- Bishop Blaire calls for more discussions - B- Church getting co-opted by political right - C- Who speaks for California Bishops? 43 Catholic groups including 13 of 195 diocese filed a lawsuit to overturn Obama regulations in the new health care law, the Health and Human Services Mandate. (HHSM)

Bishop Blaire is worried that some groups on “very far to the right” are trying to use the conflict on the HHS mandate as “an anti-Obama campaign”. First of all, the term “very far to the right” is a term used by the politically correct culture of death advocates in America. Some within the Catholic church use the term to protect their liberal ideas as “religiously correct.” The term “very far to the right” refers to Catholics groups like myself that are strongly, pro-life, pro-marriage and pro-family. [ May I add that the word clinic should never be attached to Planned Parenthood. It is a site, facility or abortion mill. I am aware of this because I have been at abortion mills twice weekly for over 16 years.]

And in spite of progressivism, political or religious, America is happily today 50% pro-life and 41% pro-choice. Also, once we return to common sense, it was a mistake for Catholics to have voted for Clinton twice for president and a disaster for Obama in 2008.

Also, fundamentally the difference between President Obama and President Reagan is that Obama is a proud food stamp president and that President Reagan would be so ashamed that he would have resigned rather than be known as a food stamp president. Reagan was a job creator. He was not a person who wants to change the very nature and character of an American with anti-Christian pro-abortion & same-sex marriage agendas.

“According to Bishop Blaire, attorneys for California dioceses “did have some concerns with this strategy.” Well the attorneys outside of California felt otherwise. And why did not the California lawyers pursue this matter of the violation of the religious rights, conscience, and mission of the Catholic Church in California (which the State did) to the Supreme Court years ago?

Thank God this presidential election will not be decided in California. Bishop Blaire has a lot of work to do in California. Morally and financially the state is a Greek basket case.

One commentator (Mike) posted May 28, 2012 - 5:53 AM as follows: “Bishop Blaire has not done a great job in CA (along with some other CA Bishops). CA has more pro-abortion politicians, pro-gay marriage politicians, politicians who support relativism (no right and wrong), politicians who waste taxpayer dollars making it impossible to pay State debt load (CCC 2411), … than any other state in the U.S.A. When the CA Bishops have a State with moral results they can point to … then they can make recommendations to others.

“Until then, they need to mind their own Diocese. The leftist Bishops in Ca have dominated far too long and look at the mess we are in. Elected politicians determine the legal morality of the USA, along with judges they appoint. Blaire has no knowledge of how the country works, or merely wants the immoral anti-Catholic Socialist to remain in control.”

George H. Kubeck, Bishop Blaire needs to listen to talk radio KLAC 980 AM- M-F - Dennis Prager.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Memorial Day - Forest Lawn - Cypress, Ca.- 2012

Memorial Day - Forest Lawn - Cypress, California - 2012

In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Monday, May 28/12

Program- 10 A. M. - 11:15 A.M.

Prelude Music Cypress High School Band
James Quirion, Director

Master of Ceremonies Carl Millock, Commander
Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post #9847

Ceremony Host David MacDonald, Vice- President
Forest Lawn - Cypress

Posting of Colors Navy League Sea Cadets, Seal Beach Battalion
Training Ships Sea Lions

Presentation of Colors Dave Pfeifer, Officer of the Day
Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post #9947

Pledge of Allegiance Council Member Leroy Mills
City of Cypress

“The Star-Spangled Banner” Cypress High School Band
James Quiron, Director

Invocation Brigadier General George Vogel, Chaplain
Recognition of Gold Star Mothers Veterans Affairs Healthcare Services, Long Beach

“Gettysburg Address” William Peck as Abraham Lincoln

Pipe Major Dave Champagne

Presidential Proclamation Dr. Prakash Narain
Mayor Pro Tem, City of Cypress

“Armed Forces Medley” Cypress High School Band

Keynote Speaker Brigadier General George Vogel, Chaplain

“The Battle Hymn of the Republic” Cypress High School Band

Selected Comments

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord

We recall our countrymen who gave the supreme sacrifice. Waged war so that we might have peace. Upon the symbolic grave we will place wreathes of tribute.

The fight for freedom beyond our borders: We don’t want any land only the places where our soldiers died and can be buried. In Arlington, we have set up 250,000 flags and in Riverside, 175,000. I will go, I will fight and if necessary die. He lays down his life for our country and freedom.

We need to teach our children and grandchildren history. A lady asked who won World War II. She did not know. So that is why they died so that we don’t speak German or Japanese.

6,400 soldiers have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. We need to take care of their families, the widows and orphans. Memorial Day makes this day and life possible.
Happy Memorial Day,

George H. Kubeck, Thank you Forest Lawn Cemetery for making the above another Memorial Day!

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Supreme Knight, Carl A. Anderson on Religious Liberty # 6 of 6

Supreme Knight, Carl A. Anderson on Religious Liberty # 6 of 6

In pursuit of the truth- Cinops be gone -Pentecost Sunday, May 27, 2012

“When we seek by such means [the decision in Pierce versus Society of Jesus] to preserve our own identity as Catholics we are not a divisive force in society. To the contrary, actions that respect our religious diversity benefit all Americans.

“Earlier this month we observed the anniversary of the death of Blessed John Paul II. On that occasion many of us again recalled the words at the beginning of his great pontificate: “Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors of Christ.”

“We live in a time, when, from the standpoint of religious liberty, it seems that there are more doors closing, than doors opening. John Paul II often spoke of “a new springtime” of the Gospel.

“If he had been a an American he might have spoken of a new Great Awakening in America. One in which Catholics could pay a greater role than ever before.

“Every great religious renewal in America had led to an advance in civil rights - from the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights to the end of slavery and the pursuit of racial equality. But all of this has been achieved in the face of established power structures strongly and often violently opposed to these rights.

“So this a time for choosing - choosing whether as Catholics we will stand together to keep open the doors of religious liberty.

“If we do so, then we will make possible the next great awakening in America that will bring us closer to the building that culture of life and that civilization of love about which John Paul II so often spoke. May we, like Blessed John Paul II, be not afraid in our choosing.”

“Thank you very much.”

1/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/18/AR201l021803251.html 1/“rescinded most of a federal regulation that protected workers who refuse to perform services that they find morally objectionable.”

2/ Principles of Catholic Theology (1982) p. 391 2/ “neither embrace nor ghetto” can solve for the Church the problem of secular society.”

Google: Supreme Knight, Carl A. Anderson’s Address on Religious Liberty April 19th/12 - 8 pages

George H. Kubeck, Every parish and Knights of Columbus Council or Assembly has some good readers. If I can do it you can do it. On Tuesday, June 13th, 7:30 PM, I will give the talk by Supreme Knight, Carl A. Anderson at Cypress Council 8599 meeting, St. Irenaeus Church. It’s over by 8 P.M.

A Solemn Catholic Funeral - Thomas A. Fuentes, R.I.P

A Solemn Catholic Funeral - Thomas A. Fuentes, R.I.P.

In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Pentecost Sunday, May 27th/12

Preface: Tom Fuentes was pro-life. He is a role model for all Catholic-label politicians in America. He was joyful and an authentic Catholic soul in the public arena. May today’s gifts of the Holy Spirit shower on everyone as we live our lives and also ponder death, judgment, heaven or hell.

Frank Mickadeit, Register Columnist wrote in Orange County Register, Thurs, May 24/12

Fuentes directs from beyond: “ Tom’s overarching goal was the funeral to be an expression of Catholic faith, or as one mourner remarked as we stood in the courtyard of Santiago de Compostela [Catholic Church in Lake Forest, Calif.] after Wednesday’s Mass: “Solemn and Catholic with a capital ‘C’.”

“The night before I saw Tom lying in the plain pine casket built by Trappist monks for $1,000... Of course, he was wearing the robes and regalia of the Knights of Malta, the exclusive 1,000-year-old lay order. That was the dichotomy of Tom. He loved the simple but couldn’t resist the formal…

“The 18 Carmelite nuns in their black, brown and white habits who sang were there because his aunt had been a Carmelite for 63 years. The main celebrant of the funeral Mass, the Rev. Eugene Hayes of St. Michael’s Abbey, was there with a nine-member chorus chosen because of Tom’s long affection for the Trabuco Canyon Monastery.

“Monsignor Lawrence Baird, one of the few speakers who could match Tom’s own eloquence, was chosen to give the homily… And the incense, I can remember Tom complaining one time that too many churches used “cheap” incense. “Good incense,” he’d said, “comes from the Middle East. He tapped an Orthodox priest, Father Andrew Cuneo, to procure the “good” incense…

“And not in the least, his strong spirit of ecumenism. In fact, in addition to Bishop Tod Brown, Hayes, Baird and, by my count seven other Catholic priests on the altar, Fuentes set aside an area up front for an orthodox priest (Cuneo), a Protestant minister (Kent Crawford) and a Jewish rabbi (Daniel Lapin).”…

Martin Wisckol wrote: A Zest for Politics and Life - Orange County Register, Thurs. May 21/12: “He was a love guy,” T.J. Fuentes Jr. 25. “He loved life and everything that came with it.” Fuentes’ elder son went on… “In these past months, he taught me the right way to die,” he said. “He made sure every person who visited left our home knowing how much they meant to him.”

