I am fascinated by the stigmata. Not surprised so many Franciscans have been given this gift, since we are people of the Crucifixion.
One such stigmatist is Marie Julie Jahenny. She was a Third Order Franciscan. As a stigmatist she is approved by the church. While little is known about her, I believe her "memorial" day is March 4th. However, she's not in my Franciscan supplement to the Liturgy of the Hours.
Marie Julie had the gift of prophecy. I copied this out of a small book about her life.
"During the time of the approach of the punishments announced at La Salette, an unlimited amount of false revelations will arise from hell like a swarm of flies: a last attempt of Satan to choke and destroy the belief in the true revelations by false ones."
This sounds an awful lot like what is going on in Medjugorje. Never in the history of the Catholic Church has there been an apparition that has lasted so long, given so many trite, anti-Catholic and often ridiculous messages. Never has an apparition SPAWNED OTHER SEERS. Multitudes of people go there and come back seeing visions. I have a friend who visited there and now has visions of death. And she thinks it's cool.
35,000 messages in 25 years. More and more seers popping up every day. One of them proved so dangerous she was officially denounced by the Holy See. By the man who is now our pope! And yet people - good Catholic people - still follow her. Many of these false prophets, even one of the original seers - have been busted for criminal activity.
Then why do people blindly follow?
One of the best movies I've ever seen is Kingdom of Heaven - by Ridley Scott. His version of the Leper King - Baldwin IV says something along the lines of: When you stand before God you have to account for your own actions. You won't be able to say 'he told me to do that,' 'she told me to go there.'
How wonderful would our world be if more people understood this!!!
Take an unbiased look at approved apparitions in church history. The Blessed Mother really appears, she tells the seer when and where to return. She is not CONJURED - when ever - and - where ever - these alleged seers (or their progeny) happen to be.
Tell me - does the true Queen of Peace appear on demand? No. She calls US!
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Excellent Article
A HOLY SITE'S 'FLAKE DIMENSION'
by BILL SAMMON
Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina - If anyone wanted to believe in the mysteries of Medjugorje, it was the Rev Philip Pavich.
The American priest turned his life upside down 10 years ago to wrangle an assignment at St James Catholic Church in Medjugorje, where millions of religious pilgrims from around the world have been drawn by reported sightings of Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus.
It was a dream job for Pavich, who had relatives in the former Yugoslavia - the birthplace of his Croatian parents. He began his new assignment with gusto, faithfully preaching the messages that Mary is said to deliver to local visionaries.
But somewhere along the line, Pavich's devotion has turned to disillusionment.
He has begun to see what he calls a 'flake dimension' to the hordes of pilgrims, some of whom go partially blind after starting at the 'miracle of the sun'. He has become uncomfortable with the 'cult leader' status of 'professional visionaries who are living off the profits' of the booming tourist trade, he said. He has even entertained serious reservations about the authenticity of the apparitions, he acknowledged.
In short, Pavich has become self-described 'Doubting Thomas' of Medjugorje.
"I was suckered into this country by my own desire," said Pavich, who worked for 11 years in Israel before securing a transfer to Bosnia. "I believed the apparitions when I came. If anybody wanted it to be true, I did.
"So I preached the messages. I have out tapes and talks and went to a couple of conferences. There are literally hundreds of Medjugorje conferences around the States."
It was at those conferences that Pavich began to realise the magnitude of the multi-million dollar industry that has sprung up around the village of Medjugorje since six youths claim they saw Mary on a rocky hillside in 1981. Some pilgrims who visit Medjugorje return to their home countries and claim to experience visions of their own.
"Medjugorje has spawned 400 visionaries in the United States," said Pavich, a balding, grey-bearded priest in a brown Franciscan robe. "They got 'em in every state. It's a ridiculous, pandemic situation. It's totally out of control.
"I mean, it is a sick visionary world. Canada, the United States, Australia … everybody that has touched Medjugorje has spawned a whole new petri dish of visionaries."
Pavich has grown especially disenchanted with the six original visionaries, most of whom still live in Medjugorje. Two of them said they stopped having daily visions of Mary within a few years of the initial apparitions.
