This week: The chain reaction of love. Planned Parenthood benefits when Kathleen Sebelius’ AG shreds key documents supporting 107 criminal charges. What happened to one 9.9 ounce blob of tissue. Paralyzed at 13 by an accident, cured by another 13 years later. One genuine Catholic college. A sane analysis of the Occupy Wall Street thing. One candidate addresses the war on religion.

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Mary DeTurris Poust wrote over at Our Sunday Visitor: “What moves you to change? Where do you need to be healed and where can you offer some healing? Take ten minutes to watch this powerful clip and see what feelings and thoughts it stirs up. We often don’t think about the chain reaction of love we can set in motion through even the smallest kindness.” I couldn’t put it any better than that.

(This video is no longer available.)

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Planned Parenthood of Kansas had 107 criminal charges against it, including 23 felonies involving cover-up of child rape. Pro-abortion Kathleen Sebelius appointed a new attorney general who destroyed the documents so that the case could not be prosecuted. Sebelius is now Obama’s HHS head, forcing support for abortion and contraception every way possible.

LifeNews.com has more on this outrageous scandal.

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In 1989, 27 week old Madeline Mann was born at 9.9 ounces. This is what that lump of cells, that blob of tissue, that fertilized egg, Madeline, looked like then and now:

Today Madeline is a happy, healthy, honors college student majoring in psychology. This item was spotted by Patrick at CMR.

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Monique van der Vorst won two silver medals in the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games for handcycling. She has been paralyzed since 13, losing the use of her legs. In training for the 2012 London Paralympics, she suffered a crash. It turned-out to be a blessing:

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Genuine Catholic colleges still exist. Places that not only prepare students for their future but who also build, not destroy, their faith. One of them is the Wyoming Catholic College:

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Professor Chris Coyne of George Mason University offers this brief, sane analysis of the Occupy Wall Street thing:

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The current administration’s war on freedom of religion is very real. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops is seriously concerned. I wrote about this in a previous 7QTF.

Would Rick Perry make a good president? I am not convinced, but he would at least stop our precipitous slide the current administration is taking us, including on freedom of religion. Being a founding principal and all, I bet you didn’t think this was debatable.

Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was started by Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary to address this blogging need. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Jen for hosting this project!

This week: The reason for the season (from Advent Conspiracy). Not only the most seminarians in years, but very impressive ones too. Rolling back the “spirit of Vatican II” changes – not everyone “gets it.” Another Planned Parenthood worker leaves their evil empire. WKRP Turkey Drop, still a hoot! A heartwarming story of 9 beagles. Our federal government is shutting down the work of the Church – you should be alarmed.

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Some say it is the holiday season, time for shopping, gifts, food, fun, parties, decorations. Maybe so, but more importantly it is Advent. Here is a great little video from the Advent Conspiracy:

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CNS reports Catholic seminary enrollment up, but numbers seen as only part of story. Some seminaries are OVER capacity! Theological College’s Father Brown comments “It’s not just the numbers but the quality and spirit of the men who are coming.” Father Zuhlsdorf also covers the story with his perspective and comments.

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Sound the alert! They are canceling Vatican II!!! The progressive “spirit of Vatican II” crowd (those who promote vast changes which are not in any way actually in Vatican II — or to be more blunt, genuinely Catholic) are unhappy. The corrected translation is just the latest “flash point.” This video explains quite well, in an amusing way:

In February I wrote a 2-part post on “reforming the reform” here and here.

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Catherine Adair joined Planned Parenthood to provide women with safe and affordable health care, or so she was told. Like so many others who have broken free of their employment, she now wants to add her voice to the truth. The pregnancy care 98% of PP’s clients receive is the death of their child. LifeNews.com has the story.

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Remember when WKRP (in Cincinnati) celebrated Thanksgiving with their Turkey Drop? Funny memories…

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I think that PETA is a fine collection of nut-cases. That said, I am very fond of dogs and applaud efforts to reduce their use in testing and rescuing them when they are no longer needed. The Animal Rescue Media Education (ARME) and Beagle Freedom Project do that.

Here is the story of 9 beagles who lived their entire lives in metal cages. No human touch, warm bed, companionship, or going outside:

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I am surprised how many Catholics are clueless about the serious, concerted attack by the Obama administration against our right to practice our religion. They now prefer the term freedom of worship (as in hidden, private) vs. freedom of religion (as in to live your faith). This is VERY serious and primarily an attack against Catholicism. They particularly hate us for our opposition to “gay marriage” and abortion. Archbishop Timothy Dolan (USCCB President) has written an open letter to Obama, a very unusual action. The problem is so serious that the USCCB has organized a committee of some heavy-hitters on this issue and created this petition. Catholics are under attack by the Obama administration, make no mistake about this. We have lost hope and this is not change we can believe in.