“Thomas Alexander Fuentes was a sixth-generation Californian who was Chairman of the Orange County Republican Party from 1985 to 2005. He built the county party into a national powerhouse in terms of reputation and fundraising, and by the mid-1990s had helped Republicans take control of every congressional and state legislative seat in the county.

“My dad had a great power of attraction,” eulogized Joey Fuentes, 18, Everyone from presidents to toddlers wanted to be next to him.” …

“He was active with the church, serving as communications director of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange from 1977 to 1989, and receiving several papal honors, including being named Knight of Malta. Additionally, he was co-founder of the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

“T.J., Joey and Michelle, 26, recounted lessons learned from their father, his mentorships, his love of cigars and garage sales, and how much he enjoyed a good time…

“Speaking at Tuesday service at Santiago de Compestela Catholic Church were Baugh, political commentators Hugh Hewitt, and Bruce Herschensohn, conservative publisher Tom Phillips and fellow Claremont Institute board member Brian Kennedy.”

George H. Kubeck - “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Commentary on Jim Arkedis' Article - Reaching Catholics

Commentary on Jim Arkedis’ Article - Reaching Catholics

The relentless pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Sat. May 26, 2012

Ref. http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/18reaching-catholics/

Jim, “That’s what Jesus said, and that’s the society President Obama wants to build.” “Some 90 members of Georgetown’s faculty* wrote a letter to Congressman Ryan that read, in part, “your budget appears to reflect the values of your favorite philosopher, Ayn Rand, rather than the gospel of Jesus Christ.” [Reading and listening to worldly politically liberation theology, Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers and Jim Wallis can really screw up the mind of any Catholic social justice person. All you need are the code words “Jesus says” and you dupe others to promote the Democratic political agenda. ghk] Now here are some comments by those who read Jim Arkedis’ article.

“This is an excellent summation and as a Catholic and a Democrat I can only add the following information to be found here: http://ncronline.org/catholics-american/religion-and-political-affil.. According to the “National Catholic Reporter” (NCR) (10/24/11) under the heading “Religion & Political Affiliation” note the following:” “Overall, 57 percent of Catholics affiliate with the Democrats and 40 percent with Republicans when those leaning toward one or the other party are included. The Democrats held a three-to-one lead before we included leaners. The “within generation” comparisons for 2011 show more Catholics affiliated with the Democrats than with the Republican in all four generations.” “The Common Good and social and economic justice are concepts long held by Catholics over many years and that will be the case for some time to come.” [But they don’t seem to promote Catholic marriage between a man and a woman, educate on the inherent evils of abortion, infanticide, embryonic stem-cell research, the sacredness of life and Christian family or the Catechism of the Catholic Church. NCR is a notorious anti-bishop dissident publication. They promote the CINOP. ghk]

Check out comments by others to Jim Ardkedis’ article:

1. “The bible was written by humans. What is important is to act how Christ would act.”

2. “Thanks for this wise, thoughtful and important article. “Who cares for the least of these, care for me. It’s about the common good, which is the core of Obama’s philosophy of government.” [pathetic!]

3. “When I go to vote, I do ask, “which of these would work toward policies that care for the least of us? Which of these would relegate the money changers to the back of the bus, and which of these would seek to bring more peace to the world?

4. “Finally a Catholic who gets it. This the best commentary on the Catholic vote I have seen. The mindset of Catholicism is having “a heart for the poor” When we speak about Gospel values nothing says it better than Jesus’ commentary on “who is making it into heaven”. “I was hungry and you gave me to eat, naked and you clothed me …” “and the scary “I was hungry and you did not feed me…” So simple, so very simple.

[All of the above is a most troubling Catholic mindset. They use the words of Jesus for political reason to promote basically prudential economic issues for the Demo Party and ignore at least three intrinsically absolute evils of the Democratic party agenda. ghk]

In closing, I believe it is time for all clerics to register as independents. First, let’s celebrate the most recent poll showing America is 50% pro-life and 41% pro-choice.

George H. Kubeck - *About 3 years ago, this is the same group that protested Cardinal Arinze when he promoted marriage and opposed same-sex marriage in an address at Georgetown University.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Supreme Knight, Carl A. Anderson on Religious Liberty - # 5 of 6

Supreme Knight, Carl A. Anderson on Religious Liberty #5 of 6

In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegonesblogspot.com - Thurs. May 24, 2012

Address to the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, Washington, D.C. - April 19th/12
“During this national prayer breakfast we can make the prayer of St. Thomas More in the Tower of London our own.

“Almighty God, have mercy - on all that bear me evil will,

And would me harm, And their faults and mine together … vouchsafe to amend and redress, Make us saved souls in heaven together, Where we may ever live and love together with Thee and Thy blessed saints … Amen

“As Christians we are called to be witnesses. But to be true witnesses we must preserve our Catholic identity - like St. Thomas More - preserve it especially from the heavy hand of government.

“We are also called to sustain our witness through prayer. How appropriate then that our bishops have called upon us to take up a great fortnight of prayer for religious freedom from the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More (June 21st) to July 4th.

“ During the current HHS controversy some have asked, “What kind of Christians would impose such a government mandate on our religious institutions?”

“In December, 1941, with Britain in mortal peril and America reeling after Pearl Harbor, Winston Churchill addressed the United States Congress. In that worst of times, he scorned the enemies of freedom and defiantly asked, “What kind of people do they think we are!”

“Today, with the same defiance, we can declare, “What kind of Catholics do they think we are?” Do they really expect us to go gently into that dark night they are preparing for religious liberty in America? Do they not know that people who believe in “one holy catholic and apostolic church” can never agree to compromise our Church by entangling it in intrinsically evil acts?

“Do they not see that faithful Catholics will never accept cynical political strategies of “divide and conquer” to separate us from our bishops? You and I have reason for hope. We have been successful in the past.

“Consider, for example, the national campaign in the 1920s by the Klu Klux Klan to close Catholic Schools . They succeeded in the state of Oregon until the Knights of Columbus and others succeeded in having the law declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. In it landmark decision in Pierce versus Society of Sisters the Court protected the rights of parents - of all denominations - to guide the education and moral upbringing of their children…”

George H. Kubeck - On Monday, forty-three Catholic organizations filed 12 lawsuits in Federal courts in an attempt to resist the Federal government’s intrusion into their various ministries… appealing to the First Amendment and the Federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Reaching Catholics: Obama Catholics # 2 of 2

Reaching Catholics: Obama Catholics # 2 of 2

In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegone.blogspot.com - Thurs. May 24/12

Jim Arkedis, Reaching Catholics - NYTimes.com - May 18/12
“Recent events suggest that these vast groups of Catholic voters (again: women, moderates, Latinos) are now more open to a progressive faith-based message than they have been perhaps since Kennedy-Nixon. The Obama campaign should tread lightly, however, and resist any poll driven urge to drive a wedge between the faithful and the official church positions on women’s issues or same-sex marriage. Divisive messaging probably won’t fly among most Catholics, who may grumble about their religious leaders’ positions, but don’t seek overt separation from them. I can’t say there is any scientific evidence to support this theory, but it comes from my observations over a lifetime in the Catholic community. [With Osama’s billion dollars, it is possible for him to persuade Catholics!]

“The Obama campaign’s message should unequivocally stand with the church and Jesus Christ’s humble message of social justice, equality and inclusion. These are distinctly Catholic themes that draw sharp contrasts for Catholics who have tried the Republican Party with less room for those who are not straight, male, white and self-sufficient.

“Mitt Romney’s embrace of Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget bill, replete with radical cuts to social-safety net programs, is a good place to start. The budget which Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, put together, and which the House passed, was rejected by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, who said the plan failed a “basic moral test.” Some 90 members of Georgetown’s faculty, wrote a letter to Ryan that read, in part, “your budget appears to reflect the values of your favorite philosopher, Ayn Rand, rather than the gospel of Jesus Christ.” The letter went on: …

“For its part, the White House protested that the Ryan budget imposes “a particular burden on the middle-class and the most vulnerable.” This argument should form the bedrock of Obama’s faith-based appeal to persuadable Catholics. A broad, upbeat theme of social justice will be enough for Obama to reach persuadable Catholics, who can interpret the message in concert with their beliefs. The president might quote Pope John Paul II, …

“New available date show the Obama campaign exactly where to target persuadable Catholics. On May 1, the United States Religious Census published a survey detailing where Catholics live on a county-by-county basis across the country… They heavily populate the Northeast, the upper Midwest, south Florida, southern Colorado and northern New Mexico and California. In other words, there are a lot of Catholics in crucial swing states. …

“Overlaying a map of densely Catholic counties on top of a map of persuadable voters shows that Obama re-election team has a unique chance to focus its social justice message on prized areas: heavily Catholic, moderate counties within swing states. This strategy prescribes very specific Catholic outreach efforts… In total, there are approximately 200 counties nation-wide that should end up on the camp again list. [Orange County, Ca. ?]