"The other four are active visionaries, so they travel the world," Pavich said. "Ivan (Dragicevic) married a Massachusetts beauty queen - was Miss Massachusetts twice - and basically lives in Boston. He's on a world tour.
"Oh man, they bring home lots of money," Pavich said of the visionaries. "People give unbelievably. It's like a cult. They're like little cult leaders, little cult characters. And they collect, man, bit time.
"They've got second houses; they've got perks," Pavich noted. "They're professional visionaries who are living off the profits."
Pavich complained that people 'just pour' money on Medjugorje visionaries.
Some wealthy Croat tour leader will put down 80,000 bucks, build a house for a visionary, and then she'll sucker her pilgrims into coming by saying "When you come you'll get to stay with a visionary," said Pavich, who noted the beauty of the visionaries' houses. "They're a scandal to a lot of people because they (the visionaries) are in on the take - big time."
There's no denying that the visionaries' well-kept, two-storey homes stand out in this largely peasant country that was ravaged by 3½ years of civil war. One visionary, Jakov Colo, has a stately, salmon-coloured house with a satellite dish and spacious yard.
Asked what he does for a living, Colo joked that he baby-sits his two young children. Pressed for his occupation, the 25 year old said he works at St James Church - a claim denied by Pavich.
"He's a professional visionary," Pavich said. "That's all fluff. They don't work, they never work. They just collect money."
Visionary Marija Pavlovic lives in an even more impressive house, although Pavich acknowledges that Pavlovic is the only visionary to have learned a trade - hairdressing. Pavlovic is considered the most important visionary because she is the one who first heard Mary's call for peace in 1981. She is also the one who reveals a seven-line message from Mary on the 25th day of each month.
"Little children, I am your mother and I desire to reveal to you the God of love and the God of peace," Pavlovic quoted Mary as having said on Christmas day. "I do not desire for you life to be in sadness but that it be realised in joy for eternity, according to the gospel ….."
Pavich used to perpetuate these messages through his sermons at Mass. Now he dismisses "the idea that the mother of God comes and just gives a seven-line message once a month, but has daily encounters with four visionaries".
"In 31 days you got 124 encounters," Pavich said. "Now out of those 124 encounters we get a seven-line message? That don't stack up with me.
"It's too much of a spirit guide mentality; "I will lead you; I will do this. I will do that. Be messengers of my messages."
"I'm trained the other way. I'm not gonna be a missionary of your messages - sorry about that. I'm a missionary of Jesus Christ. I'm sent by him. I'm not sent by some dubious-claim apparition. I'm not an envoy of an unapproved visionary entity."
As a result, Pavich no longer preaches the messages revealed by Pavlovic.
"I have serious reservations about the authenticity of the apparitions," Pavich said. "I could not subscribe in a free-hand way to: 'Yes, I believe this is the mother of God' - although I came her with that idea." Still, Pavich stops short of calling the visionaries liars.
"Oh, I'm not saying that they didn't see something, that they didn't claim to see something," Pavich said. "I'm not saying that they're lying of hallucinating. They are in touch, definitely, with some entity and a powerful energy. Whether it's the mother of God - I'm not ready to say that."
Colo said he is not fazed by sceptics.
"There have always been such kinds of people, especially at the beginning," Colo said. "When I was just 10 years old, it was hard for me when people didn't believe me. But I know I saw something.
"Nobody can force you to believe. We can only pray for all non-believers."
Pavich's boss at St James, the Rev Slavko Barbaric, said he also believes in the visions. But Barbaric, who has written several books on the apparitions, acknowledges that the Vatican is waiting for more evidence before sanctioning Medjugorje as a bona fide pilgrimage site. He added that Pope John Paul personally endorses the site, although 'not officially'.
"That's all anecdotal evidence," said Pavich. "That's all nice wishful thinking. The Pope also personally put the toughest possible bishop in Mostar to be hard on Medjugorje. But you never hear them quote that. You only hear them quote: "Oh, the Pope said he would be in Medjugorje."
"Nice little anecdotal story, based on third-hand information. But he (the Pope) has never put his name to anything. No way. Nothing counts until its got a signature on it. Hearsay doesn't count except for nice, naïve people."
