No doubt Pain as God’s megaphone is a terrible instrument; it may lead to final and unrepented rebellion. But it gives the only opportunity the bad man can have for amendment. It removes the veil; it plants the flag of truth within the fortress of a rebel soul. If the first and lowest operation of pain shatters the illusion that all is well, the second shatters the illusion that what we have, whether good or bad in itself, is our own and enough for us. Everyone has noticed how hard it is to turn our thoughts to God when everything is going well with us. We “have all we want” is a terrible saying when “all” does not include God. We find God an interruption. As St. Augustine says somewhere, “God wants to give us something, but cannot, because our hands are full–there’s nowhere for Him to put it.”
~C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain
Listening to Nancy Pelosi lie about when life begins and when it is permissable to have a abortion was painful:
Pelosi Spins Obama’s Response on Conception & Abortion
Apparently Nancy Pelosi does not realize that her views mean she is automatically excommunicated from the Catholic Church and is no longer a “practicing Catholic”.
Pelosi did this to support Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic Party’s Presidential Candidate.
Senator Obama views on abortion and infanticide cannot be supported by either Catholics or Christians.
Senator Barack Obama lost the Catholic vote, despite having a pro abortion “practicing Catholic” Senator Biden on the ticket.
Biden Should Be Excommunicated For Abortion-On-Demand Record
The Democratic Party candidates favor the right of woman to abort or kill babies and would nominate judges that support this position.
S.C. Democratic Debate: Abortion
The Democratic Party changed the plank on abortion. Gone are the words rare.
Abortions are not rare, their common.
Since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision in 1973 there have been nearly 50 million abortions performed in the United States with over 10 million black abortions or over 30% of the black population of 36 million.
While blacks constitute 13 percent of the U.S. population, they represent about 37% of all abortions performed in the United States.
Number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44, by year
The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v Wade and a woman’s right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right.The Democratic Party also strongly supports access to affordable family planning services and comprehensive age-appropriate sex education which empower people to make informed choices and live healthy lives. We also recognize that such health care and education help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and thereby also reduce the need for abortions. The Democratic Party also strongly supports a woman’s decision to have a child by ensuring access to and availability of programs for pre and post natal health care, parenting skills, income support, and caring adoption programs.
The 2004 Democratic Party plank:
Because we believe in the privacy and equality of women, we stand proudly for a woman’s right to choose, consistent with Roe v. Wade, and regardless of her ability to pay. We stand firmly against Republican efforts to undermine that right. At the same time, we strongly support family planning and adoption incentives. Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare.
“Barack Obama fought against the Born Alive Infants Protection Act which would have provided basic medical care to any infants that survive an abortion attempt. He wants to kill those infants born alive.”
Life begins at conception and evil must be defeated.
Compare and constrast the answers given by Senators Obama and McCain on evil and life:
Saddleback Church Civil Forum – Obama & McCain 8 of 17
“Question: Does evil exist and if so do be ignore it, do we negotiate with it, do we contain it, or do we defeat it? 8 of 17 questions asked by Pastor and author Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. The same questions were asked of each presidential candidate, Barack Obama and John McCain in an informal forum called Saddleback Civil Forum on August 16, 2008. …”
Saddleback Church Civil Forum – Obama & McCain 5 of 17
“Question: Abortion: At what point is a baby entitled to human rights? 5 of 17 questions asked by Pastor and author Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. The same questions were asked of each presidential candidate, Barack Obama and John McCain in an informal forum called Saddleback Civil Forum on August 16, 2008. …”
Senator McCain without hesitation gave the right answers.
While I disagree with Senator McCain on many issues, on the fundamental issues of abortion and evil, I agree with Senator McCain as do the vast majority of the American people.
“Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia. There may be legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not… with regard to abortion and euthanasia.” ~Pope Benedict XVI
Background Articles and Videos
Pope warns Catholic politicians who back abortion
“…Under Church law, someone who knowingly does or backs something which the Church considers a grave sin, such as abortion, inflicts what is known as “automatic excommunication” on themselves.
The Pope said parliamentarians who vote in favor of abortion have “doubts about the value of life and the beauty of life and even a doubt about the future”.
“Selfishness and fear are at the root of (pro-abortion) legislation,” he said. “We in the Church have a great struggle to defend life…life is a gift not a threat.”