“What would a Catholic voter outreach program look like? … there are several progressive Catholic organizations - Catholics United, Catholics in Alliance, Catholic Democrats - that the campaign could engage first to build a volunteer corps… it’s a must: a positive social justice message could be what tips the balance toward the re-election for the president…

George H. Kubeck - In spite of the evils of partial-birth abortions, same-sex marriage, and embryonic-tem cell research, the writer of the above claims to be a moderate Democrat and a Catholic. He believes his party has a deep belief in social justice. “That’s what Jesus said, and that’s the society President Obama wants to build.” Could you imagine a post-election headline? Obama wins with the Catholic vote!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Reaching Catholics: Obama Catholics # 1 of 2

Reaching Catholics: Obama Catholics # 1 of 2

In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegone.blogspot.com - Wed. May 23, 2012

Preface: Reaching Catholics - NYTimes.com - by Jim Arkedis, May 18/12 - explains how Obama will win a majority of the Catholic vote in 2012. The need to stop this.

“In 2012, once again, Catholics should be the swing voters of a presidential race. They’re on of the country’s most divided and complex voting blocs, too. One third of Catholics are staunch social conservatives who view abortion as a litmus test when choosing a candidate. But Gallup polling finds the rest of Catholics slightly to the left of the country on most “values’ issues.

“Recent events have highlighted these divisions. After Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. a Catholic said he was “entirely comfortable” with same-sex marriage in early May, President Obama reportedly accelerated his announcement endorsing it. Church leaders condemned Obama, while 68% of Catholics - five points higher than the country as a whole - support legal & lesbian relationships, & 51 percent support same-sex marriage. [Shame]

“In February, the Obama administration thought it had come to an understanding with the United States Council of Catholic Bishops over a federal mandate compelling Catholic institutions to pay for health care plans that cover birth control. But in the end the bishops rejected an “unjust and unlawful” deal, which Mitt Romney called an “attack on religious tolerance.” Fifty-eight percent of Catholics - including 62 percent of Catholic women - sided with the Obama administration, three points more than the rest of the country.

“Then there is the Hispanic vote. At 50 million, Hispanics are the fasted growing bloc in the country, solidly Catholic,, and focused on the politics of immigration. In 2001, Karl Rove said that increasing the Republican share of the Hispanic vote was his mission, but the Republican Party doesn’t seem to paying attention to that line of thinking. Mitt Romney promised to veto the Dream Act, a proposed law that would provide a pathway to legal status for children of illegal immigrants, provide they serve in the military or attend college.

“Catholics are up for grabs this year, A Gallup poll from April has President Obama and Mitt Romney tied among Catholics, 46% each. At nearly 20 percent of the population, Catholic have roughly mirrored the popular vote in the last eight elections. They voted for Ronald Reagan and George Bush, but switched to Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. In 2000, Catholics, like the country, went under 50 percent for George W. Bush; but against John Kerry, Bush took 52 percent; by 2008, they’d flipped to Barack Obama, 54-45.

“It’s unclear whether the Obama campaign will specifically organize Catholic supporters or try to persuade moderate ones. This Monday, the campaign hired Michael Wear as its faith vote director. That’s an excellent first step, and Wear’s experience organizing faith-based outreach for Obama in 2008 and in the White House indicates that the Obama campaign is taking people who make their faith a priority seriously. Wear might have too much on his plate, however - the campaign Web site groups Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Southern Baptists and Muslims under one-size-fits-all “Voters of Faith” outreach program. It is a mistake to treat the Catholic vote just like the rest.

“Who Votes? A Series about the complexities of voters and voting. Perhaps no presidential candidate since John F. Kennedy has been able to unite this disparate flock. But President Obama’s task isn’t that tough. The key to winning the Catholic vote is to understand its composition - litmus-test abortion voters, moderates, women and Hispanics - and to aim to carry persuadable Catholics by healthy margins in crucial swing states. Failure to deliver them could cost the president re-election… G. H. Kubeck - Sadly, yesterday’s TV news did not report Catholic suit against the HHS Mandate.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Commentary on Catholics for Obama

Commentary on “Catholics for Obama”

The relentless pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Tuesday, May 22/12

Reference Reaching Catholics - NYTimes.com - article by Jim Arkedis, May 18, 2012 http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/18/reaching/catholics/

Wait!!! We must be calm, cool and collected. We try to change a negative into a positive. First of all we need to pray for them. Most likely they are definitely not converts to the Catholic faith. It is obvious that they fell through the cracks by not being properly catechized. Be sympathetic.

Try to bring them back to the reality of what is happening to our Church in America and in the world. Start with the question: Are you a Catholic for Castro? I think the first thought coming to his or her mind (influenced by the culture of death in America) is that this communist dictator has a pretty good health care system and it’s free.

Remind him that we have over a million Cuban refugees from this tyrant. Explain to him that the spirit of the world’s social justice is really a fake and many Catholics have been duped by it. Does he think that Castro is a hero for social justice? Wasn’t this also the appeal of the Nazis and the Fascist. Even with Italy’s Mussolini the trains arrived on time.

I recall reading in Italy after the second World War ended in 1945, we had Italian Catholics voting for communists. The masters of deceit make beautiful promises to ordinary folks.

Yes, social justice is what the Obama Catholics will focus on in this election. I wish someone will write a pamphlet about the 1930’s in Germany. Like the communist, the Nazis were top notch world social justice freaks duping many Catholics for Hitler. Everyone has a job with great health care. There is a VW car in your future.

Try to direct him to read some of the letters on this blog. It deals with Catholic-in-name-only politicians and common sense. This blog is a voice crying in the wilderness. There are more than 1400 letters posted on “cinops be gone” since May, 2007. The information letters did not stop the election of Obama in 2008 or Catholic-in-name-only politicians like Loretta Sanchez, Nancy Pelosi or despicable Jerry Brown. [He destroyed my honorable public school teaching profession when he signed the Rodda Act in 1975.] FYI - cinops stands for catholic-in-name-only politicians. Be gone stands for go to hades [hell]. I hesitated to use the word hell.

What is the difference between the worldly social justice of Germany in the 1930’s (National Socialism) and the (Marxist Socialism) of Stalin, and Obama Socialism in 2012.

There is no difference. The article by Jim Arkedis in the New York Times states that Catholics United, Catholic Alliance and Catholic Democrats could round up Obama Catholics for voting this November. [I will cover this article in my next letter.]

We have this two-faced double-standard [Pravda/Gobbels] New York Times doing this. This newspaper hates the Catholic Church and practicing Catholics, particularly pro-life ones. The New York Times just loves and promotes the CINO politicians and their supporters. New York Times is the mouthpiece for what Blessed Pope John Paul II called the culture of death in America. How shallow a person is to be an Obama Catholic!  George H. Kubeck, to be continued

Monday, May 21, 2012

Supreme Knight, Carl A. Anderson on Religious Liberty # 4 of 6

Supreme Knight, Carl A. Anderson on Religious Liberty # 4 of 6

In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Monday, May 21, 2012

Reference to the Address in # 1
“Earlier, the Obama Administration applied a similar standard to individual rights of conscience when it “rescinded most of a federal regulation that protected workers who refuse to perform services they find morally objectionable.”

“Healthcare workers now face the choice of holding onto their religious beliefs or their jobs. In other words, if the health care institution provide services contrary to the Catholic moral teaching, Catholic doctors and nurses need not apply. And so, we see a new government intolerance of religion.

“Perhaps this is why Cardinal Francis George has referred to the Obama Administration as “the most secularist administration I think we have ever had in this country.”

“During his visit to Washington Pope Benedict XVI reminded us that: “Christians are easily tempted to conform themselves to the spirit of this age.” The spirit of our age is profoundly secular.

“And secularism accepts religion - if it accepts it at all - only on its own terms. Under this view, religion is subordinated to the political interests of the secular state. And it is precisely this subordination of religion to the state that the First Amendment seeks to prevent.

“Let us be clear,: we value religious liberty not only because it protects our personal autonomy. We value religious liberty because of the good which religion brings into the life of the individual believer and into the life of our nation.

“Before he was elected pope, Cardinal Josef Ratzinger wrote that “neither embrace nor ghetto” can for the Church the problem of secular society. Instead, Cardinal Ratzinger counseled that we must constructively engage secularism.

“The question for us is, “How do we as Catholics go about doing this in the United States today?” Last year the Secretary of Health and Human Services told a NARAL luncheon, “ We are in a war.”