While the Vatican has not condemned Medjugorje, in 1984 it ordered Catholic priests and bishops to stop organising official pilgrimages to the village. It was a clear signal that the Vatican did not consider Medjugorje in the same league as officially holy sites, such as Rome, Lourdes and Fatima.
That same year, local bishops ordered the visionaries to stop meeting inside St James Church, where they had grown accustomed to gathering for their daily apparitions. The visionaries now claim Mary makes her daily apparitions to them wherever they happen to be.
Further doubt was cast on Medjugorje in 1991, when a group of 20 Croatian bishops in the former Yugoslavia issued a report on the apparitions.
"They said on the basis of evidence up to this point, it cannot be established that one is dealing with supernatural apparitions and messages," Pavich explained. "So all we can say is people are permitted to come. We are permitted to give them pastoral care, confession, counsel, prayer guidance."
The report reflected the regional church's long-standing wariness toward Medjugorje.
"The bishops have never been favourable to it because it's not got any church approval in any official sense," Pavich said. "The Croatian hierarchy and bishops are basically cool toward Medjugorje. The basic Catholic press in this country is cool toward Medjugorje …… It's too sticky, too problematic.
"This has no status as a pilgrimage place," Pavich said. "This is private religious tourism, basically. Faith-motivated tourism - or whatever motivates you - some worth, some unworthy."
One of the most intriguing attraction for tourists is the notion that Mary told the children - who ranged in age from 10 to 16 when the visions began - that she would impart to them ten secrets that cannot be revealed to the world until she gives them a sign. The two visionaries who longer see apparitions already know the ten secrets. The remaining four visionaries only know nine.
"They're playing a game," Pavich said. "Now they're on nine secrets for 10 years already. I don't like it. I mean, why don't they bingo out and finish the ten secrets? Because if they did, then the jig is up."
Pavich believes the revelation of the secrets, which some people expect to occur at the close of the millennium, will end the mysteries of Medjugorje. That will bring a halt to the flow of pilgrims causing economic disaster in the village, he added.
"If this thing falls apart, there's gonna be murder around here. They've invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in real estate that demands a flow of pilgrims and if they don't come" - Pavich whistles - "I don't wanna be around here."
Medjugorje, more than most Bosnian villages, is filled with immaculate inns and cosy cafes. Silk-linen restaurants served imported lobster. Scores of elaborate souvenir shops sell an astonishing assortment of religious merchandise, including rosaries, statues and paintings. Mary's visage is plastered on everything from candlesticks to key fobs.
"I wonder if the virgin mother of God would approve of all these souvenir shops," muttered a pilgrim from the United States.
"The locals have milked this thing for millions of dollars; therefore, they have a very big vested interest," Pavich said. "For them this is a lifeline, a boomtown, an industry driving the whole thing."
"I think I have a little more objective view. I have no vested interest, no books to sell, nothing to make."
Pavich's disillusionment peaked two years ago. "I decided to quit," said Pavich, who obtained a transfer to Chicago. "I'd had enough. People trashed me for my opposition to this stuff. I was kind of a pariah."
But as he was packing his belongings, a regional church official intervened, telling Pavich about numerous letters and calls the church had received from parishioners who wanted the American priest to stay. Pavich reluctantly agreed to remain a little longer, although he said he will probably leave soon. While other priests have their offices in St James modern rectory, Pavich is relegated to a battered orange trailer in the parking lot.
"So I'm in a sort of second life here," mused Pavich, one of eight priests in St James. I've died and haven't gone home yet. I'm still in the penalty box. I'm ostracised. Sometimes they don't talk to me. So my time is over."
Not exactly. Pavich still performs the various sacraments and is particularly devoted to hearing confessions. During Mass, instead of preaching the messages of Mary, he discusses such topics as the courage of demonstrators in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
And despite his doubts about Medjugorje, he acknowledges that plenty of good is accomplished in the village. Regardless of the validity of the apparitions, millions of Catholics end up praying, fasting and generally growing closer to God, which is a tremendous achievement, Pavich said.
