Beautiful video in this Year of the Priest

H/t: Gennifer

It's happened again!

This story might give pause to those who claim that conscience protections are not needed for medical personnel:

A Catholic nurse in New York claims she was forced in May to participate in the abortion of a 22-week-old fetus against her moral convictions. The nurse alleges in a lawsuit that Mount Sinai Hospital officials knew of her objections to abortion, but told her to assist in the procedure or face disciplinary action, including possible loss of her job and her nursing license.

The nurse, Catherina Cenzon DeCarlo, 35, said in a statement provided by her attorney: 'After I was forced to assist this abortion against my religious objection, I felt violated and betrayed, like I had been raped. I couldn't believe that this could happen in the United States, where freedom is held sacred.'

More

How much "common ground" is there?

C-Fam interviewed Rocco Buttiglione to clarify his reported remarks on protecting the unborn child. I found this particular question and answer enlightening:

Q: Is true common ground possible?

A: There is only a limited setting where we pro-lifers and they pro-choicers can unite in a struggle together – that is where the freedom of choice of the woman is crushed, as well as the life of the child. I don’t think we need to give true pro-choicers any bribe to convince them to join the struggle with us. If it is true, as they claim, that they are not for abortion but rather for freedom of choice, then this gives them the chance to join with us to prove it.

If they don't, then they really are not pro-choice, but pro-abortion. They like abortion. They don’t think that human life must be supported, but one must reduce the world's population by any means necessary.

Also, this initiative forces people to make up their minds. Up until now, the label 'pro-choice' could be a cover for a national socialist ideology of lifeboat ethics: Because there are too many people on earth, all means are acceptable to reduce population. We see that in third world countries, abortion has been much more cruel and widespread than in Western nations.

So now we shall see if common ground is possible.

Kennedy amendment threatens pro-life professionals

The Kennedy amendment is a fake -- despite its title, it does not protect conscience. Please contact your Senators and tell them you want real conscience protections in health-care reform.

The Freedom2Care alert has all the details:

Contacting your U.S. senators today can help stop a deceptive attack on life-affirming physicians, nurses and their patients who decline to participate in abortions.

Here's the problem: A U.S. Senate committee just passed a dangerously deceptive, conscience-threatening amendment to a healthcare reform bill. This is what they did:

• First, the Senate HELP committee voted down good amendments that would have truly protected physicians and nurses from being forced to participate in abortions.
  
  
• Then the committee passed Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy's deceptive amendment #205. This amendment pretends to protect conscience rights but would actually force healthcare professionals to participate in abortions:

1. Physicians and nurses would be forced to actually perform an abortion any time someone labeled the abortion an "emergency.
   
   Of course, "emergency" would include not just medical reasons, but also emotional, financial and virtually any other reason. Nearly every abortion in this way could be called an "emergency."
   
   
2. By requiring an official referral, physicians and nurses would be forced to lead the patient to an abortion clinic or abortion doctor.
   
   
3. The Kennedy amendment gives unqualified freedom and protection to those who perform abortions. But it coerces and harms those who ethically oppose abortion.

What you can do to stop this threat:

Use the Congressional Contacts links below to personally contact your senators' offices. Tell them you are a constituent and (if applicable) a medical professional.

1. Say that you OPPOSE Kennedy conscience amendment #205 to the healthcare bill, recently passed by the Senate HELP Committee.

2. Tell them to KEEP real protections for faith-based and pro-life healthcare professionals--such as the Hyde-Weldon Amendment and the Health and Human Services conscience regulation.

Congressional Contacts:

• Contact my Senator

• Congress and Legislation

Thank you for taking a stand for life!

FOCA by any other name still stinks

The tens of millions of postcards sent to Congress have convinced them that openly advocating passage of FOCA will be highly unpopular. So have they given up? No way! Instead, they have adopted a "FOCA-by-stealth" strategy, by including many of FOCA's provisions in the health care reform package.

Although the Democratic leadership has been coyly insisting that there is no abortion funding / mandate / expansion in the provisions of the bill, the way they vote tells a different story.

As FRC reports:

The Senate HELP Committee continued its markup of the Kennedy healthcare legislation yesterday. Several amendments were offered to protect conscience rights and to prevent funding or mandating of abortion. Sen. Orrin Hatch's (R-Utah) amendment to prevent funding of abortion failed. Sen. Michael Enzi's (R-Wy.) amendment to prevent the healthcare bill from mandating abortion coverage was defeated. Since there is nothing in this legislation to prevent mandating abortion as a covered service, it would be mandated--the Obama Administration health bureaucracy will see to that.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) also offered several amendments to the Kennedy legislation. His amendment to codify the Hyde/Weldon conscience protection law was defeated. His amendment to prevent the healthcare bill from preempting state laws on abortion was defeated. With the exception of Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), the HELP Democrats voted against it. They opposed preventing this legislation from trumping various state laws, such as parental consent laws. One bright note, Sen. Coburn's amendment to protect healthcare workers' conscience rights with regard to euthanasia passed by a voice vote. The amendment ensures that doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers, including healthcare plans, are not forced to violate their conscience on the issue of euthanasia.

