[The act that he wishes to liberalize has yet to be signed into law (if at all)] Irish justice minister wants wider access to abortion CWN – July 25, 2013 Ireland’s justice minister has called for broader access to abortion, even before a new law allowing some legal abortions takes effect. Alan Shatter said that the legislation that has won approval by the country’s lawmakers, allowing for abortion if the mother’s life is in jeopardy, does not go far enough. He called for a new measure to allow abortion in cases involving rape, incest, or severe fetal abnormalities, saying that it is a “great cruelty” to women to ban abortion in such instances. He said that eventually legislators would be asked to take up the controversial topic once again. Earlier this month, Irish legislators gave overwhelming approval to the new legislation allowing legal abortion in some circumstances, including when the mother says she is suicidal. President Michael Higgins must now decide whether to sign the bill into law or ask the nation’s Supreme Court to determine its constitutionality. Irish pro-lifers have promised a legal challenge if Higgins signs the bill. Additional sources for this story: See www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=18574

[Michael Voris'] Mic’d Up w/ Robert Spencer: “Banned by Bishops and the Truth About Islam” ChurchMilitantTV Published on Jul 25, 2013 Robert Spencer, Director of JihadWatch.org, goes into detail about his clashes with many Catholic Bishops both here in the States and abroad; as well as the many myths, lies and dangers surrounding the world’s fastest growing religion; Islam.

A Catholic Answer to Catholic Answers Christopher A. Ferrara POSTED: 7/24/13 REMNANT COLUMNIST, Virginia www.remnantnewspaper.com/Archives/201300731-ferrara-catholic-answers-mad-trad.htm Since the close of the Second Vatican Council the Catholic Church has experienced the greatest crisis of faith and discipline in her history, caused by the spread of what Msgr. Guido Pozzo, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, has described as “a para-Conciliar ideology … that substantially proposes once more the idea of Modernism.” By Modernism is meant the “synthesis of all heresies,” as Saint Pius X called it, a system of errors that greatest of Popes fought mightily to suppress because it undermines every aspect of doctrine and praxis it infects, proceeding by artful ambiguity in theology, demands for the “reform” and “updating” of the Church, and the “simplification” of her divine worship. In the midst of the post-conciliar neo-Modernist invasion of the Church, why did an organization that calls itself Catholic Answers devote two hours of expensive radio time on May 31 to a live talk show attacking, not Modernism, but “radical traditionalists”? Why did the hosts of this show, Tim Staples and Patrick Coffin, dwell on a few Catholic adherents of the Society of Saint Pius X who (allegedly) lost their faith, while ignoring the “silent apostasy” that plagues the entire Western world—and this a half-century after the Council that was supposed to have made the faith more accessible to the masses? Why have Staples and Coffin planned another two hours of traditionalist bashing on August 12? And why has Catholic Answers devoted not one minute of its live radio show to the grave threat a resurgent Modernism poses to the souls of Catholics, who continue to apostatize by the millions under its influence? The answer to these questions, in a word, is this: neo-Catholicism, a kind of well-mannered second cousin to Modernism. Inveterate Remnant readers will know what I mean by the term, but for newcomers to this controversy a bit of background is in order. What is a Neo-Catholic? In The Great Façade (Remnant Press: 2002), my co-author and I introduced the term “neo-Catholic” to signify a constituency quite unknown in the Catholic Church before Vatican II. The term suggests a parallel to the “neo-conservative” of politics, whose “conservatism” involves the conservation of a liberalized status quo that is actually an ever-widening break with the “paleo-conservatism” (traditionalism) of the past. In a manner akin to neo-conservatives who look down their noses at paleo-conservatives, neo-Catholics disdain Roman Catholic traditionalists because they have continued to be what neo-Catholics themselves once were, and what all their ancestors were for centuries before—that is, Catholics who believe and practice the unreconstructed faith of their fathers from the liturgy, to the catechism, to the rites of the sacraments. Since the Council we have witnessed, for the first time in the Church’s bimillenial history, the emergence of a strain of Catholic “neo-conservatism”—hence neo-Catholicism—characterized by a staunch defense of unprecedented ecclesial novelties the Popes before the Council would have viewed with utter horror. Among other novelties comprising Continue Reading