He cited the case of a young Wall Street millionaire who was so moved by Medjugorje that he gave away his fortune to become a priest who enthusiastically embraced a life of 'radical poverty'.
"I know the graces people have received through the sacraments, through confessions and so on," Pavich said. "I also know some of the flaky side that isn't complimentary - like guys who get their retinas burned while looking at the so-called miracle of the sun."
Perhaps because Mary appears only to a small group of select visionaries, some pilgrims seem desperate to witness any kind of supernatural even at Medjugorje. Many have taken to staring directly at the sun, which seems to dance and shimmer as their eyes become locked on.
"This is incredible!" said Kate O'Brien as she stared at the sun while descending Apparition Hill recently. "It's like a vision!"
When it was suggested she might be damaging her retinas, the 20 year old college student from Steubenville, Ohio, kept right on staring at the sun.
"That's a really spooky, sub-cultural spin-off - this craze to see the so-called miracle of the sun," Pavich said. "Ain't no more miracle of the sun than the man on the moon! The sun ain't doing nothing up there. Your eyeball's doing it!"
Pavich tells of one man who stared at the sun for an hour and 45 minutes, only to realise he had burned a permanent 'black spot' in his vision which made it impossible for him to do his job at a computer. Several ophthalmology magazines have warned of the dangers of the practice and specifically cited Medjugorje, Pavich said.
Other pilgrims claim their rosaries turned to gold when they reached the summit of Apparition Hill or nearby Cross Mountain, which Pavich calls 'two great stage props'.
"We get things like that," Pavich said. "Flying lights and bouncing balls and streaks of light flowing through the church. I never saw any of that stuff. I mean, where are these people coming from?
"There is a flake dimension to Medjugorje. There is a freaky, sub-culture aspect that isn't healthy, frankly. I've seen it, man, and I'm hard nosed on it. I've got a bad reputation because I don't put up with nonsense."
A HOLY SITE'S 'FLAKE DIMENSION'
by BILL SAMMON
Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina - If anyone wanted to believe in the mysteries of Medjugorje, it was the Rev Philip Pavich.
The American priest turned his life upside down 10 years ago to wrangle an assignment at St James Catholic Church in Medjugorje, where millions of religious pilgrims from around the world have been drawn by reported sightings of Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus.
It was a dream job for Pavich, who had relatives in the former Yugoslavia - the birthplace of his Croatian parents. He began his new assignment with gusto, faithfully preaching the messages that Mary is said to deliver to local visionaries.
But somewhere along the line, Pavich's devotion has turned to disillusionment.
He has begun to see what he calls a 'flake dimension' to the hordes of pilgrims, some of whom go partially blind after starting at the 'miracle of the sun'. He has become uncomfortable with the 'cult leader' status of 'professional visionaries who are living off the profits' of the booming tourist trade, he said. He has even entertained serious reservations about the authenticity of the apparitions, he acknowledged.
In short, Pavich has become self-described 'Doubting Thomas' of Medjugorje.
"I was suckered into this country by my own desire," said Pavich, who worked for 11 years in Israel before securing a transfer to Bosnia. "I believed the apparitions when I came. If anybody wanted it to be true, I did.
"So I preached the messages. I have out tapes and talks and went to a couple of conferences. There are literally hundreds of Medjugorje conferences around the States."
It was at those conferences that Pavich began to realise the magnitude of the multi-million dollar industry that has sprung up around the village of Medjugorje since six youths claim they saw Mary on a rocky hillside in 1981. Some pilgrims who visit Medjugorje return to their home countries and claim to experience visions of their own.
"Medjugorje has spawned 400 visionaries in the United States," said Pavich, a balding, grey-bearded priest in a brown Franciscan robe. "They got 'em in every state. It's a ridiculous, pandemic situation. It's totally out of control.
"I mean, it is a sick visionary world. Canada, the United States, Australia … everybody that has touched Medjugorje has spawned a whole new petri dish of visionaries."
Pavich has grown especially disenchanted with the six original visionaries, most of whom still live in Medjugorje. Two of them said they stopped having daily visions of Mary within a few years of the initial apparitions.