Click here for FRC's in-depth analysis of the HELP Committee votes.

With the exception of Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), all the Democratics on the HELP committee have refused to vote to protect conscience rights, to prevent funding or mandating of abortion, or to prevent preempting of state laws on abortion. If they are telling the truth and the health bill will not violate conscience, fund or mandate abortion, or preempt pro-life state laws, then why did they refuse to vote to put these statements explicitly in the bill?

Want to do something about it? Here are some suggestions from NRLC.

- Go to the National Right to Life Legislative Action Center, here, and take a few minutes to use the form there to send messages to your two U.S. senators and to your representative in the U.S. House of Representatives, to urge them to oppose any federal "health care reform" legislation that does not explicitly exclude abortion.

- Please TELEPHONE the offices of your two U.S. senators, give your name and address, and tell the senators' staff persons that you wish to be recorded as "opposed to Senator Kennedy's health care bill because it contains many pro-abortion mandates." The offices of any U.S. senator can be reached through 202-224-3121. Also, please TELEPHONE the office of your U.S. House member, give your name and address, and inform the staff person that you wish to be recorded as "opposed to the House Democratic Leadership health care reform bill because it contains many pro-abortion mandates." You can reach any U.S. House member's office through 202-225-3121. You can also find the direct-dial numbers (and fax numbers) for the Washington and in-state offices of your U.S. senators and U.S. House member by calling up their individual profiles on this website, here.

- Send short letters to the "letters to the editor" features of your local newspapers, in order to alert your fellow pro-life citizens to the sweeping pro-abortion mandates that the Obama White House and the pro-abortion lobby are trying to smuggle into law through "health care reform." You can find contact information for your local news media in the "Media Guide" on the NRLC website, here.

Please pray for Archbishop Chaput

Tom @ American Papist writes:

"Via a friend of the Archbishop's, I am told he is to undergo spine surgery soon. Nothing too serious, I understand, but prayers should be offered up for the health and safety of this leading light in the Church in America."

Catholic Summer Reading Program for Children and Adults

Looking for a Summer reading program? Check out http://www.CatholicSummerReading.com/.

This summer, why not take some time to discover the rich treasure of Catholic literature?

Aquinas and More Catholic Goods, the official sponsor of the Catholic summer reading program, would like to invite you to join in a book discussion at your parish, local Catholic store or online at CatholicBookDiscussion.com. Kids can also get involved by downloading our Catholic Kids Reading Path and filling it in as they read Catholic books during the summer.

H/t: Oremus
Cross-posted from the love2learn blog

Pray for our Nation - July 5

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Call2Fall

Thank Pro-Life Democrats, help them stop taxpayer funding of abortion

First, some good news: a group of Pro-Life Democrats showed their courage in standing up for Life against their party's leadership. Let's show our support for them!

And second, some bad news. Pro-abortion groups are pushing for taxpayer-funded abortions to become part of the health care reform package. Please let your Rep / Senators know that you don't want your tax money used this way.

Details below.

1. From the Susan B Anthony List:

This past week 19 pro-life Democrats, including Pro-Life Women's Caucus member Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA), sent a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to call for an explicit ban on taxpayer funding for abortion in health care reform legislation.

These pro-life leaders need our support and gratitude. Please write them today and thank them for standing up for the cause of Life, against their own party leadership. ...

Protecting women and the unborn should not be a partisan issue - it's a matter of basic human rights. That's why its so important to support those pro-life leaders who boldly place principle before politics.

2. Meanwhile, LifeNews reports that the pro-abortion groups Planned Parenthood and NARAL are calling on their supporters to demand taxpayer funding of abortion in health care reform. While Cecile Richards of PP uses the code phrase "comprehensive reproductive health services",

NARAL's Nancy Keenan is less deceptive in her own email to her pro-abortion forces.

"Unless we act now, the Senate could ban reproductive-health services from being covered in the new health-care system. Millions of women could lose coverage for abortion," she says. "We need your help to convince senators on the Finance Committee to stand up against this divisive anti-choice attack."

Keenan goes on to say that abortion advocates need to contact the Senate Finance Committee before it takes up the bill next week so abortion and tax-funded abortions remain a possibility under the health care reform bill it is considering.

Pro-life Americans need to do the opposite:

ACTION:
1) Please click here to send an email asking your Congressional delegation to exclude abortion funding from any health care reform bills. (1 minute)

2) Contact members of the Senate Finance Committee and urge strong support for any amendments to stop abortion coverage or taxpayer-funded abortions in the health care plan. Click here for a list of the committee members, then click on the senator's name for a direct office phone number or call 202-224-3121 and ask for the senator by name. (< 5 minutes)