[What happened to that for Venerable Pius XII? Only PC causes now allowed?] Cause for beatification of Archbishop Romero moving quickly, says CDF prefect CWN – July 26, 2013 The cause for beatification of the slain Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero accelerated during the pontificate of Benedict XVI and is now moving forward “even faster” under Pope Francis, reports the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, whose congregation was asked to examine the teachings of Archbishop Romero to ensure their doctrinal orthodoxy, told the Vatican Insider that the Salvadoran prelate “was a great witness of the faith and of social justice.” Although some critics had questioned whether Archbishop Romero’s support for liberation theology put him at odds with Church teachings, Archbishop Müller said that the slain prelate said only that society should “be built on the defense and implementation of justice, not on violence and on the survival of the fittest.” “This is what the Church teaches,” Archbishop Müller said. He pointed out that during a trip to Brazil in 2007, Pope Benedict XVI “said very clearly that he thought Romero was worthy of beatification.” Additional sources for this story: See www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=18585

Pope: “I want a mess!” by Michael Sean Winters | Jul. 26, 2013 ncronline.org/blogs/distinctly-catholic/pope-i-want-mess According to HuffPost, Pope Francis told a group of Argentine pilgrims to World Youth Day (www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20130725/lt-brazil-pope/?utm_hp_ref=world&ir=world): “I want to tell you something. What is it that I expect as a consequence of World Youth Day? I want a mess. We knew that in Rio there would be great disorder, but I want trouble in the dioceses!” he said, speaking off the cuff in his native Spanish. “I want to see the church get closer to the people. I want to get rid of clericalism, the mundane, this closing ourselves off within ourselves, in our parishes, schools or structures. Because these need to get out!”

‘But why seek out the opinions of the Fathers and theologians, when Holy Scripture settles the question so clearly? Look in to the Old and New Testaments, and you will find a multitude of figures, symbols and words that clearly point out this truth: very few are saved. In the time of Noah, the entire human race was submerged by the Deluge, and only eight people were saved in the Ark. Saint Peter says, “This ark was the figure of the Church,” while Saint Augustine adds, “And these eight people who were saved signify that very few Christians are saved, because there are very few who sincerely renounce the world, and those who renounce it only in words do not belong to the mystery represented by that ark.” The Bible also tells us that only two Hebrews out of two million entered the Promised Land after going out of Egypt, and that only four escaped the fire of Sodom and the other burning cities that perished with it. All of this means that the number of the damned who will be cast into fire like straw is far greater than that of the saved, whom the heavenly Father will one day gather into His barns like precious wheat.’ St. Leonard of Port Maurice

Activists Vandalize Church in Chile During Mass After Girl Rejects Abortion by Steven Ertelt | Santiago, Chile | LifeNews.com | 7/26/13 www.lifenews.com/2013/07/26/activists-vandalize-church-in-chile-during-mass-after-girl-rejects-abortion/ Upset that an 11-year-old girl who became pregnant after she was raped decided to reject having an abortion, abortion activists in Chile vandalized a prominent Catholic church in the country — during Mass. From an AP report: Abortion-rights demonstrators vandalized Chile’s main cathedral during a Mass and used pews as barricades during clashes with police. A group of demonstrators broke off from a largely peaceful protest calling for the legalization of abortion Thursday night and stormed into the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago, interrupting the homily. They painted walls with pro-abortion messages, broke ornaments and hauled pews all the way to the Plaza de Armas square in front of the cathedral. Police in riot gear rushed to the cathedral to contain them, and arrested at least two people. President Sebastian Pinera condemned the vandalizing of the cathedral, which remains closed for repairs. “We repudiate and reject these types of acts,” Pinera told reporters outside the presidential palace on Friday. “This means not respecting the rights of others,” he said. “They’re not tolerant and are contradicting their own views.”

