This is an article from the catholic citizens website www.catholiccitizens.org . It tells of the debate OBAMA had within the Illinois legistlature over protecting babies who are mistakenly born alive despite attempts to kill them via abortion. These babies suffer some of the most horrible attempts at takinh their life and still when they survive even this they go on to suffer alone in darkened rooms to struggle for every breath in pain until finally they breath their last and their spirits return to the Father who loved them and made them in His own image. the article follows...
The most telling debate Barack Obama ever had was not with John McCain but Patrick O'Malley, who served with Mr. Obama in the Illinois Senate and engaged him in a colloquy every American should read.
The Obama-O'Malley debate was a defining moment for Mr. Obama because it dealt with such a fundamental issue: The state's duty to protect the civil rights of the young and disabled.
Some background: Eight years ago, nurse Jill Stanek went public about the "induced-labor abortions" performed at the Illinois hospital where she worked. Often done on Down syndrome babies, the procedure involved medicating the mother to cause premature labor.
Babies who survived this, Nurses Stanek testified in the U.S. Congress, were brought to a soiled linen room and left alone to die without care or comforting.
Then-Illinois state Sen. Patrick O'Malley, whom I interviewed this week, contacted the state attorney general's office to see whether existing laws protected a newborn abortion-survivor's rights as a U.S. citizen. He was told they did not. So, Mr. O'Malley - a lawyer, veteran lawmaker and colleague of Mr. Obama on the Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee - drafted legislation.
In 2001, he introduced three bills. SB1093 said if a doctor performing an abortion believed there was a likelihood the baby would survive, another physician must be present "to assess the child's viability and provide medical care." SB1094 gave the parents, or a state-appointed guardian, the right to sue to protect the child's rights. SB1095 simply said a baby alive after "complete expulsion or extraction from its mother" would be considered a " 'person,' 'human being,' 'child' and 'individual.' "
The bills dealt exclusively with born children. "This legislation was about preventing conduct that allowed infanticide to take place in the state of Illinois," Mr. O'Malley told me.
The Judiciary Committee approved the bills with Mr. Obama in opposition. On March 31, 2001, they came up on the Illinois Senate floor. Only one member spoke against them: Barack Obama.
"Nobody else said anything," Mr. O'Malley recalls. The official transcript validates this.
"Sen. O'Malley," Mr. Obama said near the beginning of the discussion, "the testimony during the committee indicated that one of the key concerns was - is that there was a method of abortion, an induced abortion, where the - the fetus or child, as - as some might describe it, is still temporarily alive outside the womb." Mr. Obama made three crucial concessions here: the legislation was about (1) a human being, who was (2) "alive" and (3) "outside the womb."
He also used an odd redundancy: "temporarily alive." Is there another type of human?
"And one of the concerns that came out in the testimony was the fact that they were not being properly cared for during that brief period of time that they were still living," Mr. Obama continued.
Here he made another crucial concession: The intention of the legislation was to make sure that (1) a human being, (2) alive and (3) outside the womb was (4) "properly cared for."
"Is that correct?" Mr. Obama asked Mr. O'Malley.
Mr. O'Malley tightened the logical knot. "[T]his bill suggests that appropriate steps be taken to treat that baby as a - a citizen of the United States and afforded all the rights and protections it deserves under the Constitution of the United States," said Mr. O'Malley.
But to these specific temporarily-alive-outside-the-womb-human beings - to these children who had survived a botched abortion, whose hearts were beating, whose muscles were moving, whose lungs were heaving - to these specific children of God, Mr. Obama was not willing to concede any constitutional rights at all.
To explain his position, Mr. Obama came up with yet another term to describe the human being who would be protected by Mr. O'Malley's bills. The abortion survivor became a "pre-viable fetus."
By definition, however, a born baby cannot be a "fetus." Merriam-Webster Online defines "fetus" as an "unborn or unhatched vertebrate" or "a developing human from usually two months after conception to birth." Mr. Obama had already conceded these human beings were "alive outside the womb."
"No. 1," said Mr. Obama, "whenever we define a pre-viable fetus as a person that is protected by the equal protection clause or other elements of the Constitution, what we're really saying is, in fact, that they are persons that are entitled to the kinds of protections that would be provided to a - a child, a 9-month-old - child that was delivered to term."
Yes. In other words, a baby born alive at 37 weeks is just as much a human "person" as a baby born alive at 22 weeks.
Mr. Obama, however, saw a problem with calling abortion survivors "persons." "I mean, it - it would essentially bar abortions," said Mr. Obama, "because the equal protection clause does not allow somebody to kill a child, and if this is a child, then this would be an antiabortion statute."