Marcel has just written about one example as The Assault on Religious Liberty Continues. Read it to learn why the monks of Belmont Abbey College are suing the federal government.

Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was started by Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary to address this blogging need. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Jen for hosting this project!

This week: A stunning, beautiful visualization of life from conception to birth. Fr. Barron on just being a good person. Giving, why? New York’s ten year battle against “Choose Life” license plates (they are “offensive”). Milton Friedman on capitalism, more relevant than ever. Holy Smoke. Andrew Klavan’s take on the media and Occupy Wall Street.

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Alexander Tsiaras is Associate Professor of Medicine and Chief of Scientific Visualization at Yale. In the course of his work for NASA on virtual surgery, he produced this stunning visualization of a baby from conception to birth (also the name of his book):

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Faith is at its essence being good, right? This logic sounds correct to many, including many Catholics. Father Barron disagrees:

To place ungrounded ethics above doctrine amounts to accepting God on your own terms. It is a fundamental disconnect. Pray for the conversion of such people while they still have time.

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A brief, powerful refresher course on why we give:

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For TEN YEARS New York has successfully denied a “Choose Life” specialty license plate design, finding it to be “offensive.” Finally, a federal court has ordered the state to approve them. New York, the state in favor of unnatural unions and in opposition to life.

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In 1979, world renown economist, statistician, author, academic and winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics Milton Friedman appeared on the Phil Donahue show. YouTube has many superb excerpts. Here is one clip where Friedman explains why capitalism is superior to everything else:

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I wrote recently about the body, including how remains must be cared for. Scattering ashes, turning them into jewelry and the like is not allowed. Add to this list another non-option: Holy Smoke, an Alabama company that will turn your loved one into shotgun shells. I am not making this up.

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I confess, I love Andrew Klavan videos. Here is his take on the media and their fondness for the Occupy Wall Street protest:

Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was started by Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary to address this blogging need. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Jen for hosting this project!

This week: An amazing story of survival, life and faith – Gianna Jessen. Bp. Morlino discusses beauty in the liturgy. Tit-for-tat… the intelligentsia rejects science since it now rejects their worldview. I wish this were not still a story… the CCHD is remains badly broken. Big surprise (heavy sarcasm), a key white house aid lands VP gig at Planned Parenthood. Jim Rockford has been forced out of retirement to advise a troubled Occupy Wall Street protester. Pope Leo XIII has the quote of the week.

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Some people escape death, but few of them survived abortion. Gianna Jessen is one. A Los Angeles County Planned Parenthood counseled her mother to receive a late term abortion. A caustic, deadly solution was injected. Instead of producing a dead baby, Gianna emerged. Listen to just the first minute of this video (then see if you can stop!):

Part II completes the story and is also excellent. Thanks go to Matthew Archbold for spotting this.

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Bishop Robert Morlino (of Madison) two weeks ago wrote of true beauty in the liturgy.

Beautiful means, in the first place, embodying the truth. Some of the songs that we sing at liturgy contain lyrics which clearly are not true – for example, the song “All Are Welcome.” As a matter of fact, the liturgy takes place mystically in the heavenly sanctuary. All are welcome at the liturgy who truly seek salvation in and through Jesus Christ, by following God’s Will, as spelled out through His Son’s very Body, the Church. People who have little interest in doing God’s Will don’t fit at the liturgy. And certainly, by their own choosing, the poor souls who suffer in Hell for all eternity are not welcome. Those are simple, but true facts. Thus the song, “All Are Welcome,” gives an impression that the choice for the Will of Jesus Christ, as it comes to us through the Church, makes no difference; and nothing could be further from the truth. It could therefore be concluded that the song, “All are Welcome,” is not beautiful so as to be appropriate-for-liturgical-use. Being true is necessary before anything can be beautiful.

(N.B. The Gather Hymnal is highly problematic.) Bp. Morlino’s excellent comments cover a lot of ground on truth and beauty. Father Z adds his own annotated comments.

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Now that science proves much of the pro-life position, the liberal intelligentsia must argue against science. Instead, the mother is called the host and her baby equated to a virus by the politically correct.

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It is that time of year again where you will soon be asked to give generously to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). Please consider giving generously to a worthy, moral charity in its place. Last February I wrote about ongoing problems at the CCHD. Those problems have sadly continued despite claims to the contrary.

Moral theologian Dr. William Marshner has found serious moral issues with CCHD grants:

Your Report has documented at least 11 cases which, in my judgment, are cases in which prima facie the grantee has done or promoted an immoral activity. In every one of these cases, the grantee has behaved in such a way that continued funding puts the Church in a position of formal cooperation (or in the apparent and proximate danger of formal cooperation) with moral evil.

For more information see Reform CCHD Now, Janet Baker’s USCCB’s Lame Defense of the CCHD, Life Site News’ Moral theologian voices concern over CCHD grant process, and Michael Voris’ Immorality and Injustice video (or his comprehensive video on this topic).