‘Catholic’ group hosting [November Milwaukee] pro-abortion, same-sex ‘marriage’ conference by Johanna Dasteel www.lifesitenews.com/news/stop-catholic-group-from-host-pro-abortion-same-sex-marriage-conference-pro MILWAUKEE, WI, July 26, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A group identifying as Catholic has plans to host a conference November 1-3 during which the speakers are scheduled to deliver talks in favor of abortion, same-sex “marriage,” and the “role of dissent” in the Catholic Church. In light of past liturgical abuses at Call to Action conferences and the roster of speakers who actively work against the teachings of the Church, the Rockford Pro-Life Initiative is calling on Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to prevent the conference from holding a Catholic Mass. The Mass is scheduled for 10:45 am on Sunday, November 3. The conference will screen a film produced by Catholics for Choice entitled, The Secret History of Sex, Choice, and Catholics. The film is a 45-minute-long apology for Catholics who dissent from the church’s teaching on abortion. The film is part of a three day celebration of Catholics who actively oppose Catholic doctrine. Among the Call to action speakers is dissident Sister Jeannine Gramick, who frequently calls for the Catholic Church to accept same-sex “marriage’ “ Last year she penned an article with priest Francis DeBarnardo, in which they claimed that Catholics engaged in the homosexual lifestyle were not living in contradiction to the teachings of their faith. Gramick will be sharing the stage with Robert Shine, a former LGBT student advocate at Catholic University of America. The homosexual news outlet Metro Weekly reported in January 2012 that Shine protested against Cardinal Francis George for his affirmation of the Catholic Church’s ancient teachings on marriage and human sexuality. Miguel De La Torre, a fallen away Catholic and LGBT advocate, is slated to deliver a talk titled “Why the Church, for its Own Salvation, Needs Our Queer Sisters and Brothers.” Lesbian activist Lisbeth Menendez-Rivera will be delivering the talk “LGBTQ Family Acceptance in the Latino Community.” Other presenters teach that the Church should change Church doctrine on moral issues based on the majority opinion of lay Catholics, something they say represents the sensus fidelium. Ex-priest Robert McClory will be lending his perspective on self-identifying Catholics whose beliefs clash with the Magisterium in his talk, “Faithful to Baptism: The Role of Dissent in Catholicism’s New Era.” Another conference speaker, Fr. Thomas Doyle, has openly stated he thinks the Church should reconsider the ordination of women and priestly celibacy. The group’s troubled history has drawn rebukes from the highest levels of the Roman Catholic Church. Call to Action is “causing damage to the Church of Christ,” wrote Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re as the Vatican confirmed the March 1996 excommunication of all Call To Action members in the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska. LifeSiteNews.com contacted the Archdiocese of Milwaukee for comment on the conference and the Mass, which the Rockford Pro-Life Initiative is calling for the archbishop to prevent. The archbishop was in South America at the time. Archdiocesan officials were not able to provide comment after more Continue Reading

Conversion at Jesuit University… to Islam? July 26, 2013 | By Matthew Archbold | Rod Dreher of The American Conservative recently told a surprising anecdote. During my years as a Catholic, more than a few times I would meet someone who had left the faith, and would credit their Jesuit education for having opened their eyes. Just now, I heard the Muslim scholar Reza Aslanon Fresh Air, talking about his new book. Terry Gross mentioned that he (Aslan) had been born into Islam, but his parents fled with him from Iranian Revolution. In America, his father became atheist, but Aslan became an Evangelical Christian. His mother followed him into Christianity. But then, studying at the Jesuit-run Santa Clara University, Aslan encountered Jesuit priests who encouraged him to go deeper into Islam, the religion of his forefathers. Aslan did, and subsequently renounced Christianity to return to Islam. Dreher ironically called it “Another Jesuit Success Story.” – See more at: www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/CatholicEducationDaily/DetailsPage/tabid/102/ArticleID/2402/Conversion-at-Jesuit-University%e2%80%a6-to-Islam.aspx#sthash.kEzp4lXj.dpuf

