Moral Side

Left-Wing Nuns Signed, Circulated Petitions for Walker Recall

As the Roman Catholic Church takes action to counter the left-wing drift of American nuns, Breitbart.com has learned that hundreds of nuns are involved in the left's campaign to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R)--in favor of pro-choice Democratic challengers.

The nuns who have circulated and signed petitions include sisters from convents and other Catholic institutions across the state.

Over 100 signatures, for example, all of female voters, as verified through iVerifytheRecall, list the same address as a Dominican institution in Sinsinawa, WI, in the southwestern portion of the state. Representatives of that organization could not be reached for comment.

One Catholic official at a school with a large number of signatories stressed that Catholic organizations advocate for the poor and downtrodden, but do not take political positions, and that what their individual members do is up to them alone.

Though many Catholic voters support Walker, and approximatley forty percent of Wisconsin Republican primary voters are Catholic, there is some Catholic opposition to Walker's collective bargaining reforms among those partial to the "social justice" movement within the Catholic Church. Democrats are hoping to tap into that opposition.

Walker is Catholic, as is his most likely Democratic challenger, former congressman and former Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett, who has been criticized for opposing the ban on federal funding for abortion. Other Democratic candidates--Kathleen Falk, Doug LaFollette, Kathleen Vinehout--appear to be pro-choice.

The Vatican's recent effort to discipline the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), the largest organization of American nuns, stresses support for the nuns' "social justice" efforts but concludes that the group is not supportive enough of Catholic teachings on abortion and sexuality.

Many nuns who participate in the Leadership Conference supported "Obamacare" in 2010, according to the New York Times, in opposition to many American bishops who opposed the legislation. The law has recently been used by the Obama administration to force Catholic institutions to provide their employees with insurance coverage for abortifacients and contraceptives, contrary to Church teachings--and to Obama's promises.

Thus far, social issues have not played as large a role in the Wisconsin recall as have questions about union power in state government, but the support of some Catholic nuns for gubernatorial challengers whose policies directly contradict Church teachings has already begun to provoke debate and controversy.

-by Joel B. Pollak (article)

Planned Parenthood Promotes ‘40 Days of Prayer’ for Abortion

In what appears to be an attempt to mock and pervert the pro-life community, Six Rivers Planned Parenthood of Eureka, California has launched a campaign that encourages “prayer” as a means to protect those involved in the “sacred care” of abortion.

Entitled the 40 Days of Prayer: Supporting Women Everywhere, the event seems to mimic the 40 Days for Life campaign, an event that is held in the United States and around the world, during which pro-life supporters pray outside of abortion clinics. The Six Rivers Planned Parenthood affiliate’s campaign brochure provides 40 different “prayers” to inspire mothers, escorts, abortionists, and all involved in the abortion procedure, to continue to protect and embrace abortion. The “prayer” brochure contains no mention of protecting the unborn.

A press release states that the Humboldt County Unitarian Universalist “Clergy for Choice” invites all to “set aside time with your family and community to support women and reproductive justice for 40 days from March 18th through April 27th.

The brochure’s “prayers,” for each of the 40 days of the campaign, are attributed to an organization called “Faith Aloud,” which provides counseling for abortion services and advocacy for sexual and reproductive rights. Some examples of the “prayers” are:

Day 4: Today we give thanks for the doctors who provide quality abortion care, and pray that they may be kept safe.

Day 14: Today we pray for Christians everywhere to embrace the loving model of Jesus in the way he refused to shame women.

Day 18: Today we pray for all the staff at abortion clinics around the nation. May they be daily confirmed in the sacred care that they offer women.

Day 21: Today we pray for women in developing nations, that they may know the power of self-determination. May they have access to employment, education, birth control, and abortion.

Day 25: Today we pray for women who have been made afraid of their own power by their religion. May they learn to reject fear and live bravely.

Day 27: Today we give thanks for abortion providers around the nation whose concern for women is the driving force in their lives.

Day 38: Today we pray for a cloud of gentleness to surround every abortion facility. May everyone feel calm and loving.