"The other four are active visionaries, so they travel the world," Pavich said. "Ivan (Dragicevic) married a Massachusetts beauty queen - was Miss Massachusetts twice - and basically lives in Boston. He's on a world tour.
"Oh man, they bring home lots of money," Pavich said of the visionaries. "People give unbelievably. It's like a cult. They're like little cult leaders, little cult characters. And they collect, man, bit time.
"They've got second houses; they've got perks," Pavich noted. "They're professional visionaries who are living off the profits."
Pavich complained that people 'just pour' money on Medjugorje visionaries.
Some wealthy Croat tour leader will put down 80,000 bucks, build a house for a visionary, and then she'll sucker her pilgrims into coming by saying "When you come you'll get to stay with a visionary," said Pavich, who noted the beauty of the visionaries' houses. "They're a scandal to a lot of people because they (the visionaries) are in on the take - big time."
There's no denying that the visionaries' well-kept, two-storey homes stand out in this largely peasant country that was ravaged by 3½ years of civil war. One visionary, Jakov Colo, has a stately, salmon-coloured house with a satellite dish and spacious yard.
Asked what he does for a living, Colo joked that he baby-sits his two young children. Pressed for his occupation, the 25 year old said he works at St James Church - a claim denied by Pavich.
"He's a professional visionary," Pavich said. "That's all fluff. They don't work, they never work. They just collect money."
Visionary Marija Pavlovic lives in an even more impressive house, although Pavich acknowledges that Pavlovic is the only visionary to have learned a trade - hairdressing. Pavlovic is considered the most important visionary because she is the one who first heard Mary's call for peace in 1981. She is also the one who reveals a seven-line message from Mary on the 25th day of each month.
"Little children, I am your mother and I desire to reveal to you the God of love and the God of peace," Pavlovic quoted Mary as having said on Christmas day. "I do not desire for you life to be in sadness but that it be realised in joy for eternity, according to the gospel ….."
Pavich used to perpetuate these messages through his sermons at Mass. Now he dismisses "the idea that the mother of God comes and just gives a seven-line message once a month, but has daily encounters with four visionaries".
"In 31 days you got 124 encounters," Pavich said. "Now out of those 124 encounters we get a seven-line message? That don't stack up with me.
"It's too much of a spirit guide mentality; "I will lead you; I will do this. I will do that. Be messengers of my messages."
"I'm trained the other way. I'm not gonna be a missionary of your messages - sorry about that. I'm a missionary of Jesus Christ. I'm sent by him. I'm not sent by some dubious-claim apparition. I'm not an envoy of an unapproved visionary entity."
As a result, Pavich no longer preaches the messages revealed by Pavlovic.
"I have serious reservations about the authenticity of the apparitions," Pavich said. "I could not subscribe in a free-hand way to: 'Yes, I believe this is the mother of God' - although I came her with that idea." Still, Pavich stops short of calling the visionaries liars.
"Oh, I'm not saying that they didn't see something, that they didn't claim to see something," Pavich said. "I'm not saying that they're lying of hallucinating. They are in touch, definitely, with some entity and a powerful energy. Whether it's the mother of God - I'm not ready to say that."
Colo said he is not fazed by sceptics.
"There have always been such kinds of people, especially at the beginning," Colo said. "When I was just 10 years old, it was hard for me when people didn't believe me. But I know I saw something.
"Nobody can force you to believe. We can only pray for all non-believers."
Pavich's boss at St James, the Rev Slavko Barbaric, said he also believes in the visions. But Barbaric, who has written several books on the apparitions, acknowledges that the Vatican is waiting for more evidence before sanctioning Medjugorje as a bona fide pilgrimage site. He added that Pope John Paul personally endorses the site, although 'not officially'.
"That's all anecdotal evidence," said Pavich. "That's all nice wishful thinking. The Pope also personally put the toughest possible bishop in Mostar to be hard on Medjugorje. But you never hear them quote that. You only hear them quote: "Oh, the Pope said he would be in Medjugorje."
"Nice little anecdotal story, based on third-hand information. But he (the Pope) has never put his name to anything. No way. Nothing counts until its got a signature on it. Hearsay doesn't count except for nice, naïve people."