Why Does President Obama Feel at Home at Georgetown? July 26, 2013 | By Matthew Archbold Since taking office in 2009, President Barack Obama has found a reliable home at what might seem an unlikely place – a Catholic college. But in the case of Georgetown University, it’s not so unusual. Just last month, Obama made his third appearance at Georgetown University since taking office, despite being arguably the most pro-abortion rights president in our country’s history, infringing in an unprecedented way on religious liberty, and forcing religious institutions to provide insurance covering abortifacients, contraception and sterilization procedures. Although President George W. Bush seemed to shy away from Georgetown—he attended a couple of the University’s “Let Freedom Ring” celebrations in honor of civil rights leaders—The Cardinal Newman Society has previously reported that Georgetown alumnus and “pro-choice” President Bill Clinton was an honored guest on campus at least 18 times during his presidency. President Obama’s most recent visit to the Jesuit campus was just last month, when he announced plans to fight climate change. The president, who is forcing Catholic colleges to provide insurance that will cover abortifacients, continually invoked future generations as a reason to support his climate change plan. “Someday our children and our children’s children will look at us in the eye, and they’ll ask us, did we do all that we could when we had the chance to deal with this problem and leave them a cleaner, safer, more stable world,” Obama reportedly said. “I want to be able to say, ‘Yes, we did.’” Fittingly, just three weeks after President Obama’s appearance, Georgetown announced that it would comply with the Administration’s HHS contraceptive mandate even as other Catholic colleges and universities battle the legislation in court. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has protested the HHS mandate vociferously. While Georgetown has ignored the requests of the bishops on numerous occasions, it seemed strangely amenable to a request from the White House in 2009 to cover the monogram “IHS,” an ancient Christian symbol of the name of Jesus Christ, while President Obama spoke on campus. In short, Georgetown complies with HHS, while covering up the “IHS.” It’s Caesar before God. Despite all this, Rachel Pugh, director of communications at Georgetown recently said, “Our Catholic and Jesuit identity on campus has never been stronger.” She said this in response to questions concerning a canon law petition submitted to Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl, regarding Georgetown’s compliance with Ex corde Ecclesiae. The petition seeks remedies up to and including rescinding Georgetown’s right to call itself a Catholic university. – See more at: www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/CatholicEducationDaily/DetailsPage/tabid/102/ArticleID/2401/Why-Does-President-Obama-Feel-at-Home-at-Georgetown.aspx#sthash.1Ij0hdFC.dpuf