In response to Planned Parenthood’s “prayer” campaign, David Bereit, National Director of 40 Days for Life, said, “Planned Parenthood has stooped to a new low by exploiting pastors and churches to ‘celebrate’ the slaughter of babies made in God’s image and likeness.”

-Dr. Susan Berry (click here for article)

Abortion Drug Mandate Proposed for Health Insurance Companies - Effective September 30, 2011

The federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed on August 1 that all insurance plans, except those offered by churches or seminaries, cover the entire cost of prescription birth control pills, including abortion drugs such as Ella and Plan B, with no co-pays. Unless public protests change the minds of President Obama and his administration, that proposal will become a mandate at the end of September, 2011.

 

In the mandate, the definition of "religious organization" is quite narrow. It is limited to an organization that "primarily serves persons who share its religious tenets" and "has the inculcation of religious values as its purpose." Using this definition, thousands of Christian missions, hospitals, crisis pregnancy centers, and relief agencies that serve all comers, not primarily parishioners, will no longer be considered religious organizations. Therefore, they would not be excluded from this mandate.

55% Say Abortion Morally Wrong Most of the Time

From Rasmussen Reports

A majority of voters still believe that abortion is morally wrong, while slightly more voters continue to classify themselves as pro-choice rather than pro-life.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 48% of likely U.S. voters say, generally speaking, on the issue of abortion, they consider themselves pro-choice. Forty-three percent (43%) describe themselves as pro-life.

Still, 55% believe abortion is morally wrong most of the time. Thirty percent (30%) think abortion is morally acceptable in the majority of cases, while 15% are undecided.

When it comes to the next congressional election, 54% of voters say the issue of abortion is at least somewhat important in terms of how they will vote, including 31% who say it’s very important. Forty-four percent (44%) say the issue of abortion isn’t important come the next congressional election, with 17% who believe it’s not at all important.

Forty-one percent (41%) of all voters say it’s too easy to get an abortion in the United States. Only 16% feel it’s too hard to get one, and another 29% say the level of accessibility is about right. Fourteen percent (14%) are not sure. Generally, these findings also have remained consistent since 2007.

Some states in the country require a waiting period before a woman gets an abortion. Just over half (52%) agree that there should be a waiting period, while 35% disagree. Thirteen percent (13%) are undecided. 

Separate surveying earlier this year found that 65% of Americans support a three-day waiting period and counseling before a abortion. Sixty-five percent (65%) also believe the waiting period and counseling are at least somewhat likely to reduce the number of abortions.

Fifty-one percent (51%) of female voters say they’re pro-choice, but just 44% of male voters say the same. Voters under the age of 40 are more likely to be pro-choice than their elders.

Most Democrats (70%) are pro-choice, while the majority (62%) of Republicans and a plurality (47%) of voters not affiliated with either major party are pro-life.

Seventy-two percent (72%) of GOP voters and 60% of unaffiliateds think abortion is morally wrong most of the time. The plurality (46%) of Democrats disagree and feel abortion is not morally wrong in most instances.Republicans are nearly three times as likely as Democrats and nearly twice as likely as unaffiliated voters to think it's too easy to get an abortion in America today.In late December 2009, 53% of voters nationwide favored an unsuccessful amendment to the national health care bill that would have prohibited coverage of abortion by any insurance plan that receives federal government subsidies.

When it comes to social issues like abortion, public prayer and church-state topics: 36% of voters say they are conservative, 29% moderate and 32% liberal.

The Moral Side of the News (May 15, 2011) - Gasoline and Planned Parenthood

The panel of clergy discusses Indiana's de-funding Planned Parenthood, and the high cost of gasoline.

Top Five Issues for 2011

What are the issues facing our communities, nation, and world in 2011.  I have identified five areas that shall be at the forefront in 2011.  The overarching theme for these five issues is the continuing assault on Western culture, values, and democracy.  I welcome your comments.