“I sincerely hope we can put away such partisan rhetoric. We do not need a government that sees itself at “war” with its own citizens. We should counsel a different approach. Awaiting execution in the Tower of London, St. Thomas More wrote a prayer which we have included in our Knights of Columbus prayer book.”..
George H. Kubeck,

The good news is that the eight page address by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson to the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast on April 19th in Washington, D.C. can be accessed by the internet and Google. This will make it possible for any good reader to present this classic talk to the parish or Knight of Columbus Assembly. It is most appropriate for the fortnight of prayer beginning June 21st to July 4th in this or any other U.S. diocese.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Supreme Knight, Carl A. Anderson on Religious Liberty # 3 of 6

Supreme Knight, Carl A. Anderson on Religious Liberty # 3 of 6

The relentless pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Sat. May 19/12

This is part 3 of Carl’s Address to the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. April 19, 2012
“Similarly, the HHS mandate allows only the narrowest exemption for religious institutions. The exemption exists only for institutions that, among other things, hire and serve only members of their own faith.

“As Cardinal Daniel DiNardo put it: Jesus himself, or the Good Samaritan … would not qualify as ‘religious enough’ for the exemption, since they insisted on helping people who did not share their view of God. Christians are called to reach beyond their own denominations in teaching ‘all nations,’ considering everyone their “neighbor”, and doing “good to those who hate” them. So in a country where three quarters of the population professes to be a Christian, the administration insists upon a religious exemption that Christ himself cannot meet.

“In the Hosanna-Tabor case, the Administration sought to impose a new definition of ministry so narrow that ministers didn’t fit. In its HHS mandate, the Administration insists on an exemption so narrow that organizations can qualify only by violating the teaching of their church. Consider if the administration’s view in the Hosanna-Tabor case prevailed.

“Churches and religious organizations would have found themselves at the mercy of what the Supreme Court unanimously characterized as “government interference with an internal church that affects the faith and mission of the church itself.

“Precisely the same can be said of the HHS mandate. A Government willing to affect the faith and mission of the church is a government willing to change the identity of the church. And what can we expect in the future.

“The National Right to Life Committee makes a compelling case that the Obama Administration’s “accommodation” for the HHS mandate - if accepted - paves the way for mandated coverage of “abortion on demand.” But if the HHS mandate and the Hosanna-Tabor case have been among the most egregious assaults on religious liberty, they are not the only ones.

“Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services denied funding of the Catholic Church’s work with victims of human trafficking. The Conference of Catholic Bishops had successfully administered the program for five years, but after the ACLU filed suit demanding that the program refer women for abortions and contraception, HHS restructured the program. As a result, highly qualified providers such as the Catholic Church are now barred from the program because they cannot, in good conscience, provide what HHS calls the “full range” of reproductive services - namely abortion and contraception.

“Once again the Administration’s logic is consistent: faith-based groups may apply only if their “faith mission” are acceptable to the government”..

George H. Kubeck, What do you think? At this point, this talk so far should be read not only to members of the Knights of Columbus but to the whole parish. And with your help it will be.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Supreme Knight, Carl A. Anderson on Religious Liberty # 2 of 6

Supreme Knight, Carl A. Anderson on Religious Liberty # 2 of 6

In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Thurs. May 17/12
Reference to the address in #1

Preface: Prayer Intentions of Pope Benedict XVI for May, 2012 - The Family: That initiatives which defend and uphold the role of the family may be promoted within society.

“But perhaps we do need to be reminded that King’s letter relied upon our own Catholic natural law tradition. He cited Saint Augustine that “an unjust law is not law at all.” And he asked, “How does one determine when a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. A unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with moral law.”

“He went on to say, “To put it in the terms of Saint Thomas Aquinas, an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law. There you have the ancient teaching of the Catholic Church, summed up by a Baptist preacher under arrest for living by it.

“When you visit the new memorial to Dr. King on our national mall, read carefully the 14 quotations inscribed there. You will not find a single reference to God. Not one. Imagine how those in authority must have searched to come up with 14 quotes of Dr. King without one mention of the Almighty.

“There is no more shocking symbol of the ongoing campaign to drive religion out of our public life. King’s statue looks across the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial dedicated to the president who is now championed by secularists for inventing a “wall of separation” between Church and the State. Ironically, while the King Memorial was scrubbed by any reference to our Creator, in Mr. Jefferson’s memorial, the wall reads that “The God who gave us life, gave us liberty.”

“And they ask us, “Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are a gift of God?” A great deal hinges on how we answer that question.

“On the occasion of receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature, Alexander Solzhenitsyn spoke of the ideological manipulation of history that occurred in Russia under Soviet communism. It was, he said, “a closing, locking up, of the national heart, [and an] amputation of the national memory.” He warned that when this happens, a nation “has no memory of its own self. It is deprived of it spiritual unity. And even though compatriots apparently speak the same language, they suddenly cease to understand one another.”

“Solzhenitsyn devoted his life to prevent the militant atheists in his country from destroying the soul of the Russian people by re-writing their history. How would Solzhenitsyn have viewed the controversy surrounding the King Memorial? Would he have seen it as preserving the spiritual unity of America or as one more symptom of a trend to separate Americans from their religious heritage?

“In 1954, the Knights of Columbus was instrumental in having Congress place the words “under God” in our Pledge of Allegiance. Those words were placed in our pledge in part to mark a stark contrast between the ultimate source of our rights and the pretensions of the atheist totalitarian dictatorships of the 20th century. These pretensions were well summarized by Benito Mussolini in 1919 when he said, “Everything within the state, nothing outside the state, everything for the state.”

George H. Kubeck, to be continued

Apples and Oranges

Apples and Oranges

The relentless pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblosgspot.com - Thurs., May 17/12

Marriage and Same-Sex Marriage: This is a legal matter which the Supreme Court must decide. I believe it will be for historic marriage the relationship between a man and a woman and children. This matter should have been taken to the Supreme Court years ago.

Resolved that the historic definition of marriage cannot be changed in the name of a supposed civil rights issue in favor of same-sex marriage. However, here is the present mindset of not only the Obama regime but the secular U.S. culture. Check the following out from First Things, May 2012 - The Selma Analogy - by R.R. Reno- The Public Square - 3

“The courts have used reasoning from historic civil rights decisions to redefine marriage… The civil rights movement fought against a racist mentality that made a racial characteristic than a chosen act socially and legally decisive… Most Americans accepted the massive intrusion of state power into social life after the Civil Rights Act, the most got behind the new social consensus that denounced and punished racism….

“When we deem homosexual acts immoral, we are not stigmatizing a class of persons, we’re exercising our moral reason about the rightness and wrongness of actions. Unlike racism, principled opposition to homosexual rights has a firm basis…

“Chai Felblum is an Obama appointee to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission who recognizes that the Selma analogy is based on a degree moral disagreement. In the past, people thought that being male and female mattered in sexual morality. Now they don’t, or at least lots of powerful, well-educated people like Chai Feldblum don’t. And these powerful people have a very large and powerful legal and social bulldozer at their disposal, one created by the civil rights movement. And they will use it - because they can.

“She sees the future this way: “Positive changes in the moral values of our country - such moral values that honor and love between two people, regardless of their gender - will inherently and necessarily pose a challenge to those who believe, for religious or other reasons, that such love is sinful.” The “challenge” is that the coercive power of government and social censure of elite opinion will force people to accept homosexuality whether they like it or not.

“For example, when asked her opinion on the conflict between homosexual rights and the moral commitments of religious institutions she insisted that ”in almost all cases sexual liberty should win, because that’s the only that the dignity of gay people can be affirmed by any realistic manner.” It’s a frank statement that clarifies how few restraints progressives feel once they are convinced that they are fighting for “the greatest civil-rights issue of our times.”… “We are entering into a new phase of the culture war. It’s a prospect that will give an even more literal meaning to the dictatorship of relativism.”
George H. Kubeck,
P.S. Well the progressives are mistaken. Tough Love persuades that the redefinition of marriage is not going to raise the dignity of gay people. Too many lies are in operation. We are going into an area where you have to answer questions like the following: In detail, let’s study the sexual relationship between two males or two females. What are the health problems? What is the average life expectancy? What’s the financial cost to the country? Years ago I took evening courses in law.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Supreme Knight, Carl A. Anderson on Religious Liberty # 1 of 6

Supreme Knight, Carl A. Anderson on Religious Liberty # 1 of 6


In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Wed. May 17/12

Preface: The following is Carl Anderson’s whole address to the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast on “Religious Freedom.” Washington, D.C. April 19th 2012. My purpose is to inform K. of C. members, other Catholics and Christians of the very serious attacks on the U.S. Catholic Church and persuade all to participate in some activity during “Fortnight of

Freedom” throughout the nation - June 21st to July 4th

“We come together at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast to publicly offer thanks for the blessings of American liberty, a freedom which, in its extent and its endurance, is unique in human history.

We also come to publicly affirm our determination to preserve that liberty, for us and for our fellow citizens, and to ask the Lord’s guidance in doing so.

There are times when we need that help more than others. This is such a time.

I venture to say that, never in the lifetime of anyone present here, has the religious liberty of the American people been as threatened as it is today…

There are some truths and some historical realities which should not need repeating. But in today’s society & in this year’s official Washington we must repeat them.

We must remind our fellow Americans, and especially those who exercise power, that religious liberty - the freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment - has been essential to the founding, development, and improvement of the American Republic.

Before there was an American Revolution, there was what historians called the First Great Awakening, which swept through the colonies and transformed their outlook.