For Mr. Obama, whether or not a temporarily-alive-outside-the-womb little girl is a "person" entitled to constitutional rights is not determined by her humanity, her age or even her place in space relative to her mother's uterus. It is determined by whether a doctor has been trying to kill her.
Terence P. Jeffrey is a nationally syndicated columnist.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
From Our Holy Father
One must be re-educated to the desire to know authentic truth, to defend one's own freedom of choice in regard to mass behaviour and the lures of propaganda, to nourish passion for moral beauty and a clear conscience. This is the delicate duty of parents and educators who assist them; and it is the duty of the Christian community with regard to its faithful.
Concerning the Christian conscience, its growth and nourishment, one cannot be content with fleeting contact with the principal truths of faith in infancy, but a programme of accompaniment is necessary along the various stages of life, opening the mind and the heart to welcome the fundamental duties upon which the existence of the individual and the community rest.
Only in this way will it be possible to prepare youth to comprehend the values of life, love, marriage and the family. Only in this way can they be brought to appreciate the beauty and the sanctity of the love, joy and responsibility of being parents and collaborators of God in giving life.
In the absence of a continuous and qualified formation, the capacity for judgment of the problems posed by biomedicine in the areas of sexuality, new-born life, procreation, and also in the way to treat and care for patients and the weaker sectors of society, becomes even more problematic.
It is certainly necessary to speak about the moral criteria that regard these themes with professionals, doctors and lawyers, to engage them to elaborate a competent judgment of conscience, and if need be, also a courageous objection of conscience, but an equal need rises from the basic level for families and parish communities in the process of the formation of youth and adults.
Under this aspect, next to Christian formation, whose aim is the knowledge of the Person of Christ, of his Word and Sacraments in the itinerary of faith of children and adolescents, one must consistently fuse the discourse on moral values that regard the body, sexuality, human love, procreation, respect for life at every moment, at the same time with valid and precise motives, reporting behaviour contrary to these primary values.
In this specific field the work of priests must be opportunely flanked by the commitment of lay educators, also specialists, dedicated to the duty to guide the ecclesial reality with their knowledge enlightened by faith.
Therefore, I ask the Lord to send among you, dear brothers and sisters, and among those dedicated to science, medicine, law and politics, witnesses endowed with true and upright consciences in order to defend and promote the "splendour of the truth" and to sustain the gift and mystery of life.
I trust in your help
Concerning the Christian conscience, its growth and nourishment, one cannot be content with fleeting contact with the principal truths of faith in infancy, but a programme of accompaniment is necessary along the various stages of life, opening the mind and the heart to welcome the fundamental duties upon which the existence of the individual and the community rest.
Only in this way will it be possible to prepare youth to comprehend the values of life, love, marriage and the family. Only in this way can they be brought to appreciate the beauty and the sanctity of the love, joy and responsibility of being parents and collaborators of God in giving life.
In the absence of a continuous and qualified formation, the capacity for judgment of the problems posed by biomedicine in the areas of sexuality, new-born life, procreation, and also in the way to treat and care for patients and the weaker sectors of society, becomes even more problematic.
It is certainly necessary to speak about the moral criteria that regard these themes with professionals, doctors and lawyers, to engage them to elaborate a competent judgment of conscience, and if need be, also a courageous objection of conscience, but an equal need rises from the basic level for families and parish communities in the process of the formation of youth and adults.
Under this aspect, next to Christian formation, whose aim is the knowledge of the Person of Christ, of his Word and Sacraments in the itinerary of faith of children and adolescents, one must consistently fuse the discourse on moral values that regard the body, sexuality, human love, procreation, respect for life at every moment, at the same time with valid and precise motives, reporting behaviour contrary to these primary values.
In this specific field the work of priests must be opportunely flanked by the commitment of lay educators, also specialists, dedicated to the duty to guide the ecclesial reality with their knowledge enlightened by faith.
Therefore, I ask the Lord to send among you, dear brothers and sisters, and among those dedicated to science, medicine, law and politics, witnesses endowed with true and upright consciences in order to defend and promote the "splendour of the truth" and to sustain the gift and mystery of life.
I trust in your help
If these stats are true (and I fear they are) then Our bishops, our priests, our educators, and ouselves - all of us HAVE FAILED
Overall, 44 percent of Catholics said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, while 54 percent said it should not. About 61 percent of young Catholics reported it was not a very important voting issue, compared to 56 percent of Catholics 35 years and older.