1. The Assault on the Foundational Values of the American Nation.  The values of the American Nation are threefold:  "Liberty," "E Pluribus Unum," and "In God We Trust."  If these sound familiar, they are printed on our coins.  These values are under assault.  Liberty, or equality of opportunity, is being replaced as a primary value by Equality, or the guaranteed equal outcome.  E Pluribus Unum (out of many, one), is being replaced by political correctness and divisive diversity.  In God We Trust, or faith in God, is being replaced by trust in government and an anything-goes I-can-co-what-I-want approach to morality.  Issues within this general area will be family, abortion, protection of children, education, marriage, drug-abuse, and religion in society.
2. The Conflict with Middle Eastern Fascism and Asian Communism.  Western Democracy has always opposed and been in conflict with systems that enslave and diminish human beings.  Western Democracy has defeated European Imperialism, European Fascism, European Communism, and Middle Eastern Imperialism in the Twentieth Century.  The conflicts for 2011 and for the Twenty-First Century are Middle Eastern Fascism (e.g., Iran), Asian Fascism (North Korea), and Asian Communism (China).
3. Border Security and Related Issues.  Illegal immigration, the smuggling of drugs and human beings across the border, protection against terrorists, cyber-terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and the current administrations lethargic and clumbsy response to these problems are a major area of concern for 2011.  One of the primary tasks of the federal government is protection of its citizens.
4. Economic Strains in the US and Western Europe.  This area includes the collapse of Western European socialism.  In the US there are the continuing conflicts over health care, taxation, national and individual debt, unemployment, and bailouts of large companies and state and local governments.  The uncertainties of the housing and financial markets are adding to the problems.  No longer will we be able to assume (or hope) that governments will be able to take care of every problem.
5. Transformation of the Christian Church.  I list this area of interest not because it is the least.  Indeed, it is the most significant, but will occur over a long period of time.  I list it last because it is something we can see God at work and join Him.  It is the NewReformation.  Mainline denominations (including Roman Catholicism) are collapsing under the weight of their bureaucracies.  Those organizations who focus on survival of the institution instead of continuation of the mission are fading.  Just as the Reformation of the 1500s and 1600s brought new life and new understanding of the Church and was fueled by new technology (the printing press); so too will this New Reformation bring new life and new understanding fueled by the Internet.  Denominational "brand names" will become less important.  The focus will shift from social issues to witnessing.  Organizations and ministry will become decentralized and local.  Mid-sized churches will disappear.  Small fellowships, para-church organizations, and mega-churches with satellites (mini-denominations) will flourish.

Tebow Superbowl Ad: What Exactly Is the Problem?

Tim Tebow's Super Bowl Ad Isn't Intolerant; Its Critics Are

By Sally Jenkins, Sports Writer, The Washington Post

I'll spit this out quick, before the armies of feminism try to gag me and strap electrodes to my forehead: Tim Tebow is one of the better things to happen to young women in some time. I realize this stance won't endear me to the "Dwindling Organizations of Ladies in Lockstep," otherwise known as DOLL, but I'll try to pick up the shards of my shattered feminist credentials and go on.

As statements at Super Bowls go, I prefer the idea of Tebow's pro-life ad to, say, Jim McMahon dropping his pants, as the former Chicago Bears quarterback once did in response to a question. We're always harping on athletes to be more responsible and engaged in the issues of their day, and less concerned with just cashing checks. It therefore seems more than a little hypocritical to insist on it only if it means criticizing sneaker companies, and to stifle them when they take a stance that might make us uncomfortable.

I'm pro-choice, and Tebow clearly is not. But based on what I've heard in the past week, I'll take his side against the group-think, elitism and condescension of the "National Organization of Fewer and Fewer Women All The Time." For one thing, Tebow seems smarter than they do.

Tebow's 30-second ad hasn't even run yet, but it already has provoked "The National Organization for Women Who Only Think Like Us" to reveal something important about themselves: They aren't actually "pro-choice" so much as they are pro-abortion. Pam Tebow has a genuine pro-choice story to tell. She got pregnant in 1987, post-Roe v. Wade, and while on a Christian mission in the Philippines, she contracted a tropical ailment. Doctors advised her the pregnancy could be dangerous, but she exercised her freedom of choice and now, 20-some years later, the outcome of that choice is her beauteous Heisman Trophy winner son, a chaste, proselytizing evangelical.