The Second Great Awakening led to the abolition of slavery, as well as the other great reform movements of the nineteenth century.

The third wave of religious energy led to reforms in education, labor, and women’s rights.

Alexis de Tocqueville observed the profound connection between religion and liberty in our national life. “Religion does not give [Americans’ their taste for freedom, he said. “It singularly facilitates their use of it.” We may ask: Is this historical connection between Christianity and liberty an accident of history or is it something fundamental?

Our Founders answered that question unequivocally. They declared that we are “endowed” by our “Creator” with inalienable rights.

Washington’s Farewell Address insisted that religion and morality are “indispensable supports of our political prosperity,” warning that “reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can be retained without religion.”

Adams asserted that “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is “he said, “wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Those views have echoed down through our history. Perhaps most notable in 1961 when President Kennedy, in his inaugural Address, spoke of the rights for which our “forbears fought,” namely, “the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.” According to a poll we conducted for the 50th anniversary of that speech, 85 percent of the Americans still agree with Kennedy…

No one needs to be reminded that this belief was the driving force behind the life’s work of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. In his historic letter from the Birmingham jail, Rev. King said that he and his followers “were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judeo-Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to these great wells of democracy which,” he said, “were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and our Declaration of Independence.”… to be continued. George H. Kubeck

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Commentary on Tony Villar a.k.a. Antonio Villaraigossa

Commentary on Tony Villar a.k.a. Antonio Villaraigosa

The relentless pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Tuesday, May 15/12

Preface: The culture of death advocates just love to finance Catholic-in-name-only politicians. They found one in Tony Villar. He’s a duped politician who sold his soul and his Latino family values and heritage for what. His wife divorced him for a number of reasons. He is a member of the ACLU. Who is he? How does one deal with a sick CINOP who still uses the Catholic label in the political arena? He has no character or integrity!
*****
Antonio Villaraigosa is the pro-abortion Catholic mayor of Los Angeles. He donated $25,000 to fight Prop 8, and the Defense of Marriage initiative. He has bragged about conducting “marriages” of homosexual pairs. Just think, he is also chairman of the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina Sept. 3 through Sept. 7.

Antonio wants a same-sex marriage plank in the Democratic national platform. But wait! Congratulations to North Carolina! They passed an amendment by a wide margin (61% to 39%) declared that “marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state” and thus prevents the legalization of civil unions as well as same-sex marriage.

“This is not a partisan issue, but a matter of justice, fairness and equality for the law to uphold every child’s basic right to be welcomed and raised by his or her mother and father together,” Bishop Cordileone added.

These culture of death advocates are masters of deceit and deception. They imitate the Communists. They are liars. They want to change nature and natural law. That is diabolical. They believe that the relationship between a man and a woman in marriage is the same as that between two men or two women. That is a horrible deceitful lie.

They will call you a bigot and a homophobe. They are culture of death liars. We are not going to take these smears, brainwashing and intimidation of ourselves or our nation. They are comparing apples and oranges. Who do these elitists think they are? Forget about shopping at Home Depot, Star Bucks Coffee or Progressive Insurance.

We are fools if we allow ourselves to be brainwashed and say nothing. We will not become Zombies or clones of the death culture. Civil rights has nothing to do with same-sex marriage. The good news is that many Black preachers have opposed same-sex marriage and President Obama’s position on it. They know it is a fabricated civil rights issue.

I was listening to Dennis Prager AM 870 from about 9:15 to 9:45 A.M. He was talking about Sally Quinn, a Washington Post columnist who is a strong advocate for same-sex marriage. For her this is inevitable. It’s part of our culture. It’s like the mindset of the communists that socialism is inevitable. Well, America will not be America any more.

A lot of harm has been done by people who mean well with feelings, compassion and lots of money. How about some common sense, reason and natural law. The liberals do not want to think in that area. We cannot live a lie in the public arena. Prevention and education is worth a pound of cure. Christians are not alone in fighting S-S-Marriage…

George H. Kubeck - For more info ref. California Catholic Daily - May 14, 2012



Monday, May 14, 2012

Dennis Prager - A Light for Traditional America

Dennis Prager - A Light for Traditional America

In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Monday, May 14, 2012

Both political parties need to debate at least two fundamental issues in this presidential election campaign. They are 1) The First Amendment to the Constitution and 2) Marriage. The debate should takes place on national radio or TV, a few times.

I believe the Leftist in the Democratic Party are unwilling and basically afraid to debate these issues in the public forum. Why? Their positions are based on feelings with no rational, natural law or common sense foundation. In this debate, Dennis Prager would represent the American Values. Because the aforementioned may not happen it is for Catholics and other Christians an absolute necessity to listen to Prager on Talk Radio - KLAC - AM 870 - 9-12 noon- M-F. You can start sooner than between June 21st - July 4th.

From the internet- http://dennisprager.com, Dennis Prager’s new book: “Still the Best Hope: Why the World Need American Values to Triumph.”

“The whole world must decide between American values and its two opposition alternatives, Islamism and European-style democratic socialism.

“Prager - a bestselling author, columnist, and nationally syndicated radio talk show host who is read and heard by millions of people in America and abroad - makes the case for the American value system as the most viable program ever devised to produce a good society. Those values are explained here more clearly and persuasively than ever before.

“Prager -- whose mantra on his SRN program is that he prefers “clarity over agreement” could not be clearer when it comes to the subject of his newest book.

“There are three ideas - or religions, if you will - competing for humanity’s allegiance. Leftism, Islamism, and Americanism”. Prager says in his book, “Still the Best Hope: Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph - that is the best system every devised for making a good society.

“He adds: “There one thing the Left has excelled at over the last 100 years, demonizing its opponents. With few - actually very few - exceptions, conservative talk radio has been overwhelmingly hate free. Take, for example my Salem radio colleagues - Bill Bennett, Mike Gallagher, Janet Mefferd, Hugh Hewitt, and Michael Medved - and myself, is even one of us a hate monger? To anyone who has ever listened to us, the question is absurd. All of us attack positions, rarely people, and never with expressions of hate.” [The elite and the leftist press has repeated this lie and you the public has suffered from it.]

“Still the Best Hope deals with 3 huge themes. The first is perhaps the most persuasive explanation for why Leftism has been and will always be a moral failure, despite its acknowledged appeal to many people of good will. The second explains why fundamentalist Islam, despite its historic and growing appeal, cannot make a good society… The third is a singularly persuasive defense and explanation of what Prager call the “American Trinity”, liberty, values rooted in the Creator, and the melting pot ideal. These values are inscribed on every American coin as “Liberty,” “In God We Trust,” and “E Pluribus Unum,” and they are the reasons for America’s greatness. Without them, America will cease to be an exceptional nation, and therefore cease to be America… For if the world does not adopt American values, the result will be chaos and barbarism…”

George H. Kubeck - Also, check out “Prager University” and the section “Are You a Liberal?”

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Tongues of Fire

In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Mother’s Day, May 13/12

Are we looking for men and women with tongues of fire during this two week period - June 21st to July 4th? The U.S. Catholic Bishops have designated this “fortnight of freedom” a great hymn of prayer for our country. The statement on religious liberty dated April 12th was titled, Our First, Most Cherished Liberty.

Let’s take a look and make some personal comments on Pope Benedict XVI’s insightful Bavarian radio address over 25 years ago, May 15, 1986: “Saint John Chrysostom comments on the passage in the Apostle that relates how Paul and Barnabas healed the lame man in Lystra.

“The excited crowd saw in these strange individuals who could exercise such power a visitation of the gods of Zeus and Hermes. They called the priests and wanted to offer a sacrifice of bullocks. But Barnabas and Paul were appalled and called to the crowd.

“We are mortals just like you, and we bring you good news” (Acts 12:15) They were to be sure, mortals like others because Tongues of Fire had rested upon their human nature. That is what distinguishes the Christian - that he has received a tongue of fire in addition to his human nature.

“That is how the Church came into being. Each person receives the tongue of fire that is wholly and personal his and, as this person, he is a Christian in a unique and inimitable way.

“Admittedly, one who encounters the average Christian today is likely to inquire: “But where, then, is the tongue of fire?” The words spoken by Christian tongues today are unfortunately anything but fire. They taste all too much like water that has been left standing and is barely lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. [Think of the CINOP!]

“We have no desire to burn either ourselves or others, but in not doing so we place ourselves at a distance from the Holy Spirit and our Christian Faith degenerates into a self-made philosophy of life that wants to disturb as few as possible of our comfortable habits and relegates the sharpness of protest to a place where it can cause the least inconvenience to our customary way of life.

“If we elude the burning fire of the Holy Spirit, it is only at first glance that being Christian seems easy for us. What is comfortable for the individual is uncomfortable for the whole. Where we no longer expose ourselves to God’s fire, the friction among us becomes insupportable and the Church, to quote Saint Basil, is torn by the cries of interior factionalism. [Ex. The invitation by Georgetown’s Jesuits to have Kathleen Sebelius as commencement speaker; and “America” magazine not supporting Cardinal Dolan on the HHS Mandate.]