**SNAP Conference 2013** Headline Speaker Is Radical Pro-Abort Eleanor Smeal, Proving Once Again Group Is Not Really About Sex Abuse July 26, 2013 By TheMediaReport.com www.themediareport.com/2013/07/26/eleanor-smeal-snap-conference-2013/ Lest there be any remaining doubt that the advocacy group SNAP is more about advancing a radical left-wing social agenda than providing actual helpful support for clergy abuse victims, this weekend’s annual conference for the group in Washington D.C. is headlining a speech by Eleanor Smeal, the rabid president of the abortion activist group Feminist Majority. Smeal’s contempt for the Catholic Church cannot be overstated, as she has made it clear that the Catholic Church is her number one obstacle in advancing unfettered abortion-on-demand. A few years ago, she told a pro-abortion gathering, “Opposition from the Roman Catholic Church and of the hierarchy is a major reason this issue (abortion) stays controversial. We’ve got to keep more pressure on this hierarchy [because] they’re vulnerable now [due to the clergy sex abuse scandals].” Smeal’s appearance comes on the heels of last year’s headline speaker, Rev. Barry Lynn, the ringleader of the loopy Americans United for Separation of Church and State, whose speech consisted almost entirely of him railing against the Catholic Church for its opposition to the Obama administration’s healthcare mandate, thus providing more proof that SNAP really has another agenda at play. Wheeling out tired Church bashers This year’s conference will also feature Fr. Thomas Doyle, who has a long documented history of animus against the Church. Doyle actually admitted at last year’s conference that he has “nothing to do with the Catholic Church,” he has “nothing to do with the clerical life,” he is “not associated with the Church in any way,” he operates on his own, and his beliefs are “about as far away from the Vatican as you can get.” In other words, Doyle is a dissident priest who has essentially conceded that he is really not even Catholic. The conference will also feature the angry psychiatrist Marianne Benkert. This will not be Benkert’s first appearance at a SNAP gathering, as the Catholic League reported that her talk at the group’s 2011 meeting was “the most inflammatory address of them all.” According to the Catholic League, Benkert wildly claimed of the Catholic Church: “[It] refuses to acknowledge sin; it engages in scapegoating; it sacrifices others; it is a master of disguise and pretense; it fosters intellectual deviousness; it lies; it forces the faithful to submit their will to the Church; it is controlling; and it causes ‘religious duress’.” In all, the League characterized Benkert’s anger and hatred as “off-the-charts.” Indeed, in 2008, Benkert co-authored a rambling and bizarre paper with Thomas Doyle called, “Religious Duress and Its Impact on Victims of Clergy Sexual Abuse.” Politics and malice, not support In the end, the issue of clergy sex abuse has become nothing but window dressing for a larger broadside against the Catholic Church. The appearances by Smeal, Doyle, and Benkert play very well into SNAP’s real motive: to promote a radical, “progressive” Continue Reading

Will the Next Pope Finally Proclaim “The Theology of Chris Matthews’ Body?” By John White www.catholicvote.org/will-the-next-pope-finally-proclaim-the-theology-of-chris-matthews-body/ The world waits, breathless… So the Pope [Benedict XVI] announces his resignation, and before we even have all the details, Chris Matthews is on MSNBC squealing rabidly about how maybe, just maybe, if we’re lucky, the next Pope will finally modernize the Catholic Church. Not surprisingly, for Matthews this means that the new Pope really ought to re-visit Humane Vitae if he has the “courage, spirituality and the vision to take it on.” Humanae Vitae, Matthews reminds us, was the 1968 encyclical in which Pope Paul VI “made birth control a sin.” Leaving aside the astoundingly childish understanding of sin and who “makes” it, this kind of ho-hum predictability from the Catholic Left is getting to the point where it’s comical. Enter the clown: When the pope came out and made birth control a sin, and stuck to that policy, even in this age we live in now, they lost a lot of people. . . . Marriage isn’t about having sex a few times, and having a few kids, and that’s the end of it. It’s about a loving, physical relationship for years, until death, and sex is a big part of that. . . . So I would say Humanae has to be expanded, has to be refined, and I would like to see a pope do that. Thank you Mr. Matthews, that was beautiful. Unfortunately, not only have you been outsmarted by a series of old single guys with names like Montini, Wojtyla, and Ratzinger – you’ve also been outclassed. Respect for the dignity of the human person might sound a little old-fashioned to you, but it’s a heck of a lot classier than demanding instant satisfaction with no accountability every time you get that old thrill up your leg. Sorry Chris, I know it’s tough to be taken seriously as a committed Catholic and an outspoken Leftist at the same time. Heck, you work hard to be taken seriously at all. But keep trying – the popes can’t keep ignoring you forever.