While the Vatican has not condemned Medjugorje, in 1984 it ordered Catholic priests and bishops to stop organising official pilgrimages to the village. It was a clear signal that the Vatican did not consider Medjugorje in the same league as officially holy sites, such as Rome, Lourdes and Fatima.
That same year, local bishops ordered the visionaries to stop meeting inside St James Church, where they had grown accustomed to gathering for their daily apparitions. The visionaries now claim Mary makes her daily apparitions to them wherever they happen to be.
Further doubt was cast on Medjugorje in 1991, when a group of 20 Croatian bishops in the former Yugoslavia issued a report on the apparitions.
"They said on the basis of evidence up to this point, it cannot be established that one is dealing with supernatural apparitions and messages," Pavich explained. "So all we can say is people are permitted to come. We are permitted to give them pastoral care, confession, counsel, prayer guidance."
The report reflected the regional church's long-standing wariness toward Medjugorje.
"The bishops have never been favourable to it because it's not got any church approval in any official sense," Pavich said. "The Croatian hierarchy and bishops are basically cool toward Medjugorje. The basic Catholic press in this country is cool toward Medjugorje …… It's too sticky, too problematic.
"This has no status as a pilgrimage place," Pavich said. "This is private religious tourism, basically. Faith-motivated tourism - or whatever motivates you - some worth, some unworthy."
One of the most intriguing attraction for tourists is the notion that Mary told the children - who ranged in age from 10 to 16 when the visions began - that she would impart to them ten secrets that cannot be revealed to the world until she gives them a sign. The two visionaries who longer see apparitions already know the ten secrets. The remaining four visionaries only know nine.
"They're playing a game," Pavich said. "Now they're on nine secrets for 10 years already. I don't like it. I mean, why don't they bingo out and finish the ten secrets? Because if they did, then the jig is up."
Pavich believes the revelation of the secrets, which some people expect to occur at the close of the millennium, will end the mysteries of Medjugorje. That will bring a halt to the flow of pilgrims causing economic disaster in the village, he added.
"If this thing falls apart, there's gonna be murder around here. They've invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in real estate that demands a flow of pilgrims and if they don't come" - Pavich whistles - "I don't wanna be around here."
Medjugorje, more than most Bosnian villages, is filled with immaculate inns and cosy cafes. Silk-linen restaurants served imported lobster. Scores of elaborate souvenir shops sell an astonishing assortment of religious merchandise, including rosaries, statues and paintings. Mary's visage is plastered on everything from candlesticks to key fobs.
"I wonder if the virgin mother of God would approve of all these souvenir shops," muttered a pilgrim from the United States.
"The locals have milked this thing for millions of dollars; therefore, they have a very big vested interest," Pavich said. "For them this is a lifeline, a boomtown, an industry driving the whole thing."
"I think I have a little more objective view. I have no vested interest, no books to sell, nothing to make."
Pavich's disillusionment peaked two years ago. "I decided to quit," said Pavich, who obtained a transfer to Chicago. "I'd had enough. People trashed me for my opposition to this stuff. I was kind of a pariah."
But as he was packing his belongings, a regional church official intervened, telling Pavich about numerous letters and calls the church had received from parishioners who wanted the American priest to stay. Pavich reluctantly agreed to remain a little longer, although he said he will probably leave soon. While other priests have their offices in St James modern rectory, Pavich is relegated to a battered orange trailer in the parking lot.
"So I'm in a sort of second life here," mused Pavich, one of eight priests in St James. I've died and haven't gone home yet. I'm still in the penalty box. I'm ostracised. Sometimes they don't talk to me. So my time is over."
Not exactly. Pavich still performs the various sacraments and is particularly devoted to hearing confessions. During Mass, instead of preaching the messages of Mary, he discusses such topics as the courage of demonstrators in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
And despite his doubts about Medjugorje, he acknowledges that plenty of good is accomplished in the village. Regardless of the validity of the apparitions, millions of Catholics end up praying, fasting and generally growing closer to God, which is a tremendous achievement, Pavich said.