As a whole, 30 percent of Catholics agreed that “gay couples should be allowed to marry,” rising to 47 percent when the question is framed by the insistence that “no church or congregation would be required to perform marriages for gay couples.”
Only 26 percent of young Catholics said they favored no legal recognition for same-sex couples, compared to 32 percent of those 35 years old and up. About 22 percent of young Catholics considered it a very important voting issue, compared with 27 percent of those 35 and older.
Respondents were also asked what they heard talked about in church. Among all Catholics, 90 percent said they have heard about hunger and poverty while 78 percent claimed to have heard about abortion and 37 percent claimed to have heard about homosexuality. About 33 percent said they heard about immigration while 58 percent said they had heard about the war in Iraq and 54 percent said they heard about the environment at church.
As a whole, 30 percent of Catholics agreed that “gay couples should be allowed to marry,” rising to 47 percent when the question is framed by the insistence that “no church or congregation would be required to perform marriages for gay couples.”
Only 26 percent of young Catholics said they favored no legal recognition for same-sex couples, compared to 32 percent of those 35 years old and up. About 22 percent of young Catholics considered it a very important voting issue, compared with 27 percent of those 35 and older.
Respondents were also asked what they heard talked about in church. Among all Catholics, 90 percent said they have heard about hunger and poverty while 78 percent claimed to have heard about abortion and 37 percent claimed to have heard about homosexuality. About 33 percent said they heard about immigration while 58 percent said they had heard about the war in Iraq and 54 percent said they heard about the environment at church.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Why the Abortion Issue Matters MORE Than Any Other - Because An Error In The Beginning Is An Error Indeed.
"An error in the beginning is an error indeed." is a quote from St. Thomas Aquinas that I think is so important in framing the issue of abortion properly. Many a Catholic, and many people in general, will say that they of course hate abortion but that it is one of many issues modern people must confront. They say that the battle against abortion must be fought side by side with the battle against poverty, war, and economic injustice. They may even say that in winning these other battles we will in turn effect positive change in the abortion issue. They tend to frame the issue economically rather than spiritually. How so? They see abortion as the result of poverty, economic hardships, and a culture that doesn't "support women" well.
This view is not only wrong-headed, it is dangerous. This is the view that has lead so many to give up the good fight against abortion. This is the view that has allowed many to justify support for leaders who promote "choice" and promise freedom from "injustice" in many varied forms. This is the view that fails to see that an error in the beginning is an error indeed.
We have a choice as believers. We can put our faith in world action to move Jesus' spiritual plan forward or we can put our faith in spiritual action in order to change the world. Now, is abortion a worldly issue or a spiritual issue? That is the primary question to ask. What I mean by this is, are the deaths of millions of innocents at the request of their own mothers a brutal blemish on our human capacity to love and welcome the unborn into our world? Or are their violent deaths a bloody feast for the demonic to feed on and gain strength and power from in order to propel God's children further and further away from their Father?
Of course we live in the world an so the death of the unborn at the hands of their mothers is a fact that effects the world now and in the material order. We are literally missing people! We have wiped out so many faces and names, so many hands and feet and minds. This is a tragedy of the material order. But we fail to see that the damage that abortion does spiritually is far reaching and pervades all other issues we confront as a society. If we hate the abuse of the poor, if we hate war, if we hate racism and bigotry, if we long for the dignity of man to be restored, then we must see that the root of all these injustices is grounded firmly in abortion. They draw their strength from the blood that soaks the ground beneath them, the blood of the unborn.
How can abortion lead to other injustices? Because "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12. God thought so highly of motherhood, so highly of the unborn, that He chose to place Himself among their ranks. He has therefore blessed this state (of a mother carrying her unborn child within her) by His own participation in it. He has raised the level of motherhood to one of great spiritual significance. He has shown us the dignity and the preciousness of new life by choosing to partake in this greatest of all miracles. Satan understands this well. He is no fool. He went to the woman in the garden and he continues to go to the women today. He knows that we women hold the greatest of powers within our very wombs. We cooperate with God so intimately that a new person and their God-given soul take up residence within our very bodies! Satan seeks to destroy this greatest of treasures and to make out of it a curse!
When we curse the very thing that makes us great, the very thing that shows us when and where all human beings get their great dignity, we lose sight of what it means to be made in God's image and we lose sight then of all the dignity man deserves. We begin to see humans as disposable, replaceable. We strip away the very foundation man has to stand on in order to say that he is endowed by his Creator with rights, rights that cannot be arbitrarily dismissed! When abortion is left to stand side by side with other issues we fail to see that abortion's blood stains everything that robs man of his dignity and value. We fail to see that an error in the beginning is an error indeed.