Archbishop Broglio Discusses Challenges for Catholics in the Armed Forces The head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services reiterates his concern for greater conscience protection. by JOAN FRAWLEY DESMOND National Catholic Register 07/26/2013 Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services is the spiritual leader of 1.8 million Catholics. During a July 25 interview with Register senior editor Joan Frawley Desmond, he discusses emerging challenges to the religious freedom of Catholics in uniform in the wake of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that defines marriage as a union of one man and one woman. Archbishop Broglio notes that Catholic chaplains may not be able to hold marriage retreats in the future, and he endorsed Louisiana Rep. John Fleming’s amendment that would strengthen conscience protections for military personnel. Amid a serious shortage of Catholic chaplains — just 250 to serve Catholics on military bases at home and abroad — he notes that some evangelical groups are drawing Catholics into their churches. Are Catholic chaplains and service members facing challenges to the practice of their faith right now? The challenges are twofold. One is the preservation of their own freedom of conscience, which is well guaranteed by the First Amendment. I don’t think any Catholic chaplain will be asked to do anything against his conscience. But the military has ways to deal with those they want to reprimand, and that can come through promotions and assignments. Second, some chaplains charged with the pastoral care of Catholics in the military are asking, “Are these orders I am asked to fulfill, with regard to people in same-gendered unions, a responsibility I must meet?” That is a more difficult question, and we are still wrestling with it so we can give good guidance. In late April and early May, several statements were issued by the Department of Defense and the Air Force on the subject of religious proselytization, and critics argued that the Pentagon was suppressing religious speech. But on May 2, DOD issued a clarifying statement, “Service members can share their faith (evangelize) but must not force unwanted, intrusive attempts to convert others of any faith or no faith to one’s beliefs (proselytization).” Are you satisfied with that statement? Basically, we are dealing with a situation in which publicity was created in order to call attention to a given organization, which had requested a meeting at the Pentagon. The clarification is there for anyone who might be concerned about previous statements. How is proselytization defined? You are asking them if they have been saved and inviting them to your services in a demanding way. Chaplains are officers and exert a certain influence What issues could become problematic, now that the Defense of Marriage Act has been overturned? A Catholic chaplain will certainly not be required to witness any ceremony contrary to his religious beliefs. Even if he is called to counsel two people in this situation, he could send them Continue Reading

Pope celebrates Mass in Rio cathedral as he encourages Catholics to get out of their churches Published July 27, 2013 Associated Press The Rio de Janeiro version of the Oakland, California, Cathedral of Christ the Light or the Orange, California, Crystal Cathedral RIO DE JANEIRO – Pope Francis is celebrating Mass in Rio de Janeiro’s massive cathedral as he begins the culminating weekend of his first international trip, to the church’s World Youth Day. An estimated 1,000 bishops are celebrating the Mass along with Francis and his message is expected to echo what he has told young pilgrims all week: Go out of your churches to the peripheries and spread the faith to society’s outcasts.

Pope shames Brazil church for letting faithful go By NICOLE WINFIELD and JENNY BARCHFIELD, Associated Press | July 27, 2013 RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Pope Francis issued blistering, soul-searching criticism Saturday of the Brazilian church’s failure to keep its flock from straying to evangelical churches, challenging the region’s bishops to be closer to their people to understand their problems and offer them credible solutions. In the longest and most important speech of his four-month pontificate, Francis drove home a message he has emphasized throughout his first international trip at World Youth Day: the need for priests and young Catholics to shake up the status quo, get out of their stuffy sacristies and reach the faithful on the margins of society or risk losing them to rival churches. Francis took a direct swipe at the “intellectual” message of the church that so characterized the pontificate of his predecessor, Benedict XVI. He said ordinary Catholics simply don’t understand such lofty ideas and need a simpler message of love, forgiveness and mercy. “At times we lose people because they don’t understand what we are saying, because we have forgotten the language of simplicity and import an intellectualism foreign to our people,” he said. “Without the grammar of simplicity, the church loses the very conditions which make it possible to fish for God in the deep waters of his mystery.” In the speech outlining the kind of church that this new pope wants, Francis asked bishops to reflect on why hundreds of thousands of Catholics have left for charismatic Pentecostal congregations that have grown exponentially in recent decades, particularly in Brazil’s slums or favelas, where their charismatic message and nuts-and-bolts advice have been welcomed by the poor. According to Brazilian census data, the number of Catholics dipped from 125 million in 2000 to 123 million in 2010, with the church’s share of the total population dropping from 74 percent to 65 percent. During the same time period, the number of evangelical Protestants and Pentecostals has risen from 26 million to 42 million, an increase of 15 percent to 22 percent of the population in 2010.