He cited the case of a young Wall Street millionaire who was so moved by Medjugorje that he gave away his fortune to become a priest who enthusiastically embraced a life of 'radical poverty'.
"I know the graces people have received through the sacraments, through confessions and so on," Pavich said. "I also know some of the flaky side that isn't complimentary - like guys who get their retinas burned while looking at the so-called miracle of the sun."
Perhaps because Mary appears only to a small group of select visionaries, some pilgrims seem desperate to witness any kind of supernatural even at Medjugorje. Many have taken to staring directly at the sun, which seems to dance and shimmer as their eyes become locked on.
"This is incredible!" said Kate O'Brien as she stared at the sun while descending Apparition Hill recently. "It's like a vision!"
When it was suggested she might be damaging her retinas, the 20 year old college student from Steubenville, Ohio, kept right on staring at the sun.
"That's a really spooky, sub-cultural spin-off - this craze to see the so-called miracle of the sun," Pavich said. "Ain't no more miracle of the sun than the man on the moon! The sun ain't doing nothing up there. Your eyeball's doing it!"
Pavich tells of one man who stared at the sun for an hour and 45 minutes, only to realise he had burned a permanent 'black spot' in his vision which made it impossible for him to do his job at a computer. Several ophthalmology magazines have warned of the dangers of the practice and specifically cited Medjugorje, Pavich said.
Other pilgrims claim their rosaries turned to gold when they reached the summit of Apparition Hill or nearby Cross Mountain, which Pavich calls 'two great stage props'.
"We get things like that," Pavich said. "Flying lights and bouncing balls and streaks of light flowing through the church. I never saw any of that stuff. I mean, where are these people coming from?
"There is a flake dimension to Medjugorje. There is a freaky, sub-culture aspect that isn't healthy, frankly. I've seen it, man, and I'm hard nosed on it. I've got a bad reputation because I don't put up with nonsense."
Friday, June 23, 2006
Notice that all but one of the recalled chocolate bars contains "dairy" in its name. The "freddo" is made with dairy milk.
Cadbury recalls over 1 mln chocolate bars
Fri Jun 23, 11:13 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - Cadbury Schweppes Plc said on Friday it had recalled over 1 million chocolate bars in the UK and Irish markets in a precautionary move, because they could contain minute traces of salmonella.
"There are minute traces of salmonella, which are significantly below those (levels) which scientific standards say present any hazard," a spokeswoman for the world's biggest confectionery group said.
"There's no connection between our product and anybody becoming ill from it," she added.
The company said it had identified the source of the problem and rectified it and was taking steps to ensure these products are no longer available for sale.
The precautionary recall involves seven products -- 250 gram bars of Dairy Milk Turkish, Dairy Milk Caramel and Dairy Milk Mint; Dairy Milk 8 chunk; 1 kilogram bars of Dairy Milk: Diary Milk Button Easter Eggs (105 grams); and Cadbury Freddo 10p.
"We've been making chocolate for over 100 years, and quality has always come first," UK Managing Director Simon Baldry said in a statement.
"We've taken this precautionary step because our consumers are our highest priority. We apologize for any inconvenience caused," Baldry added.
The company said the decision to recall the chocolate bars had been made in consultation with the Food Standards Agency.
Shares in Cadbury were down 0.5 percent at 519 pence at 1450 GMT.
Cadbury recalls over 1 mln chocolate bars
Fri Jun 23, 11:13 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - Cadbury Schweppes Plc said on Friday it had recalled over 1 million chocolate bars in the UK and Irish markets in a precautionary move, because they could contain minute traces of salmonella.
"There are minute traces of salmonella, which are significantly below those (levels) which scientific standards say present any hazard," a spokeswoman for the world's biggest confectionery group said.
"There's no connection between our product and anybody becoming ill from it," she added.
The company said it had identified the source of the problem and rectified it and was taking steps to ensure these products are no longer available for sale.
The precautionary recall involves seven products -- 250 gram bars of Dairy Milk Turkish, Dairy Milk Caramel and Dairy Milk Mint; Dairy Milk 8 chunk; 1 kilogram bars of Dairy Milk: Diary Milk Button Easter Eggs (105 grams); and Cadbury Freddo 10p.