“Only when we are not afraid of the tongues of fire or of the strong wind that accompanies them does the Church become an icon of the Holy Spirit. And only then does she open the world to the light of God.

“The Church had her origins when the disciples gathered with one mind in the room where they had celebrated the Last Supper and prayed there together. It thus that she begins over and over again. In our prayers for the bestowal of the Holy Spirit, let us always call upon her.”*

George H .Kubeck, *Meditation for May 13th from the 1992 book, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, “Co-Workers of the Truth, Meditations for every day of the Year” Ignatius Press - San Francisco





Saturday, May 12, 2012

National Catholic Prayer Breakfast - The HHS Mandate

In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Saturday, May 12, 2012

Mark Pattison - Catholic News Service: - Washington (CNS)-

“Religious liberty was topic A at the eight annual National Prayer Breakfast, held April 19 at a Washington hotel.

“Never in the lifetime of anyone present here has the religious liberty of the American people been as threatened as today,” warned Carl Anderson, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus, in remarks to the estimated 800 people in attendance.

“We must remind our fellow Americans, and especially those who exercise power, that religious liberty - the freedom guaranteed by the first Amendment - has been essential to the founding, development and improvement of the American republic.

“Anderson said, “Today we find a new hostility to the role of religious institutions in American life at a time when government is expanding its reach in extraordinary ways. And it’s not only because of the Obama administration’s HHS contraception mandate.

“Besides the mandate requiring that most health plans cover the cost of contraception, sterilization and some drugs that can induce abortion. Anderson pointed to the Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC case, a court challenge to a Lutheran school’s firing of a teacher. The attempt to more narrowly define who is a religious employee was unanimously rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court.

“He also noted the revocation of a federal human trafficking grant awarded to the U.S. bishops’ Department of Migration and Refugee Services because MRS would not offer its clients the “full range of reproductive services,” including abortion.

“A government willing to affect the faith and mission of the church is a government willing to change the identity of the church,” Anderson declared.

“During his (2008) visit to Washington, Pope Benedict XVI reminded is that ‘Christians are easily tempted to conform to the spirit of the age,’” he said, “The spirit of our age is profoundly secular. And secularism accepts religion - if it accepts it at all - only on its own terms.

“Under this view, religion is subordinated to the political interest of the secular state. And it is precisely this subordination of religion to the state that First Amendment weeks to prevent…” [ More info in the Orange County Catholic article in May 2012]

George H. Kubeck -
The bottom line is how to get the information to the parishioners of each diocese. Make them realize how serious this matter is because after the presidential elections Catholics and other Christians could be second-class citizens. The influence of the death culture blew my mind the other day where some poll came out with 51% so-called Catholics favoring the big lie -same-sex marriage.
I personally will be involved with door to door political missionary work during the special “Fortnight for Freedom” beginning June 21st to July 4th in all U.S. diocese.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Background to the Occupy Wall Street Movement

The relentless pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Friday, May 11/12

Preface: Why don’t we get this information from the mainstream media? Let me explain! What was the difference between the media in Nazi Germany and in Communist Russia? Nothing, both were mouthpieces for their evil regimes.

We have in America a two-faced, double-standard media. This mainstream media is the mouthpiece for the Secular humanist religion in America. This is absolutely true on the issue of same-sex marriage. On this social issue, Obama is banking on victory in Nov.

Same-Sex marriage is a lie. If you repeat a lie a thousand times like Hitler did, many people even ordinary folks will believe it. After all if you believe that marriage is between a man and a woman only, then you are a bigot. President Obama has a billion dollars and this sweet talking pied piper is gambling to secure the margin of victory honestly or dishonestly. Remember this guy is from Chicago where dead people vote.

Now, let’s get excerpts from the booklet by David Horowitz and John Perazzo, titled “Occupy Wall Street”, David Horowitz Freedom Center, www.frontpagemag.com

“When communism collapsed twenty years ago, its progressive supporters and apologists in the West did not put on sackcloth and ashes and beg forgiveness for the catastrophes they had helped to create. Instead, they bided their time and waited until circumstances would conspire to give their socialist fantasies new life…”

Well sick Marxist socialism has been revived. “On September 17, 2011 , a group calling itself Occupy Wall Street (OWS) staged a demonstration with 5,000 activists near the hub of New York City’s financial district. Their stated purpose was to condemn the “greed” they identified as Wall Street’s hallmark…” [The Jim and Jerry Ice Cream Corporation is financially supporting the Wall Street movement.]

“In the first forty days of protests, the New York Times and The Washington Post devoted 224 mainly positive articles to the squatters who made up the movement.” [Two newspapers for the bird cages]

“OWS portrays itself as a spontaneous eruption of popular anger by grassroots of the “99%” who are outraged at the way the “1%” have allegedly rigged American society for their own advantage… The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman characterized OWS as part of a worldwide pattern of “spontaneous social protests,” while Congressman Nancy Pelosi lauded the movement as “young,” “spontaneous” and “focused.” She is pathetic.

“Far from being “spontaneous,” however, OWS was orchestrated by a long-established network of radical activists. Among them are operatives from ACORN, left-wing philanthropies and socialist unions. [Let’s not forget George Soros.] OWS is an exercise in serial mendacity, which is not surprising for a movement that is an assault on a democracy that has created readily accessible avenues for redressing grievances, correcting injustices and transferring power.
George H. Kubeck

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Excommunicate “New Ways Ministry”
The relentless pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Thurs. May 10, 2012
The following are excerpts from a LifeSiteNews article titled “Renegade Nun presents ‘A Catholic case for Same-Sex Marriage” by Ben Johnson, Wed. Feb. 15, 2012

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that homosexual activity constitutes “grave depravity … Under no circumstance can they be approved.” [This activity is contrary to Natural Law and should not be promoted and encouraged.]

On Valentine’s Day, a priest and a nun penned an op-ed in the Washington Post entitled, “A Catholic Case for Same-Sex Marriage.” Sister Jeannine Gramick and Francis DeBernardo of “New Ways Ministry in Mt. Rainier, Maryland, wrote, “ Many Catholics … understand that lesbian and gay love is a natural as heterosexual love.” [These Catholics have been misinformed by so-called Catholic homosexual agenda advocates and need to be exposed and censored by the bishops in their diocese. If they are unable to do that, the bishop should resign. This has now become a presidential election issue. Many Catholics are misinformed about the true nature of same-sex marriage.]

[We have the likes of Governors Jerry Brown in California, Andrew Cuomo in New York, Pat Quinn in Illinois, Martin O’Malley and Christine Gregoire acting against the strongly expressed opposition of their Catholic church’s bishops.]

Robert Morse, president and founder of The Ruth Institute, a project of the National Organization for Marriage. “There is nothing Catholic about what they’re Catholic about what they are saying at all.” [It is time to put an end to this farce and horrendous scandal within the Catholic Church. It is the reason why many Catholics are fundamentally confused and support same-sex marriage.]

“Sister Jeannine Gramick has been at odds with the Magisterium of the Church for decades,” Marcus Pilenger, Director of Policy Studies at the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, told LifeSiteNews.com. … Church teaching is not defined by polls, not by popular opinion, not by politicians, not by the ideological winds of ‘social justice,’ not even by Sister herself, but by what the Church, in fact, teaches.”

Dr. Morse, who testified in Olympia against Washington state’s same-sex marriage bill, said such a change would carry drastic consequences for the family and for society as a whole. “The natural reality of mother and father is being defined out of existence and being replaced with something that is a legal and social construct.” [What strikes me is the absolute arrogance of the secular humanist to change the meaning of the word marriage contrary to traditional American beliefs founded on our Founding Fathers & Constitution.]

Marriage, motherhood, and fatherhood “are natural realities … that predate any government,” Dr. Morse stated, “The Church stands for that natural reality against the State attempting to redefine if for its own purposes and for the benefits of a special interest group… All of this expansion of the State is being done to accommodate the growth of so-called sexual freedom.” [Abortion is to be an absolute right! So will be fornication, adultery and pornography. To Hades with this kind of hogwash!]

George H .Kubeck

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

A Talk on Timothy Cardinal Dolan and HHS Mandate - 4 of 4

A Talk on Timothy Cardinal Dolan and the HHS Mandate - 4 of 4
In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Wednesday, May 9, 2012

This is the last page to the talk I gave to “Catholic Men’s Fellowship” on Saturday morning May 5th at St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Church in Huntington Beach, California

Ref.: I (Cardinal Timothy Dolan) Owe You and Update- posted on this blog- Mon. 3/5/12
Cardinal Dolan's blog: http://blog.archny.org/
In Closing
Now we have a statement on religious liberty dated April 12th from the U.S. Catholic bishops. It was titled, OUR FIRST, MOST CHERISHED LIBERTY.

The question is! How we are going to meet this challenge in an appropriate way to the Health and Human Service Mandate?

This year the Catholic bishops propose a special “fortnight for freedom” in which bishops in their own diocese might arrange special events to highlight the importance of defending our freedom … They suggest that the fourteen days from June 21 - the vigil of the feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More - to July 4, Independence Day be dedicated to this “fortnight for freedom” a great hymn of prayer for our country.

