President Reagan's Address on the Fortieth Anniversary of D-Day

Yesterday was the anniversary of President Reagan's death.  Today is the seventy-third anniversary of D-Day.  Honor both by watching this great speech.

Profile: Pro-life Catholic Andrew Scheer Elected Canadian Conservative Leader

Andrew Scheer, newly elected leader of the Conservative Party of Canada (Getty images) 

Scheer describes himself as pro-life and says he will allow backbench MPs to bring forward legislation on the issue

The Conservative Party of Canada has elected a self-described pro-life Catholic as its leader to take on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the next election.

Andrew Scheer narrowly won the leadership with 51 per cent of the vote on the final ballot, defeating Maxime Bernier.

Earlier this month, he sent a message the Canadian March for Life, saying: “As someone who is pro-life, I thank each and every one of you for being here today at the seat of our government to make your views known.

“Where Justin Trudeau believes that in order to stand as a Liberal candidate you must be pro-choice, I am proud to be running for leader of the Conservative Party to become a prime minister under whom all conservatives would be welcome in my caucus.”

Read more at Catholic Herald >>

Bergoglio - The Vilest Anti-Catholic of All

When the Pope’s silence speaks clearly

By Phil Lawler

Last Friday I remarked that John Allen had provided us with a very interesting way to measure the intentions of Pope Francis. The results are now in.

Allen observed (near the end of a column mostly devoted to Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti) that during his May 27 visit to Genoa, the Pontiff would be hosted by Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, the outgoing president of the Italian episcopal conference, who was regarded as a close ally of Pope Benedict XVI. Allen reasoned that if the Pope “appears gracious and respectful, finding occasions to voice appreciation for Bagnasco’s contributions, then the take-away may be that Francis is not so much trying to reverse what came before but to round it out.” Whereas if the Pope ignored the cardinal, that “may accent the impression in some quarters that Francis is trying to ‘roll back’ the legacy of his predecessors.”

So what happened?

Here, the Vatican summaries provided by the Vatican press office, are the complimentary things the Pope said about Cardinal Bagnasco during his day in Genoa:
...
...

[crickets]
...
...
It wasn’t for lack of an opportunity. When Pope Francis visited the Ilva factory, a manager asked him a question, mentioning that “we are encouraged by our archbishop Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco,” and asking the Pontiff for “a word of closeness.” The Holy Father gave a 1,200-word reply. Not one of those words was “Bagnasco.”

If Allen’s test was valid, the results were crystal clear.


Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.

Father George W. Rutler: The Truth, "Ever Ancient, Ever New"

It is a wise policy, issuing from experience, and one hopes not from cynicism, to distrust email messages that begin by saying that the writer is “excited to share” something. Inevitably, this involves an overuse of exclamation points and much self-advertising. In religion, various movements keep pumping themselves up with excited promises of something great about to happen, some new program or rally or change of custom that blurs the distinction between the Good News and novelty.

Such was the case in the area of Phrygia in what is now Turkey during the second century. A convert priest named Montanus stirred up a lot of excitement when he confused himself with the Holy Spirit and started to deliver various “prophecies” while in a trance. Like the typical fanatic so defined, he was confident that God would agree with him if only God had all the facts. In a languid and dissolute period, his ardor and amiability attracted many as far away as North Africa and Rome, and even the formidable intellect of Tertullian was misled by it.

Sensational outbursts of emotion were thought to be divinely inspired, and the formal clerical structure of the Church was caricatured as the sort of rigidity that quenches the spirit. Maintaining that prophecy did not end with the last apostle, new messages were declared, sensationalism in the form of purported miracles and exotic languages was encouraged, and women like Priscilla and Maximilla left their husbands and decided that they could be priests.

In the twentieth century, the Montanist heresy sprung up again in the Pentecostalist sect, and even many Catholics were attracted to “reawakenings” that gave the impression that the Paraclete promised by Christ had finally come awake, having been dormant pretty much since the early days of the Church. While bizarre in its extreme forms, such as dancing in churches and barking like dogs while rolling on the floor, any quest for novelty quickly grows bored, for nothing goes out of fashion so fast as the latest fashion.

In preparing for the celebration of Pentecost, the Church prays for a holy reception of the truth “ever ancient, ever new” that comes not through a Second Pentecost or a Third Pentecost, but through an enlivened embrace of God’s timeless grace. Christ makes “all things new” and does not superficially make all new things. (Revelation 21:5) Heresies are fads, but the eternal dogmas of the Faith never go out of date because they never were fashionable to begin with.

Chesterton thus described the romance of orthodoxy by which the Church is like a chariot “thundering through the ages, the dull heresies sprawling and prostrate, the wild truth reeling but erect.” That truth needs no artificial excitement or manufactured heartiness, and the Gospel has no orchestrated exclamation points, for when the mystery of God is revealed, everything falls silent (Revelation 8:1), and then . . . the Great Amen.

Father Rutler’s book, The Stories of Hymns – The History Behind 100 of Christianity’s Greatest Hymns, is available through Sophia Institute Press (Paperback or eBook) and Amazon (Paperback or Kindle). 

Memorial Day 2017 - We Remember

On this Memorial Day weekend, we remember those who sacrificed their lives for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who are grieving. May we, as Abraham Lincoln famously said, "highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2016

With the world renowned Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea Flower Show currently underway, here's a look back at last year's breathtaking show.

A message from Her Majesty The Queen to the Lord-Lieutenant of Greater Manchester

Published 23 May 2017

 

The whole nation has been shocked by the death and injury in Manchester last night of so many people, adults and children, who had just been enjoying a concert.

I know I speak for everyone in expressing my deepest sympathy to all who have been affected by this dreadful event and especially to the families and friends of those who have died or were injured.

I want to thank all the members of the emergency services, who have responded with such professionalism and care.

And I would like to express my admiration for the way the people of Manchester have responded, with humanity and compassion, to this act of barbarity.

ELIZABETH R.