What I've Been Reading

The new Bad Catholic book report is ready at The Eclectic Reader.

Jesus Stops Armed Robbery

A store clerk in Florida told an Armed Robber, "I know you're going to do whatever you're going to do, but let me share my Jesus with you first." The guy left without taking a cent. Full story from Matthew Warner at National Catholic Register and Fox News.

Anglican Attitudes to Sanctity

(With thanks to the blog Catholic Church Conservation that I stole this from.)

Archbishop Wuerl On Religious Freedom

I went looking for a great speech by a Catholic Bishop on religious freedom and I found one.

People of Faith Must Stand Together Against the Culture of Death

Freedom of Religion

Mormon Church Elder Dallin Oaks. Why can't some of our Catholic Bishops give a sermon like this?

Freedom of Religion

The Bad Catholic is no big fan of Mormonism, but everything that this guy says is right on the money.



"We must obey God rather than men." Saint Peter

IT'S LATER THAN WE THINK!

Freedom of Religion vs. Freedom of Worship

"We must obey God rather than men." Saint Peter



IT'S LATER THAN WE THINK!

Civil Disobedience

"We must obey God rather than men." Saint Peter



IT'S LATER THAN WE THINK!

Fake Episcopal Nun Scams Donors

Read the full story from the New York Post.

New York Parish Declines to Sell Property to Islamic Group

Full story from Yahoo News.

Russian Government Promotes the Orthodox Church

The Russian Government is actively promoting the Orthodox Church. Read the full story from Yahoo news.

Fewer Spaniards Are Catholic

A survey says that fewer people in Spain identify themselves as Catholics. Full story from Yahoo news.

Vanishing Nuns

Due to the "culture crisis," i.e. the fact that modern Western Society is pagan and hostile to Christianity, several orders of nuns in Cambridge, England are facing possible extinction. Read the full story here.

Israel Threatens to Cut Off Water To Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Municipal authorities in Jerusalem are threatening to cut off water for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Read the full story from Asia News.

Catholic Instructor Re-Hired by University of Illinois

The Catholic Instructor fired by the University of Illinois for teaching Church doctrine in a class on Catholicism has been offered his job back.

Prayer Prohibited At Supreme Court

The Supreme Court police prohibited a teacher and her students from praying on the grounds of the Supreme Court building in Washington saying that it was "illegal." Full story from the Alliance Defense Fund. IT'S LATER THAN WE THINK.

Federal Judge Rules that a Public University may expell a student for her Christian Beliefs

Some troll of a Federal District Judge has ruled that a University in Michigan was justified in expelling a college student from a counseling program because she refused to counsel homosexuals based upon her religious beliefs.

Folks, it won't be long before they are ruling that just holding an orthodox Christian belief on sin is enough to deny a person a professional license in all professions.

Think about what you will do when you are denied a professional license, denied a job or a promotion, or your children are denied an education because they are Catholic. Think it can't happen in America? It's already happening. Jesus promised us persecution. It's here. Read the full story here.

THE ACTIVE PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS IN THE U.S. HAS BEGUN.
IT'S LATER THAN WE THINK!

Barcelona Bans Bull Fighting

The region of Catalonia in Spain has passed a law banning bull fights. What in the world would Ernest Hemingway think about this? Read the full story from Yahoo.

The Anglican Church Really Has Gone to the Dogs!

A dog was served Holy Communion in an Anglican Church in Canada. Since the Eucharist obviously has little or no meaning for these people, what's the point of going to Church at all? Why not just meditate and love all beings? I'm so numb I don't think that anything can shock me anymore. Read the full story at the Aggie Catholic.

College Student Thrown Out of Counseling Program Because of Orthodox Christian Beliefs

A college student in Augusta, Georgia has been thrown out of a counseling program because her Evangelical Christian views of homosexuality as a sin is "inconsistent with the couseling profession."

The girls professors demanded that she complete a "remediation plan" which was designed to eliminate her beliefs. Among other things, the professors demanded that the student attend a "Gay Pride Parade." When the girl refused to do these things, she was thrown out of the program.

The Alliance Defense Fund has filed a lawsuit on the student's behalf in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. Read the whole thing here.

As I said in an earlier post today, its later than we think. I can't help but wondering if there would have been a different result if the student had been a devout Muslim instead of a Christian?

Judge Applies Sharia Law in New Jersey

A trial judge in New Jersey ruled that a Muslim man had no criminal intent when he forced his wife to have sex with him against her will. According to the learned judge, the man lacked criminal intent because under Islamic law a wife is not allowed to refuse her husband's demand for sex. Fortunately, a New Jersey appeals court has reversed this decision. Read the full story from Jihad Watch.

When American judges make rulings like this, our country is already half gone. It's later than we think.

What the Pope is Doing During his Summer Vacation

Wild Nights of Gay Priests

An Italian magazine has done a "tell all" article about sexually active gay priests in Rome who say Mass by day and party at night. In response the Vatican has called for the resignation of all such priests.

The secular world doesn't seem to get it that the problem is not these men having a homosexual orientation but their sinful lifestyle in violation of their vows. It would be just as bad if a priest were actively fornicating with a woman. The problem is SIN not SEX.