GRANT TO OUR LEADERS THE WISDOM TO PROTECT AND PROMOTE OUR LIBERTIES
Thank you for listening. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

**********************************
The questions were of a nature of: what we can do in our local area? Support and promote the ballot measure of parental notification. Be persistent and pray the rosary at abortion sites. The one at the corner of Grindlay and Orange in Cypress took 30 years to close and did not reopen. At least 150 to 200,000 unborn children were killed.

One person had an urgent flyer to stop Bill SB1338 which would allow physician assistants, nurses and nurse practitioners to do abortions. We have reached a low point in California. The smart Texans passed a law to defund Planned Parenthood. Another did not believe that political activity was the answer.

I reminded them of last week’s feast of the Dominican St. Pius V. The prayer of the Rosary throughout Europe defeated the Turks at the battle of Lepanto. The Rosary is an appropriate prayer in challenging the American secular humanistic religion. This religion wants to sell itself as a national religion. It is illegal and contrary to the first amendment to the constitution. The 1st Amendment protects religious freedom and conscience rights.

The lives of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More are the appropriate Saints for our times. We are looking for lay Catholics to imitate them in the public arena. I mentioned the American Jewish newspaper “Forward” which I subscribe to. They have thousands of lay leaders promoting their cause. We on the other hand are very poor in promoting ours. It’s time to be informed and join Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, support the Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation’s monthly Mindszenty Report, and participate in your local “Catholic Men’s Fellowship”.

George H. Kubeck

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

A Talk on Timothy Cardinal Dolan and HHS Mandate - 3
In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Tuesday, May 8, 2012
(continued from the talk to Catholic Men’s Fellowship on Saturday morning, May 5th)

Personal comments of Cardinal Dolan’s third section page: [Some of Dolan’s quotes are taken from an article by Kate Briquelet, New York Post, April 29th titled “Dolan’s Supreme Strategy.”] “This is a radical violation of the First Amendment.” “It is morally toxic and an intrusion into the internal life of the Church.”

Dolan wrestled with Congress on the topic asking Senator Marco Rubio to put this to a vote in the Senate. Senator Blunt carried the Blunt amendment of freedom of religion and it lost by 51-48. This must have given Cardinal Dolan a migraine headache. Why? There were thirteen Catholic-label Senators who voted against the Blunt Amendment, against freedom of religion and the 1st Amendment to the Constitution. [In California we have 13 in Congress. CINOPs]

HERE IS CARDINAL DOLAN’S FOURTH AND LAST SECTION PAGE:

“CONGRESS OFFERS MORE HOPE, WITH THOUGHTFUL ELECTED OFFICIALS PROPOSING LEGISLATION TO PROTECT WHAT SHOULD BE SO OBVIOUS: “RELIGIOUS FREEDOM”… AND THE COURTS OFFER THE MOST LIGHT.

“IN THE RECENT HOSANNA-TABOR RULING, THE SUPREME COURT UNANIMOUSLY AND ENTHUSIASTICALLY DEFENDED THE RIGHT OF THE CHURCH TO DEFINE ITS OWN MINISTRY AND SERVICES, A DRAMATIC REBUFF TO THE ADMINISTRATION…”

In my opinion: This legal matter relating to the State and Federal violation of the 1st Amendment should have been adjudicated (judged) by the Supreme Court years ago. The state of California has been overreaching itself. The lawyers of the bishops in California did not pursue and litigate this matter. Lawyers control our bishops in many ways.

Cardinal Dolan urges Catholics to become more active in politics. “We are called to be very active, very informed and very involved in politics.” “It is a freedom of religion battle. It is not about contraception. We are talking about and unwarranted, unprecedented, radical intrusion into “a church’s ability to teach, serve and sanctify on its own.”

The Cardinal reaffirmed the primacy of the Church’s leadership. The Administration had recommended that bishops listen to the “enlightened voices” of accommodation within the Church.

Cardinal Dolan said, “We kind of got our Irish-up when leaders in government seemed to be assigning an authoritative voice to Catholic groups that are not the bishops.” He added: If you want an authoritative voice go to the bishops. They’re the ones that speak for the truth of the Faith.”

In my personal opinion, we have Cardinal Dolan - a Blessed John Paul II potential Catholic religious leader for all American Catholics in America. Catholic faithful need to trust him and support him.

George H. Kubeck - to be continued



A Talk on Timothy Cardinal Dolan and the HHS Mandate - 2

In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Tuesday, May 8, 2012
(continued from the talk to the Catholic Men‘s Fellowship)

Now! - my personal comment on Cardinal‘s First Section Page: We need to change a negative into a positive. During the last four years America has changed from being pro-choice to pro-life. Thanks in some way to Father Frank Pavone and Priests for Life. This is a good time to evangelize, educate and get our parishioners politically involved in studying and knowing about the First Amendment to the Constitution.
+++++
Cardinal Dolan’s Second Section Page:
“AND IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT STERILIZATION, ABORTIFACIENTS, AND CHEMICAL CONTRACEPTION. PURE AND SIMPLE, IT’S ABOUT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, THE SACRED RIGHT, PROTECTED BY OUR CONSTITUTION, OF ANY CHURCH TO DEFINE ITS OWN TEACHNING AND MINISTRY.

“When the President announced on January 20th that the choking mandates from HHS would remain - a shock to me, since he had personally assured me that he would do nothing to impede the good work of the Church in health care, education, and charity, and that he considered the protection of conscience a sacred duty - not only you but men and women of every faith, or none at all rallied in protest.

“The worry that we bishops had expressed - that such government control was contrary to our deepest political values - was eloquently articulated by constitutional scholars and leaders of every creed. Even newspapers editorial supported us! … Well, for one, we’ll keep up advocacy and education on this issue…”
Now here’s what I think: From the book, “People of Hope” p. 207 - Cardinal Dolan is quoted, “… in my meeting with President Obama, he said, “The government can’t give hope, the government can’t love. You in the Church can, please keep doing it.” The problem is the President is running for reelection. He needs his base supporters in order to win. They are member of America’s secular religion and he is one of them.
+++++
In Cardinal Dolan’s third section page:
“THE White HOUSE ALREADY NOTIFIED CONGRESS THAT THE DREADED MANDATES ARE NOW PUBLISHED IN THE FEDERAL REGISTRY “WITHOUT CHANGE.” THE SECRETARY OF HHS IS WIDELY QUOTED AS SAYING, “RELIGIOUS INSURANCE COMPANIES DON’T REALLY DESIGN THE PLANS THEY SELL BASED ON THEIR OWN RELIGIOUS TENETS, WHICH DOESN’T BODE WELL FOR A TRULY ACCEPTABLE “ACCOMMODATION”.

“AND THE RECENT MEETING BETWEEN STAFF AND BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE AND THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF ENDED WITH THE PRESIDENT’S PEOPLE INFORMING US THAT THE BROADER CONCERNS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM - THAT IS, REVISITING THE STAIGHT-JACKETING MANDATES, OR BROADENING THE MALIGNED EXEMPTION - ARE ALL OFF THE TABLE … “

George H. Kubeck - to be continued

Monday, May 7, 2012

A Talk on Timothy Cardinal Dolan and the HHS Mandate - 1

A Talk on Timothy Cardinal Dolan and the HHS Mandate - 1 In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Monday, May 7, 2012 Location: St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Huntington Beach, California Thank you Frank for inviting me to speak to your Catholic Men’s Fellowship on Timothy Cardinal Dolan who has been the President of the U.S. Catholic Bishops since Nov. 16, 2010. Secondly, I will comment on the Government’s Health and Human Service Mandate (HHS) which will force Catholic Schools and Hospitals to pay in their Health Programs employee’s contraception, sterilization and abortion inducing drugs. All of this is contrary to our Catholic beliefs. I will be using the Cardinal’s own words and the questions and answers he gave in the book, “A People of Hope” Archbishop Timothy Dolan in Conversation with John L. Allen Jr. The book was published in early 2012. Because Cardinal Dolan is a great admirer of Pope Benedict XVI, I want to begin with a meditation on Thursday morning May 3rd, from the 1992 Cardinal Ratzinger’s book, “Co-Workers of the Truth” - Meditations for Every Day of the Year. For me, since 2005. “In 1923 in Germany, Father Rupert Mayer received a congratulatory telegram on the occasion of his Silver Jubilee as a priest. The telegram came from the future dictator Adolf Hitler. Father Rupert was a simple priest and recognized the mask of an anti-Christ. He realized from the beginning that Hitler constantly exaggerated and had no scruples about lying… If truth is not held in honor, then freedom, justice and love cannot flourish… Do I always speak the truth? Have I the courage to adhere to it even when it is uncomfortable… Where truth is not present the foundation of society is ripped from under us.” By the way, the Pope’s Coat of Arms is “Co-Workers of the Truth.” It is from there, I created the term - “In pursuit of the truth.”/ “The relentless pursuit of the truth.” On Cardinal Dolan’s website March 3rd, I read a startling one page statement which I typed out on my blog: Mon., March 5th, “I (Cardinal Dolan) Owe You An Update” I will cover this page in four sections; and make comments after reading each one to you. HERE IS THE FIRST SECTION: “OVER THE LAST SIX MONTHS OR SO, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES HAS FOUND ITSELF IN SOME TENSION WITH THE EXECUTIVE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OVER A VERY GRAVE ISSUE: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. Can a government bureau, in this case the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), define for us or any faith community what is ministry and how it can be exercised? Can government also coerce the church to violate its conscience? This has not been a fight of our choosing. We’d rather not be in it… The Catholic Church in America has a long tradition of partnership with government and the wider community in the service of the sick, our children, our elders, & the poor at home and abroad. We’d rather be partnering than punching…” George H. Kubeck - to be continued

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Who are we as U.S. Catholics?