Pam Tebow and her son feel good enough about that choice to want to tell people about it. Only, NOW says they shouldn't be allowed to. Apparently NOW feels this commercial is an inappropriate message for America to see for 30 seconds, but women in bikinis selling beer is the right one. I would like to meet the genius at NOW who made that decision. On second thought, no, I wouldn't.

There's not enough space in the sports pages for the serious weighing of values that constitutes this debate, but surely everyone in both camps, pro-choice or pro-life, wishes the "need" for abortions wasn't so great. Which is precisely why NOW is so wrong to take aim at Tebow's ad.

Here's what we do need a lot more of: Tebows. Collegians who are selfless enough to choose not to spend summers poolside, but travel to impoverished countries to dispense medical care to children, as Tebow has every summer of his career. Athletes who believe in something other than themselves, and are willing to put their backbone where their mouth is. Celebrities who are self-possessed and self-controlled enough to use their wattage to advertise commitment over decadence.

You know what we really need more of? Famous guys who aren't embarrassed to practice sexual restraint, and to say it out loud. If we had more of those, women might have fewer abortions. See, the best way to deal with unwanted pregnancy is to not get the sperm in the egg and the egg implanted to begin with, and that is an issue for men, too -- and they should step up to that.

"Are you saving yourself for marriage?" Tebow was asked last summer during an SEC media day.

"Yes, I am," he replied.

The room fell into a hush, followed by tittering: The best college football player in the country had just announced he was a virgin. As Tebow gauged the reaction from the reporters in the room, he burst out laughing. They were a lot more embarrassed than he was.

"I think y'all are stunned right now!" he said. "You can't even ask a question!"

That's how far we've come from any kind of sane viewpoint about star athletes and sex. Promiscuity is so the norm that if a stud isn't shagging everything in sight, we feel faintly ashamed for him.

Obviously Tebow can make people uncomfortable, whether it's for advertising his chastity, or for wearing his faith on his face via biblical citations painted in his eye-black. Hebrews 12:12, his cheekbones read during the Florida State game: "Therefore strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees." His critics find this intrusive, and say the Super Bowl is no place for an argument of this nature. "Pull the ad," NOW President Terry O'Neill said. "Let's focus on the game."

Trouble is, you can't focus on the game without focusing on the individuals who play it -- and that is the genius of Tebow's ad. The Super Bowl is not some reality-free escape zone. Tebow himself is an inescapable fact: Abortion doesn't just involve serious issues of life, but of potential lives, Heisman trophy winners, scientists, doctors, artists, inventors, Little Leaguers -- who would never come to be if their birth mothers had not wrestled with the stakes and chosen to carry those lives to term. And their stories are every bit as real and valid as the stories preferred by NOW.

Let me be clear again: I couldn't disagree with Tebow more. It's my own belief that the state has no business putting its hand under skirts. But I don't care that we differ. Some people will care that the ad is paid for by Focus on the Family, a group whose former spokesman, James Dobson, says loathsome things about gays. Some will care that Tebow is a creationist. Some will care that CBS has rejected a gay dating service ad. None of this is the point. CBS owns its broadcast and can run whatever advertising it wants, and Tebow has a right to express his beliefs publicly. Just as I have the right to reject or accept them after listening -- or think a little more deeply about the issues. If the pro-choice stance is so precarious that a story about someone who chose to carry a risky pregnancy to term undermines it, then CBS is not the problem.

Tebow's ad, by the way, never mentions abortion; like the player himself, it's apparently soft-spoken. It simply has the theme "Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life." This is what NOW has labeled "extraordinarily offensive and demeaning." But if there is any demeaning here, it's coming from NOW, via the suggestion that these aren't real questions, and that we as a Super Bowl audience are too stupid or too disinterested to handle them on game day.

The Manhattan Declaration

Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:

1. the sanctity of human life
2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

These words appear on the Home Page of the Manhattan Declaration.  This declaration was made public on November 20, 2009.  At this moment (0849 on 24 November 2009) there are 76,430 signatures.  I was signature 75,987.  In the time it took me to read the declaration over 500 persons had added their signatures.