Cardinals, Bishops and Congressmen Slam Pelosi on Abortion
By Tim Waggoner
“…”Catholic” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s blatantly fallacious remarks on August 24 regarding the Catholic Church’s teaching on abortion have triggered a tidal wave of criticisms from clergymen, congressmen and Catholics nationwide.
Responding to a question from NBC’s Meet the Press moderator Tom Brokaw about when human life begins, Pelsosi appealed to her extensive research on the issue as well as her “ardent” Catholic faith to claim that, “I don’t think anybody can tell you when life begins.”
She asserted that “over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition,” in attempt to support her pro-abortion and pro-contraception stance. Watch the full interview here: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwUSt7dfj5I)
The response to Pelosi’s statements has been intense as Catholic leaders across America are wondering how a “Catholic” with a self-proclaimed broad understanding of the Catholic Church’s position on human life could have overseen the straightforward teaching contained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC).
Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl quoted this teaching (section 2270-2271 of the CCC) in a letter responding to Pelosi’s comments: “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception…Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable.” (Catechism, 2270-2271)
Rebuking her, Archbishop Wuerl said that, “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi misrepresented the history and nature of the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church against abortion.” For the full letter see: (http://www.adw.org/news/news.asp?ID=569&Year=2008)
Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Denver, also issued a release on Pelosi’s remarks, explaining that Pelosi’s belief that a woman has the “right to choose” to end her baby’s life contradicts Catholic teaching and addressing her comments suggesting the Catholic Church has been polarized on the issue over the course of history.
None of the early Fathers “diminished the unique evil of abortion as an attack on life itself, and the early Church closely associated abortion with infanticide. In short, from the beginning, the believing Christian community held that abortion was always, gravely wrong,” said Archbishop Chaput. http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08082601.html
Archbishop Wuerl on the Church’s Constant Teaching on Abortion
August 25, 2008
“….The Catechism of the Catholic Church is clear: the current teaching of the Catholic Church on human life and abortion is the same teaching as it was 2,000 years ago. The Catechism reads:
“Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception…Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.” (Catechism, 2270-2271)
The Catechism goes on to quote the Didache, a treatise that dates to the first century: “’You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.’”
From the beginning, the Catholic Church has respected the dignity of all human life from the moment of conception to natural death.”
“Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. The word literally means putting [someone] out of communion. In some churches, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group. Censures and sanctions sometimes follow excommunication; these include banishment, shunning, and shaming, depending on the group’s religion, the offense that caused excommunication, or the rules or norms of the religious community. This article addresses excommunication and spiritual condemnation often associated with excommunication, but not the religious censures and sanctions that follow excommunication. ..”
“Nancy Patricia D’Alesandro Pelosi (born March 26, 1940) is the current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Before being elected Speaker in the 110th Congress, she was the House Minority Leader from 2002 to 2007, holding the post during the 107th, 108th, and 109th Congresses.
Since 1987, she has represented the 8th Congressional District of California, which consists of four-fifths of the City and County of San Francisco. The district was numbered as the 5th during Pelosi’s first three terms in the House.