This view is not only wrong-headed, it is dangerous. This is the view that has lead so many to give up the good fight against abortion. This is the view that has allowed many to justify support for leaders who promote "choice" and promise freedom from "injustice" in many varied forms. This is the view that fails to see that an error in the beginning is an error indeed.
We have a choice as believers. We can put our faith in world action to move Jesus' spiritual plan forward or we can put our faith in spiritual action in order to change the world. Now, is abortion a worldly issue or a spiritual issue? That is the primary question to ask. What I mean by this is, are the deaths of millions of innocents at the request of their own mothers a brutal blemish on our human capacity to love and welcome the unborn into our world? Or are their violent deaths a bloody feast for the demonic to feed on and gain strength and power from in order to propel God's children further and further away from their Father?
Of course we live in the world an so the death of the unborn at the hands of their mothers is a fact that effects the world now and in the material order. We are literally missing people! We have wiped out so many faces and names, so many hands and feet and minds. This is a tragedy of the material order. But we fail to see that the damage that abortion does spiritually is far reaching and pervades all other issues we confront as a society. If we hate the abuse of the poor, if we hate war, if we hate racism and bigotry, if we long for the dignity of man to be restored, then we must see that the root of all these injustices is grounded firmly in abortion. They draw their strength from the blood that soaks the ground beneath them, the blood of the unborn.
How can abortion lead to other injustices? Because "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12. God thought so highly of motherhood, so highly of the unborn, that He chose to place Himself among their ranks. He has therefore blessed this state (of a mother carrying her unborn child within her) by His own participation in it. He has raised the level of motherhood to one of great spiritual significance. He has shown us the dignity and the preciousness of new life by choosing to partake in this greatest of all miracles. Satan understands this well. He is no fool. He went to the woman in the garden and he continues to go to the women today. He knows that we women hold the greatest of powers within our very wombs. We cooperate with God so intimately that a new person and their God-given soul take up residence within our very bodies! Satan seeks to destroy this greatest of treasures and to make out of it a curse!
When we curse the very thing that makes us great, the very thing that shows us when and where all human beings get their great dignity, we lose sight of what it means to be made in God's image and we lose sight then of all the dignity man deserves. We begin to see humans as disposable, replaceable. We strip away the very foundation man has to stand on in order to say that he is endowed by his Creator with rights, rights that cannot be arbitrarily dismissed! When abortion is left to stand side by side with other issues we fail to see that abortion's blood stains everything that robs man of his dignity and value. We fail to see that an error in the beginning is an error indeed.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Where your TREASURE is so also your HEART will be...
Where ever we find our treasure we place our hearts. When our hearts are left to find joy in the finite things of this world we are left empty and wanting more.
Yet when we seek our treasure in doing the will of God He rewards us with an ever expanding love that covers all failures and deficits. I have found great treasure in the children God has given me. There too is my heart. But my heart did not think it could love this much or this many...God asked for my leap of faith and He has rewarded me with a heart that has grown larger and more willing to risk it all for love.
My children are my treasure. There also is my heart. In these days of uncertainty and financial anxieties I take great comfort in knowing that my treasure is secure. My fortune is my family and no market crash can ever devalue or discredit that. I was reminded of this while praying the rosary with Tim the other night. First of all listening to tim pray is one of my all time favorite things! There is nothing better or more attractive than a man who is humble enough to PRAY!!! The Blessed Mother has been so good to us and I was reminded as we sat in our family rm how blessed we really are. I have a beautiful family and that is something I need to cherish more. I often give it a lot of lip service but I need to really LIVE IT from the heart.
LEFTOVERS
Talking talking talking coffee coffee
coffee...I love these people!!! How I miss Kelly and Martin and the kids!!!
What a gift my family is to me!
I am RICH beyond compare!! The Lord has blessed me with People! And as we say often in this household - "People are more important than things!"
These pics are "leftovers" from Kelly and Martin's stay here with us this summer. There was a mix up and somehow pics got deleted...MArtin sent a back up cd and I was finally able to go through ALL the pics...whew!
Life has been fast and furious lately. Not at all how I prefer it. I like things slow and easy going. I am beco
ming more and more convicted every day that life needs to become less complicated in order for it to become more rich!
My kiddos have enough challenges to meet and me to prepare them for just by growing and learning and being part of a family. That in and of itself keeps me busy. I must try to focus on what matters and "keep it simple stupid"!
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