I encourage you to do as I did.  Read the declaration.  Pray over it and seek God's guidance.  Read it again.  If God so leads you, sign it, and share it with your congregation.

For more information go to Manhattan Declaration or to ReStart (go to categories under "Manhattan Document").  

Yours in Christ,

John 

The Moral Side of the News (August 16, 2009) - U of L Coach Rick Pitino denies rape, admits to consensual sex and paying for abortion

University of Louisville men's basketball coach Rick Pitino told police that he had consensual sex with Karen Cunagin Sypher at a Louisville restaurant where he'd been drinking on Aug. 1, 2003.  He also told police that he later gave Sypher $3,000 to have an abortion, according to Louisville Metro Police reports The Courier-Journal obtained under the Kentucky Open Records Act.  But Pitino denied Sypher's allegations that he raped her at Porcini, after the restaurant closed, and again a few weeks later at a different location, police records show. And prosecutors who have reviewed Sypher's claims say Pitino won't be charged.  Sypher has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiring to extort money from Pitino in exchange for her silence about the alleged crimes, and with lying to the FBI. She has pleaded not guilty.  She reported the alleged rapes to Metro Police on July 9, about two months after she was indicted.  The University of Louisville's contract with men's basketball coach Rick Pitino allows him to be fired for cause for acts of “moral depravity” or for being dishonest with the university.  It also allows him to be terminated for generating disparaging media publicity, if it is caused by his “willful conduct that could objectively be determined to bring (the) employee into public dispute or scandal, or which tends to greatly offend the public.”  A conservative lobbyist says the University of Louisville should fire Rick Pitino for having paid the cost for an abortion to a woman with whom he had sex in 2003.

It's a matter of "moral leadership, being a model to students," said Martin Cothran, a lobbyist for the Family Foundation of Kentucky who has in the past advocated for restrictions on abortion and on other issues, often in cooperation with religious conservatives.   Pitino's lawyer, Steve Pence, said in an email that Pitino gave Karen Sypher $3,000 to pay for medical insurance, not for an abortion.

 

The latest developments in this case raises issues about public figures and the standards of conduct to which they should be held. Do you think Pitino’s conduct should cost him his job? Should he resign? If U of L does not discipline him in some way, what message does that send? What crosses the line for you – the adultery or the payment of money that, apparently, led to an abortion? What about the argument that this is a private matter and has nothing to do with his being a basketball coach? What about those who say that all of us have skeletons in our closets, so this is no big deal? Was Pitino’s apology enough? What are your thoughts about the actions of Karen Sypher?

My short response is that this issue is none of my business.

My long response is that this specific (micro) issue is none of my business.  There are so many aspects to this particular event about which I should not make a public comment. 

There is a legal aspect that is being handled by the federal prosecutors.  I do not have all the facts that pertain to the legal process, nor do I have any knowledge about that process.  My comments on this aspect of the event would be made from ignorance.

There is an employment aspect to this situation.  The University of Louisville and Coach Pitino have an employer/employee relationship.  I have no business inserting myself into that relationship.  The leadership of the University of Louisville will determine whether or not to exercise the "morals clause" in Mr. Pitino's contract.  I support the University of Louisville.

Most importantly there is a personal aspect to this situation.  Two families and many people have been hurt by these events.  I do not know any of the people or many of the facts.  To comment would add hurt to those who have already been hurt.

I am very disappointed that some have used this instance to make a statement about an issue for which they advocate.  This is not the time for such posturing.  Too many people are making assumptions about the facts and the individuals involved.

The general (macro) issues that this situation raises are my business.  Rape, adultery, and abortion are immoral; so is extortion, as well as lying.  These behaviors which may or may not have occured in this specific instances are wrong morally for all persons.  We should not condone any of these actions in any persons.

Still, how do we respond?  As in any situation we allow for the legal process to work deliberately and calmly.  We also allow persons who have been hurt by the sinful actions of others to heal and seek help privately.  As we hold others to high standards, let us also hold ourselves.

Our God is a forgiving God.  We must, however, desire and seek His forgiveness for ourselves and for others.