With her election as Speaker, she is the first female Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. She is the second Speaker from a state west of the Rocky Mountains, with the first being Washington’s Tom Foley, who was the last Democrat to hold the post before Pelosi. As Speaker of the House, Pelosi ranks second in the line of presidential succession, following Vice President Dick Cheney. This makes her the highest ranking woman in American history. …”
Abortion
“…Pelosi supports the legality of abortion. She voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 and earlier attempts at similar bans.[42] She voted in favor of the 1998 Abortion Funding Amendment, which allowed the use of district funds to promote abortion-related activities.[42] She has also voted in favor of using federal funds to perform abortions in overseas military facilities, against parental notification when a minor is transported across state lines for an abortion, and in favor of providing funding for organizations working overseas that promote or perform abortions and abortion-related activities.[42]…”
Nancy Pelosi Lied On National TV About The Catholic Church’s Position On Abortion (Updated)
“…For the benefit of Madam Pelosi and the Democratic Party, Church writings specifically naming abortion as murder appear as early as 70 AD in the Didache, the first written catechism of the Christian church, and in spite of the attempts of various writers and groups, and even some church authorities and a few popes to the contrary, the history of the position of the Catholic Church that abortion is murder and that it is evil dates back as early as the Didache and remains the same to this day. And as for Pelosi deciding on her own what the position of the Church is at the time of her sitting before Brokaw based upon her own readings and interpretations – if in fact she actually did so, perhaps as a practicing Catholic, as she so claims to be, instead, might consider following her faith as her Pope and mine, Pope Benedict XVI, proclaims. (Which is what a “practicing” Catholic does)
By the way, one cannot honestly say they are a “practicing catholic” and support abortion. Each position unequivocally disqualifies the other. …”
“…The Catholic catechism is extremely clear on the nature of its position on human life, and has been remarkably consistent on this point for almost 2,000 years, and it finds that position in the Old Testament. Human life begins at conception, not at birth, and not at some point consistent with Roe for convenience. In Psalm 51, David refers to his sinfulness beginning at the moment of conception, and sinfulness requires physical life and a soul to exist. …”
“…Membership in the Catholic Church is voluntary. If people do not want to follow its doctrines, they should find another faith community that reflects their values — and at the least, they should learn what the Church teaches on abortion and life before mischaracterizing it on national television. Pelosi is either a fool or a liar, or perhaps both. …”
“…Lopez: Whenever I write about Catholics and abortion, I am immediately asked, “What about war? What about the death penalty?” What about them? Can a Catholic vote for Senator “Surge”? We have killed people in Iraq, after all.
Archbishop Chaput: I’ve written and spoken against the death penalty for more than 30 years. And along with most other American bishops, I opposed our intervention in Iraq. But these issues are different in kind, not merely degree, from the violence involved in abortion. Anyone rooted in Scripture and Catholic tradition will understand the distinction if he or she reasons honestly. Genocide, euthanasia, abortion, and deliberately targeting civilians in war — these things are always grievously wrong. But in Catholic thought, war and capital punishment can be morally legitimate under certain carefully defined circumstances. Abortion is never morally justified. …”
Buying into Pelosi’s personal church.By Kathryn Jean Lopez“…But, as Chaput, author of the new book Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life, explained in an interview with National Review Online last week, “Abortion always, deliberately kills an innocent unborn child. Nobody can honestly claim to be a faithful Catholic and then support a false ‘right’ to abortion; it’s just an elegant way of evading the brutality of what abortion actually does.” He explained, “Abortion is never morally justified.”
The archbishop’s guidance echoes The Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states that “
Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person — among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.”
“Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law,” it continues.
Further, it cites Vatican instruction: “The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin. Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being’s right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death.”
Why Is Pelosi Still Allowed To Receive Communion ?
“…Contrary to what Pelosi says, receiving communion and being a politician supporting abortion is not a “regional thing,” and as a practicing Catholic (emphasis on the word “practicing” – as in not perfect by any means) , as in not a “cafeteria Catholic” like Pelosi, I would like to know why Nancy Pelosi is still allowed to receive communion – after Pope Benedict has warned Catholic politicians they risked excommunication from the Church and should not receive communion if they support abortion. Is she saying that her Bishop and her priest have made their own decision to act against Church law? If so, what do they have to say? And how can one be a “practicing” Catholic, as Pelosi claims to be, and not follow the laws of the Church? Is her Bishop a “cafeteria Bishop”? Is her Priest a “cafeteria Priest”? We know what the Arch Bishop of Denver has to say about this. …”
Catholics Voting Pro-Choice Are Excommunicated Automatically Pro-Life Anti-Abortion Video PSA
Catholics Can’t Vote For Those Supporting Planned Parenthood / Pro-Life Anti-Abortion Video
Contraception, Abortion, and the Catholic Church
Responses to Pro-Abortion Politicians: Many Issues
Responses to Pro-Abortion Politicians: Law of the Land
Abortion – Fr Frank Responds to Viewers
Fr. Frank Discusses the Recent Partial Birth Abortion Ruling
The Pro Life ad that can change your mind.