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In 7QT #43 I included a parody video on the tight bond between Planned Parenthood and the president. Just how tight is that bond? Politico reports:

PLANNED PARENTHOOD NAMES KEY WHITE HOUSE AIDE, DANA SINGISER, VICE PRESIDENT FOR PUBLIC POLICY AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS: Planned Parenthood Federation of America announced that it has named Dana Singiser its Vice President for Public Policy and Government Relations. She will join PPFA in early December. Singiser currently works in the White House as Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs. – Singiser has been with President Obama since his first day in office. She was a key part of the legislative team that helped pass the historic health care reform law – Singiser held leadership positions on Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, as well as then-Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign, where she focused on women’s outreach.

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Los Angeles based private investigator Jim Rockford, made famous in the documentary The Rockford Files, has briefly come out if a well-deserved retirement. Jim waved his standard fee of $200 a day plus expenses to counsel this wayward Occupy Wall Street protester:

(This video is no longer available.)

St. Paul was more blunt, observing: “In fact, when we were with you, we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.”

A spokesman for the movement was urinating in the park and unavailable for comment.

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The quote of the week:

Some there are, indeed, who maintain that it is not opportune boldly to attack evil – doing in its might and when in the ascendant, lest, as they say, opposition should exasperate minds already hostile. These make it a matter of guesswork as to whether they are for the Church or against her, since on the one hand they give themselves out as professing the Catholic faith, and yet wish that the Church should allow certain opinions, at variance with her teaching, to be spread abroad with impunity. They moan over the loss of faith and the perversion of morals, yet trouble themselves not to bring any remedy; nay, not seldom, even add to the intensity of the mischief through too much forbearance or harmful dissembling.

Pope Leo XIII
Sapientiae Christianae, 33

Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was started by Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary to address this blogging need. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Jen for hosting this project!

This week: Lionizing Steve Jobs. The Mighty Macs is released today. Dying so that your baby may live. Texas congresspeople, a study in contrast. We expected strides toward a post-racial society under a black president. Is it time to panic as we approach 7,000,000 people? A convert’s quote of the week.

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Steve Jobs has died and much ink has been spilt extolling his accomplishments. He clearly demonstrated keen insight in the successful application of consumer technology. Outside of that narrow area, was he really a shining light in any other way? I don’t see it. Carl Olson puts some good perspective on Jobs’ passing in Yes, Steve Jobs, R.I.P., was an innovating genius. But….

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A flick I have not yet seen (but looks promising) is being released nationwide today. The Mighty Macs appears to be fun, have good values and will present Catholics as we really are – not as Hollywood stereotype.

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While some people fight relentlessly for the right to kill their babies, others give their lives so their child might live. Such is the story of Stacie Crimm. Once told that she could never have a child, a miracle happened. At 41, Stacie was finally, actually pregnant! Only 4 months later, she was diagnosed with head and neck cancer but refused chemotherapy to protect her baby. A month later with the aggressive cancer squeezing the life out of her, 2 pound 1 ounce Dottie Mae was delivered by emergency C-section. The story is here (spotted by Marcel).

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Two Texas congresspeople are polar opposites. One pro-life, one not. First Ron Paul, a Republican candidate for President. His position on life is unequivocal. He makes campaign ads on this crucial topic and means every word.

Sounds. Soft, rhythmic sounds. Da dum, da dum, da dum. Some say these impossible to characterize “sounds” may emanate from a parasitical blob of tissue that has invaded a woman’s body. She may be discouraged from a common medical procedure (“needed action”) were she to hear these mysterious sounds. The second Texas congressperson, Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee explains:

Abortion is murder. It is also black genocide. If your mom is black, you are 5 times more likely to be killed by her in the womb than if your mom is white. Your chances of making it out alive in NYC have sunk to only 40%. How can you Ms. Lee, a black woman, support this?

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Racism is an insult to human dignity. With the election of our first black president, a “post-racial society” was a hope and change for many. J. Christian Adams’ new book (Injustice: Exposing the Racial Agenda of the Obama Justice Department) shows how far we have FALLEN under this administration. Adams is someone who knows, as Thomas Sowell explained recently for Crisis Magazine. Worth a read by anyone who thinks our country has moved closer to Dr. King’s dream.

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The population of the world is approaching 7,000,000! Emergency, emergency, emergency! Time for drastic measures. Or not. I have posted some videos about the “overpopulation myth” before (here and here). The Population Research Institute has produced another video so that we may all breathe easier:

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Quote of the week:

When I looked up at the altar and saw Christ offering His body and blood to the Father, and thought of my former experience in Reformed churches, I thought how starved I had really been. Going from Reformed to Catholic is like going from an intravenous drip to thanksgiving dinner.

David Meyer
at New Christendom

Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was started by Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary to address this blogging need. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Jen for hosting this project!