Bishops dance to a new tune A new argument against collegiality? Posted by New Catholic at 7/27/2013 rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2013/07/bishops-dance-to-new-tune.html World Youth Day 2013, Bishops practicing for event Rio de Janeiro On this same day, Pope Francis told the youth in Rio: “I am sure you want to be good soil, not part-time Christians, not ‘starchy’ and superficial, but real.” Some obviously missed that speech. Labels: WYD-Rio

Martyrology-July 28th Roman Martyrology-July 28th- on this date in various years- At Milan, the birthday of the holy martyrs Nazarius and a boy named Celsus. While the persecution excited by Nero was raging, they were beheaded by Anolinus, after long sufferings and afflictions endured in prison. At Rome, the martyrdom of St. Victor, pope and martyr. Also at Rome, St. Innocent, pope and confessor, who passed to the Lord on the 12th of March. In Thebais in Egypt, the commemoration of many holy martyrs who suffered in the persecution of Decius and Valerian. At this time, when Christians sought death by the sword for the name of Christ, the crafty enemy devised certain slow torments to put them to death, wishing to kill their souls much more than their bodies. One of these Christians, after suffering the tortured of the rack, of hot metal plates and of seething oil, was smeared with honey and exposed, in the broiling heat of the sun, with his hands tied behind him, to the sting of wasps and flies. Another, bound and placed among flowers, being approached by a shameless woman for the purpose of exciting his passions, bit through his tongue and spat it in her face. At Ancyra in Galatia, the holy martyr Eustathius. After various torments he was plunged into a river, but being delivered by an angel, was finally called to his eternal reward by a dove coming from heaven. At Miletus, in the time of Emperor Licinius, the holy martyr Acatius, who completed his martyrdom by having his head struck off, after having undergone different torments and having been thrown into a furncace, from which throught the assistance of God he came out uninjured. In Brittany, St. Sampson, bishop and confessor. At Lyons in France, St. Peregrinus, priest, whose happiness in heaven is testified by glorious miracles. And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins. R. Thanks be to God.

Martyrology-July 29th Roman Martyrology-July 29th- on this date in various years- At Tarascon, in the province of Narbonne in France, St. Martha, virgin, the hostess of our Saviour and sister of blessed Mary Magdalene and St. Lazarus. At Rome, on the Aurelian Way, St. Felix II, pope and martyr. Being expelled from his See by the Arian emperor Constantius for defending the Catholic faith, and being put to the sword privately at Cera in Tuscany, he died gloriously. His body was taken away from that place by clerics, and buried on the Aurelian Way. It was afterwards brought to the Church of the Saints Cosmas and Damian, where, under the Sovereign Pontiff Gregory XIII, it was found beneath the altar with the relics of the holy martyrs Mark, Marcellian, and Tranquillinus, and with the latter was put back in the same place on the 31st of July. In the same altar were also found the bodies of the holy martyrs Abundius, a priest, and Abundantius, a deacon, which were shortly after solemnly transferred to the church of the Society of Jesus, on the eve of their feast. Also at Rome, on the Via Portuensis, the holy martyrs Simplicius, Faustinus, and Beatrice, in the time of Emperor Diocletian. The first two, after being subjected to many different torments, were condemned to suffer death; Beatrice, their sister, was smothered in prison for the confession of Christ. At Rome, likewise the holy martyrs Lucilla and Flora, virgins, Eugenius, Antoninus, Theodore, and eighteen companions, who underwent martyrdom in the reign of Emperor Gallienus. Again at Rome, St. Serapia, virgin. Under Emperor Hadrian, she was delivered to two lustful young men, and as she could not be corrupted, nor afterwards burned with lighted torches, she was beated with rods, and finally beheaded by order of the judge Derillus. She was buried by blessed Sabina in her own tomb, near the field of Vindician. But the commemoration of her martyrdom is celebrated more solemnly on the 3rd of September, when their common tomb was finished and adorned, and dedicated as a place of prayer. At Gangra in Paphlagonia, St. Callinicus, martyr, who was scourged with iron rods, and given over to other torments. Being finally cast into a furnace, he gave up his soul to God. In Norway, St. Olaf, king and martyr. At Troyes in France, St. Lupus, bishop and confessor, who went with blessed Germanus to England to exterminate the Pelagian heresy, and by diligent prayer defended the city of Troyes from the wrath of Attila, who was devastating all of France. At length, having religiously discharged the functions of the priesthood for fifty-two years, he rested in peace. At St. Brieuc in France, St. William, bishop and confessor. Also, the death of blessed Prosper, bishop of Orleans. At Todi in Umbria, St. Faustinus, confessor. At Mamia, St. Serafina. At Rome, blessed Pope Urban II who followed in the path of St. Gregory VII. He was resplendent for his zeal for learning and religion, Continue Reading