“…This pro life video is very graphic, so parental guidance is advised. “
Barack Obama Addresses Planned Parenthood
Barack Obama – Abortion
Obama Abortion Stance
“Obama’s Twisted Mind – Obama’s sick voting record”
Catholic League President Criticizes Obama On Abortion
Unequivocal ambiguity
The candidates’ faith figured out
By Tara Wall
“…Despite Mr. Obama’s “I’m pro-choice” but not “pro-abortion” comment, most voters are unaware of just how extreme his positions are on abortion. He voted in favor of allowing partial-birth abortions – even when a majority of Democrats did not – and strongly condemned the Supreme Court for upholding the ban on this procedure. He also favors allowing minors to travel out of state to have an abortion without parental notification. It is a topic Mr. Obama was clearly uncomfortable discussing and caused the usually calm and collected senator to become extremely agitated and exorcised during a television interview with David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network, directly following the forum. Abortion certainly isn’t the only issue that matters to “values voters” this election, but it is pretty high on the list. According to Pew, 68 percent of evangelical megachurch members believe abortion should be illegal in most or all cases (compared to 61 percent of other evangelicals).
On whether evil exists (and every believer acknowledges that it is does), and what should be done with it (negotiate with it, contain it or defeat it?), Mr. Obama offered that we: “Confront it,” (not one of the choices). So then, Mr. Obama, after it is confronted, what do we do with it?
Mr. McCain’s response: “Defeat it . … Of course, evil must be defeated.”
“…There’s a newly uncovered paper trail demonstrating Barack Obama’s abortion militancy you can believe in (hat tip – Jill Stanek):
Newly obtained documents prove that in 2003, Barack Obama, as chairman of an IL state Senate committee, voted down a bill to protect live-born survivors of abortion – even after the panel had amended the bill to contain verbatim language, copied from a federal bill passed by Congress without objection in 2002, explicitly foreclosing any impact on abortion. Obama’s legislative actions in 2003 – denying effective protection even to babies born alive during abortions – were contrary to the position taken on the same language by even the most liberal members of Congress. The bill Obama killed was virtually identical to the federal bill that even NARAL ultimately did not oppose.
“…Lawful abortion is state-sanctioned infanticide; it is the murder of innocent, defenseless human life. Moreover, abortion assaults the very foundations of constitutional democracy. The most fundamental human right – the right that underpins our system of government – is the right to life. Without it all other rights – to liberty, property, freedom of expression – are impossible and meaningless.
This is why abortion is today’s equivalent of slavery: It is a cancer eating away at the moral and political fabric of America. Just like slavery, Roe v. Wade codified into law the pernicious principle that an entire class of people is not fully human – and therefore, undeserving of basic human rights. In the 19th century, Southern blacks were treated as property – things – to be used and discarded by their masters. Today it is unborn children who are strangled in the womb and treated like chattel. They are the slaves of our time. They are the forgotten victims of the sexual revolution.
Since the 1960s, liberalism has championed a kind of sexual utopia and personal liberation: anything goes – abortion on demand, gay rights, condoms in schools and the transgender movement.
Rather than leading to mass happiness, however, the sexual revolution has resulted in a sea of human misery: tens of millions of fetuses murdered, millions of people killed as a result of dangerous sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS, the skyrocketing rise of out-of-wedlock births and teenage pregnancy, soaring divorce rates, the breakdown of the family and countless broken homes and shattered lives. …”
“…Mr. Obama may not be willing to betray his feminist base, but he is willing to betray African-Americans – his most loyal and devoted supporters. Abortion disproportionately impacts blacks compared to white women. Although blacks constitute roughly 13 percent of the U.S. population, 37 percent of all abortions are performed on black women, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit group that specializes in sexual health. Since Roe v. Wade, more than 10 million black pregnancies have been aborted (some watchdog groups put the figure closer to 13 million). America’s current black population stands at 36 million. Abortion has claimed the lives of about one-third of the black community. This is genocide. For Mr. Obama to not speak out about this national scandal is a disgrace – both to him and his party. It reveals, like nothing else, that he lacks the moral clarity and courage to lead this country. …”
“…So if abortion is a test case of Sen. Obama’s ability to find common ground, how did he do?
His team and allies did succeed in crafting a plank that opposing camps could agree on. They showed skill at mediation and bridge building. They made pro-choicers feel comfortable taking a new step but reassuring them on their basic concerns. They made pro-lifers give in on several small points to get one big victory.
But they did all that in part by stripping the language of fire. Once you know the history and negotations, it’s sort of an impressive accomplishment. But to the naked eye, it’s hardly a rallying cry for a third way.