We are all sinners and we must cling to the sacraments, especially Confession, and we must pray for each other as we struggle with our spiritual weakness and the attacks of the Evil One.

Fascinating!

The Pertinacious Papist reports that an exorcism prayer said by priests at an abortion clinic had immediate results. Fascinating!

Christians Prosecuted for Evangelizing to Michigan Muslims

Read the full story here.

Anglican Muddle

The BAD CATHOLIC remains nostalgic about his former religious affiliation and is fascinated by all things Anglican. Father Dwight Longenecker has an excellent post about the current muddle in the "C of E."

Change: Yes They Did It To Us

Red State.com reports that new tax regulations in the Health Care law will require businesses to file 1099 reports on any vendor with which it does more than $600 worth of business. This will result in a massive paperwork burden for small businesses and a tremendous new burden on the IRS. Read the whole thing here.

Spiritual Warfare

An important post from the blog Abbey Roads has the text of a letter from the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina to a group of nuns regarding same sex marriage.

The Teachings of the Catholic Church are "Hate Speech"

A professor at the University of Illinois has been fired for "hate speech" for publicly saying that he agrees with the teachings of the Catholic Church on homosexuality. This is a taste of things to come. Since the teachings of the Catholic Church are "hate speech," how long can it be before simply being Catholic will be akin to being a member of the KKK?

Read the full story at the American Papist.

Saint Maria Goretti

Today is the feast day of Saint Maria Goretti.

Dubai Says Airport Scanners Violate Islam

Full body scanners at airports violate Islamic law and will not longer be used in Dubai. Read the full story here.

PILGRIMAGE TO THE SHRINE OF SAINT FLANNERY

The BAD CATHOLIC recently had occasion to be in Milledgeville, Georgia. As you may know, Gentle Reader, Milledgeville was the antebellum capital of the State of Georgia. Along with visiting the Old Governor's Mansion and the Old Statehouse and riding by the famous Central State Hospital, which at one time was the largest mental hospital in the world, I also made the pilgrimage to Andalusia Farm, the home of Flannery O'Connor.

The people who have opened the house and farm to the public are doing the best they can, but many of the outbuildings of the dairy farm run by the O'Connors are in very bad shape. Much work needs to be done in the main house and on the grounds as well. I am sure that donations would be appreciated.

I very much enjoyed my visit. Like other visitors, I was struck by the fact that whereas 50 years ago Andalusia Farm, which is located five miles outside of Milledgeville on the road to Eatonton, was out in the middle of nowhere, now it is surrounded by Walmart, fast food restaurants, strip malls, car dealerships and motels. (As an aside, Eatonton is the home of another famous Georgia author, Joel Chandler Harris of Uncle Remus fame). The curator at Andalusia, Mr. Craig Amason, is very friendly and an expert on all things Flannery.

Miss Mary Flannery's bedroom on the first floor, which needs a paint job, shows the spartan conditions under which the stricken young writer lived and worked. There is a simple bed, a crucifix, some bookcases, a typewriter, and a pair of crutches. Flannery would write for several hours every morning and then in the afternoon she would read, write letters and enjoy the menagerie of animals including her famous peacocks. As I walked up to the house, I was delighted to see a peacock in a pen displaying his fabulous tail feathers.

I also went to the Saturday vigil mass at Flannery's Church, Sacred Heart Parish. This small 19th century structure is much unchanged from its original appearance. I was delighted to see what I presume are the pre-Vatican II statutes of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph flanking the altar and the intact marble altar rail. When I visited, there were young people standing outside waiting for the priest to open the doors to the Church to go to confession before mass, and the exposition of the blessed sacrament and recitation of the rosary were well attended. The Church was packed for mass. I can report that Catholic Christianity is alive and well in Middle Georgia.

Even though it's summer, there seemed to be plenty of students from Flannery O'Connor's alma mater, Georgia College and State University (formerly Georgia Women's College) still in Milledgeville. My tour guides at the Governor's Mansion and the Old Capitol Building were both history majors at Georgia College.

If anyone out there goes to Milledgeville, the place where the locals hang out downtown is a bar and grill across from the Georgia College campus called The Brick. The food is excellent, the beer is on tap, and the service from some very attractive young waitresses is outstanding. (Like Andy Griffith said "My wife told me I could look at the pretty girls so long as I never touched nary a one of 'em. So I've had to do an awful lot of lookin' to make up for that one disability.")

Flannery, history, worship and girl watching all in one trip. Can't do any better than that. It might make a good short story, don't you think?

4th of July Special Presentation

Since its the 4th of July I thought I might as well embed this video too. I always loved this song and the John Wayne movie. In thinking about the sacrifices of the men and women of the American armed forces today and in the past, I think that a lot of politicians are going to have a lot to answer for on Judgment Day. To quote Rambo, "Why didn't you let us win?"

Independence Day

Daughters of Zion

Here are my good friends and Christian sisters Margie Guyton and Ranie Brown who perform as the "Daughters of Zion." Make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Amen.