[His words remind me of those of Milton from Satan's mouth in "Paradise Lost"] Desmond Tutu: “I’d rather go to hell than worship a homophobic God.” July 27, 2013 By Carl E. Olson www.catholicworldreport.com/Blog/2455/Desmond_Tutu_Id_rather_go_to_hell_than_worship_a_homophobic_God.aspx King Henry VIII left the Catholic Church in order to divorce and fornicate. Desmond Tutu is apparently willing to abandon theism altogether in order to support and promote homosexuality. From The Daily Mail: Although gay relationships are legal in South Africa, the country has had some of the worst incidences of homophobic violence, UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said. ‘I am as passionate about this campaign as I ever was about apartheid. For me, it is at the same level,’ the 81-year-old archbishop said at the launch of the Free and Equal campaign in Cape Town. Same-sex relationships are illegal in more than a third of countries around the world and punishable by death in five, Ms Pillay said. In Africa, homosexual acts are criminalised in 38 countries, according to the rights group Amnesty International. Tutu, who retired as Archbishop of Cape Town in 1996, has long campaigned for gay rights. ‘I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I would say sorry, I mean I would much rather go to the other place,’ he said. ‘I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this.’ Now, it would be one thing if Tutu were making a stand in opposition to violence against homosexuals, a stand that is laudable and certainly supported by the Catholic Church, despite the ignorant protestations of many (including many Catholics, who think that making a proper moral judgment about homosexual acts is somehow an act of violence). But “gay rights” rarely means such a thing; it usually refers to the wholesale endorsement of homosexuality, including the call for “gay marriage”. And we know that “homophobic” is increasingly used to slander anyone who thinks homosexuality is disordered and that homosexual acts are sinful and contrary to both nature and moral truth. Tutu, the article reports, says, “I am as passionate about this campaign as I ever was about apartheid. For me, it is at the same level.” That is a sad bit of commentary on the sort of confused “thinking”, touted by so many politicians and religious leaders, that cannot distinguish between race/ethnicity and freely chosen actions. The piece also notes that “same-sex relationships” are still punishable by death in several countries. Oddly enough, those countries are not identifed, perhaps because all of them are under Islamic rule. As a February 2012 piece in The Economist noted, “Of the seven countries that impose the death penalty for homosexuality, all are Muslim.” Well, goodness, that’s rather embarrassing for certain world leaders, as the Mail article indicates: When US President Barack Obama visited Senegal at the start of his visis to Africa in June, he urged African nations to decriminalise homosexual acts. But he was publicly rebuffed by President Macky Sall of Senegal Continue Reading

[Picture gallery:] Pope Francis in Rio: millions gather on Copacabana beach to celebrate Mass [et al.] www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/worldnews/10207084/Pope-Francis-in-Rio-millions-gather-on-Copacabana-beach-to-celebrate-Mass.html

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MARTYROLOGY-JULY 28

MARTYROLOGY-JULY 29

Desmond Tutu: “I’d rather go to hell than worship a homophobic God.”

Picture gallery: Pope Francis in Rio: millions gather on Copacabana beach to celebrate Mass et al.