The public is accustomed to viewing the abortion debates about being about legal rights. Sen. Obama’s approach – to be pro-choice but reduce the number of abortions by making it easier to choose birth instead of abortion – is new, and likely to be viewed with suspicion by both sides. Given Sen. Obama’s consistent pro-choice voting record, it will be tough to get this third way approach to break through.
So far Sen. Obama has not given a major policy address on abortion or included it in advertising. He usually only discusses abortion when asked, often during interviews about his faith. Sen. Obama now has an innovative policy approach on abortion. The question is whether he will have the political courage to really sell it. And if he doesn’t, what does that say about his commitment to change?
“…As Democratic Party has drifted leftward, it has become even more pro-choice. Some of its more strident voices, as well as some of its wealthiest supporters and interest groups, see any restrictions on a woman’s right to abortion as a mortal threat (not for the baby or “fetus”, of course). This year poses particular challenges.
Senator Obama has problems with gaining supporting from Catholics and evangelicals who hold pro-life positions. During the primaries, Catholics flocked to support Hillary Clinton by overwhelming numbers. The Catholic vote is very important in key battleground states — Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio among them. Obama’s history of support for abortion has come under increasing scrutiny, prompting a level of controversy that has begun to plague his campaign. …”
“…Clearly, Barack Obama does not want to be linked to actions that, in effect, condoned infanticide. That would not comport well with the mantra of hope and change.
The candidate has been burnishing and airbrushing his history as November nears. One aspect of this effort is his attempt to recreate his own political history involving abortion. The Obama campaign handbook certainly seems inspired by George Orwell’s masterpiece “1984“.
He might also want Americans to ignore his full-throated support for abortion when he appeared at a Planned Parenthood event last year. He made it clear that he opposes any and all restrictions on abortion, including partial-birth abortions. As David Freddoso writes in his superb new bookThe Case Against Obama: The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the media’s Favorite Candidate
He promised at a Planned Parenthood event in July 2007 that “the first thing” he will do as president — his top priority for the nation — is sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which would erase every federal and state restriction on abortion, no matter how modest. His top priority, again, is to re-legalize partial birth abortion under all circumstances, abolish all laws on informed consent and parental notification, and eliminate all state restrictions on taxpayer funding of abortions. …”
ABORTION: The Silent Scream Part 1 2 3 4 5 COMPLETE VERSION Pro-life Anti-Abortion Video
Fulton J. Sheen
“Servant of God Fulton John Sheen (born Peter John Sheen May 8, 1895–December 9, 1979) was an American archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Bishop of Rochester, New York and American television’s first religious broadcaster of note, hosting Life Is Worth Living in the early 1950s, first on the DuMont Television Network and later on ABC, from 1951 to 1957. He later hosted The Fulton Sheen Program in syndication with a virtually identical format from 1961 to 1968; these later programs, many of which were taped in color, are still frequently rebroadcast today. …”
“…Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen touched the lives of millions worldwide with his warmth, wisdom and humor. A master communicator, he had the great gift of preaching and teaching the Gospel in a way easy to understand. …”
[...] Nancy Pelosi–On Life and Abortion–Automatic Excommunication Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Are We Silent in the Face of Evil? Wake Up America! – New Video from Father…She Can’t Be Racist-She’s Black-Bullies Child Because She Prefers NOT t…John Piper: “Adoption is Greater than the Universe” [...]
[...] Nancy Pelosi–On Life and Abortion–Automatic Excommunication [...]
McCain/Romney vs. Obama/Biden: Landslide McCain Wins in November! « Pronk Palisades
August 28, 2008
[...] Nancy Pelosi–On Life and Abortion–Automatic Excommunication [...]
Obama Anthem, Flag and Salute for The First Democratic Party Rally in Stadium « Pronk Palisades
August 28, 2008
[...] Nancy Pelosi–On Life and Abortion–Automatic Excommunication [...]
Nancy Pelosi–Brilliant, Ignorant, Stupid, Evil–You Decide? « Pronk Palisades
January 27, 2009
[...] Nancy Pelosi–On Life and Abortion–Automatic Excommunication Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Are We Silent in the Face of Evil? Wake Up America! – New Video from Father…She Can’t Be Racist-She’s Black-Bullies Child Because She Prefers NOT t…John Piper: “Adoption is Greater than the Universe” [...]
Father John Copari–Videos « Pronk Palisades
September 17, 2009