Who are we as U.S. Catholics? In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Thursday, May 3, 2012 Preface: Catholics have been conditioned like everyone else. “My Catholic Faith will not inspire my decisions in the White House.” President John F. Kennedy “One of the primary consequences of secularism is to erode homogeneous religious enclaves so that the religious affiliation shifts from being a matter of cultural inheritance to a matter of individual choice.” ^196 [John L. Allen Jr.] “American Catholics aren’t so much polarized as tribalized. Looking around, what one sees are a variety of different tribes, dotting the Catholic landscape: pro-life Catholics, liturgical traditional Catholics, Church reform Catholics, peace and justice Catholics, Hispanic Catholics, Vietnamese Catholics, neon-Catholics, Obama Catholics, and so on, to say nothing of the simple meat-and-potatoes Catholics out there.^152 [John L. Allen Jr.] Why do you think ordinary Catholics themselves don’t tell that story? [Catholic achievements] A number of reasons. I don’t think Catholics are comfortable talking about their faith. They were raised theologically in a way that meekness, humility, is considered a virtue, and we’re not in-your-face Bible thumpers. Second, there’s a cultural things. I don’t think we can exaggerate the fact that part of the Catholic ethos, the Catholic upbringing in America, is that we should avoid talking about religion in public. That’s just how you are raised. John Tracy Ellis talked about “Maryland-style Catholicism, a distinctly American expression of Catholicism which bent over backward to keep religion interior and to reassure culture that’s skeptical at best, and hostile at the worst, that they have absolutely nothing to fear from us Catholics, because were just like them. There is a cultural element there, meaning that we really don’t want to talk about religion because it’s not polite. Third, our people aren’t equipped with a vocabulary to talk about this stuff… 205-6 [Timothy Cardinal Dolan.] Now we have a statement on religious liberty April 12th from the U.S. bishops. It was titled, Our First, Most Cherished Liberty. The question is. How are we to meet this challenge in an appropriate way concerning the Sebelius’ Health and Human Service Mandate. HHSM [Ref. Knights of Columbus, “Columbia” - May 2012] “This year, we propose a special “fortnight for freedom” in which bishops in their own diocese might arrange special events to highlight the importance of defending our first freedom… We suggest that the 14 days from June 21 - the vigil of the feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More* - to July 4, Independence Day be dedicated to this “fortnight for freedom” - a great hymn of prayer for our country. Grant to our leaders the wisdom to protect and promote our liberties. George H. Kubeck - ^ A People of Hope - Archbishop Timothy Dolan in Conversation with John L. Allen Jr. - Image Books, New York - * St. Thomas More is the patron saint of this blog.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

In Defense of Religious Freedom

In Defense of Religious Freedom A.)In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Wednesday, May 2, 2012 1.)By Joan Frawley Desmond, National Catholic Register, Mar. 25 - Apr. 7, 2012 2.)“Made in the Image of God” - Evangelicals and Catholics Together is an ecumenical fellowship established by the late Father Richard John Neuhaus, the founding editor of First Things, and Charles (Chuck) Colson, the Watergate figure and Christian convert who founded Prison Ministries, a nationwide outreach program to prison inmates. 3.)“In Defense of Religious Freedom” provides relatively brief but powerful reflections on the biblical basis for religious freedom, backed up with doctrinal statements from the Catholic and evangelical organizations. 4.)“In Genesis 1:26, the Bible teaches us that only human beings are made ‘in the image of God,’ No one bears this image (imago Dei) more than others; no one has the right to assert that by reason of race, tribe, ethnicity, class or sex his imaging of God is superior to another,” reads the statement. 5.)“In a world of manifest and innumerable inequalities, this radical equality of all men and women before God is the bond that allows us to speak meaningfully of a human family, a human race, in which we share mutual obligations - including the obligation to recognize and honor that sanctuary of conscience in which each person can meet the divine source of life. 6.)“Any power, be it cultural or political that puts unwarranted impediments in the path of the human quest for truth, which culminates in the human quest for God, is violating the order of creation. … Fidel Castro’s Cuba, for example, has been lauded for improving health-care services, and Castro’s /[Hitler supporters in the West] have shrugged off his suppression of basic freedoms… 7.)Two Years in the Making: Work on the statement began two years ago, as members of the ecumenical group became increasingly concerned about the First Amendment threat posed by the legal same-sex “marriage” and the weakening of conscience protections for health-care providers. [I wish these matters were brought to the Supreme Court years ago.] 8.)“Catholics and evangelicals constitute the two largest religious groupings in North America…” “Recently, Colson and George wrote an open letter to evangelicals, urging them to join with Catholics against an “unjust mandate that violates our first freedom as Americans. Both evangelicals and Catholics are fully convinced that religious liberty is a pre-political right which must be respected by the state,” noted Father Thomas Guarinao of Seton Hall University in New Jersey, who played a major role in forging the statement… 9.)“We knew that contemporary liberal legal scholars were thinking about narrowing our constitutional protections of religious liberty,” said R.R. “Rusty” Reno, the editor of First Things, who helped with the Evangelicals and Catholics Together statement. “It turns out that this tendency now influences the Obama administration, which has adopted a very narrow view of what counts as a religious organization fully protected by the Constitution. 10.)George H. Kubeck- Why the change by liberal scholars? To undercut religious influence in our society. This is a violation of the 1st Amendment which the present Supreme Court will concur with.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

In his own Words Timothy Cardinal Dolan

In his own Words Timothy Cardinal Dolan In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Tues. May 1, 2012 Selected excerpts from “A People of Hope,” Archbishop Timothy Dolan in Conversation with John L. Allen Jr. - Image Books, New York, 1012 One of the things I’ve said for a long time is that we need a resurrected sense of apologetics. We Catholics sometimes are far too timid. We don’t know how to respond when people throw out these silly caustic remarks about the Church… 144 At one level, bravo to our government for recognizing that the best people to carry out much of the humanitarian work are people of faith… We’ve got to become more creative about how to spotlight the contributions that so many Catholics are making under their own steam, simply as an outgrowth of the faith and the sense of daring they’ve imbibed from the Church. 146 For example, what I see sometimes in home schooling. I know there is a lot of criticism of it, and without doubt there are some zealots out there. But right now I am going through the process of calling about 12 prospects for the seminary to encourage them and to see if there’s anything they want to talk about me about. 6 of them are home schooled. I have to admit that right away, that causes some flares for me. But in general, I find these people have absorbed affirmative orthodoxy. 147 We had a great Legion of Mary in the parish. I loved the Legion of Mary, you have heard me say that I always think that if a parish has the Legion of Mary and the St. Vincent de Paul Society, it’s in great shape, because they’ll take care of the spiritual & corporal work of mercy. 155-6 One guy who I think has reinvigorated dialogue is Benedict XVI, constantly saying that true, respectful dialogue starts with a clear understanding of the truth that you bring to the conversation… Another thing we need in dialogue, especially for us believers, is a certain amount of fearlessness. That we are not afraid, that the truth shall set us free. 159 Lourdes is one of my favorite places on the face of the earth. To be in the crowd and singing “Ave, Ave” is for me a theophany. Seeing the pope is another instance. As many times as it has happened for me to see the pope remains a spiritually uplifting moment. I’ve always been a big fan of Don Bosco, who always said the Eucharist, the Blessed Mother, and the pope are the real hallmarks of Catholic identity. 178 What I really believe is that God never calls you to do something without giving you the grace to do it. 181-182 Who was it who said that after years of study I’ve come to reluctantly accept that the Roman Catholic Church must be divine, because no merely human institution governed by such imbecility could have survived a fortnight! [The line is from Hilaire Belloc.] 187 When I look out on Sunday, I say that as Catholics we are part of a supernatural family. Just as with our natural families, we may have our tensions and our frustrations, but ultimately this is who we are. Our fates are bound together, for better & for worse. 199 Hope must flow from faith, the reason the Church is a people of hope, is precisely because of faith. My faith is that Church is a people of hope, is precisely because of faith. My faith is that there is a God who happens to love us, who happens to hold us in the palm of his hand, who happens to have sent his only begotten Son to save us and to promise us eternity, and who assured us that he’ll be with us always even to the end of days.213 G.H.K.