Tuesday, March 22, 2005

New Flannnery O'Connor Biography

IRS Probes Politics at Church

I've wondered how it is that some churches can blatantly support candidates and why the Catholic church is threatened whenever it takes a public position. Finally it seems the IRS is looking into this...



From Herald.com | 03/21/2005 | IRS probes politics at church:



"The IRS has notified a Liberty City church that it is under investigation for possibly engaging in political activity -- putting its tax-exempt status into question.



The probe is related to an appearance last October by Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry and several black leaders, including U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Miami, the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.



The reason for the investigation, an IRS official wrote in a 10-page letter obtained by The Herald, is that ``a reasonable belief exists that Friendship Missionary Baptist Church has engaged in political activities that could jeopardize its tax-exempt status as a church.''"

The Way of the Cross

Amy and I wrote a version of the way of the cross based on the Pope's stations. It is published by Ave Maria Press...



From The Manila Times Internet Edition | LIFE & TIMES > Hope from the Way of the Cross:



"Another variation is a series of scriptural stations as celebrated by Pope John Paul II on Good Friday in 1991 and again in 1994, in Rome. It began with the Agony of Jesus in Gethsemane and ended on his death on the cross. "

Pope's Health Worsening?

From Europe News : Fresh fears over pope's health, ( Breaking News,Kerala news, India News,Us,UK,Kerala Shopping,Onam Special, Kerala Greetings,Kerala Dress,Kerala Recipes,Hindi Tutor,Malayalam tutor, VCD's, DVD's,Bharat:



"Pope John Paul II has had fresh breathing problems and his health is worsening, Italy's newspapers reported on Tuesday, overshadowing the Roman Catholic Church's preparations for Easter Holy Week.



Several newspapers reported fresh fears over the health of the 84-year-old pontiff after rumours that he was being taken to hospital for the third time in seven weeks swept through the international media in Rome late Monday.



However, the Vatican insisted that there were no new developments in his condition.



"The pope's overall condition is more serious today than it was when he was in the Gemelli," conservative Rome daily Il Messaggero reported, citing sources at the Holy See.





"Pray for the pope, because he's getting worse," Il Messaggero quoted the pope's private secretary, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, as telling another Polish priest. "

Refused!

Judge rules against reinserting feeding tube. I had the feeling that this was coming...a modern day Pontius Pilate washing his hands of the affair.



From Federal judge won't order Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted: South Florida Sun-Sentinel:



"A federal judge on Tuesday refused to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, denying an emergency request from the brain-damaged woman's parents.



The ruling by U.S. District Judge James Whittemore comes after feverish action by President Bush and Congress on legislation allowing her contentious case to be reviewed by federal courts. The judge said the 41-year-old woman's parents had not established a ``substantial likelihood of success'' at trial on the merits of their arguments."

Monday, March 21, 2005

President Signs Bill for Terri

What has happened to the Democrat party? Why are they against life in this instance?



From My Way News:



"President Bush signed emergency legislation sent to him by Congress early Monday to allow Terri Schiavo's parents ask a federal judge to prolong their daughter's life, capping days of emotional debate over who should decide life and death.



'In cases like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life,' Bush said in a statement after signing the bill.



After flying back to Washington from his Texas ranch, Bush had waited at the White House to sign the measure permitting a federal review of the case, which could trigger the reinsertion of feeding tubes needed to keep the brain-damaged Florida woman alive.



The House passed the bill on a 203-58 vote after calling lawmakers back for an emergency Sunday session for debate that stretched past midnight."

Orlando Bishop Speaks Out for Terri

From OrlandoSentinel.com: Opinion:



"On Friday, the feeding tube that provided Terri Schiavo with the normal care of food and water was withdrawn. Barring last-minute intervention, Terri has now begun to die by starvation. One can pray that her husband will have a change of heart or that the state of Florida will find new grounds to intervene so that, in spite of what transpired on Friday, a safer course might still be taken and that Terri 'continue to receive nourishment, comfort and loving care' -- as we Catholic Bishops of Florida have continually advocated.



As Pope John Paul II points out in his just released book, Memory and Identity, the crisis of our age is rooted in the presumption that we can decide for ourselves what is good and evil without reference to God. Yet, the Decalogue, while certainly an expression of divine positive law, is nonetheless more than a religious code: It is a reflection of natural law -- of the law written on the heart of man. In other words, we cannot not know that it is wrong to kill innocent human life. "