"We've been making chocolate for over 100 years, and quality has always come first," UK Managing Director Simon Baldry said in a statement.
"We've taken this precautionary step because our consumers are our highest priority. We apologize for any inconvenience caused," Baldry added.
The company said the decision to recall the chocolate bars had been made in consultation with the Food Standards Agency.
Shares in Cadbury were down 0.5 percent at 519 pence at 1450 GMT.
Sometimes the smallest thing can really make your year. Sometimes it's good to listen to that little voice in your head. Mine pays off regularly. Last night I was kicking back. Ready to put my jammies on and call it a night. But that voice said - Get up. Go to the store. Now.
I have a friend at work. He wears a Miraculous Medal. The day he started here, he saw my medal and knew I was someone he could count on for prayers. We talk about God and the beauty of prayer every time we bump into each other.
A few days ago he had a line on an apartment. He asked me to pray for him. So I did. Yesterday he told me he got the place. I knew he was starting fresh, so I asked him what he needed and explained that I seemed to be really good at rounding up free furnishings.
"Oh gosh," he said, shuffing his feet. "I need everything."
So last night, at the behest of that voice in my head, I went to Cost Plus. I got lucky. They were having a great sale. I picked up two place settings, some cooking utensils, kitchen towels and a pot scrubber.
I asked the other folks in my office if they'd like to make it from all of us. Since we enjoy this fellow so much. They agreed.
We made this little presentation. He was all undone. Had to go outside to try to breathe. A little while later he came by and told me all his life people have treated him like an animal. Then God turned his life around. No one had ever done such a thing for him. He is still struggling with how to handle it.
It's so easy to see why God loves those who are poor in spirit.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Medjugorje.
What is it about the place that illicits such strong feelings - both for and against?
I have a friend who is Croatian. As such he has a love for the apparitions. I understand this. When I told him via e-mail that I had been doing some research and wanted to talk with him about it. I asked if we could meet for coffee as there were some things I'd found that might hurt him and shouldn't be said via e-mail. He shot right back calling me judgmental and disparaging.
When I asked him how he could say these things to me without even hearing what I had to say, he apologized. When I asked him to pray for the Franciscans there he called me ignorant.
Spewing accusations is not of God. If he ever wanted to convince me that the apparitions are valid - he totally blew it. He knows me well enough to know I am none of the things he's called me. I do my homework. A year's worth before even attempting dialog about it.
And my attempt at dialog is rebuffed. Viciously. So not of God.
But this is what you find when examining Medjugorje very closely. The surface layer is all fluff and nice. The next layer is dirty. The layer below that, down right vile.
Medjugorje supporters state that Pope John Paul II was in support of them and called the apparitions the completion of Fatima - yet this is an outright lie. What happened to Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness??
Pope John Paul himself called for the removal of one of the stray friars at Medjugorje. Some 40 friars at Medjugorje refuse to be obedient to the pope. Surely if the Blessed Mother was appearing there - she would tell them that this is a great evil. God loves obedience over all things. And yet, the apparitions tell the friars to do as they please. It's all good...
Medjugorje supporters will say their fruits lay claim to validity of the apparitions. But think about it. Wouldn't the devil advocate the "conversion" of a few lost souls to aid in bringing down 40 of God's most faithful? At the risk of sounding very very vain - it has long been said the Franciscans are God's most favorite order. Hence it would seem they are a prime target for the evil one.
What is it about the place that illicits such strong feelings - both for and against?
I have a friend who is Croatian. As such he has a love for the apparitions. I understand this. When I told him via e-mail that I had been doing some research and wanted to talk with him about it. I asked if we could meet for coffee as there were some things I'd found that might hurt him and shouldn't be said via e-mail. He shot right back calling me judgmental and disparaging.
When I asked him how he could say these things to me without even hearing what I had to say, he apologized. When I asked him to pray for the Franciscans there he called me ignorant.
Spewing accusations is not of God. If he ever wanted to convince me that the apparitions are valid - he totally blew it. He knows me well enough to know I am none of the things he's called me. I do my homework. A year's worth before even attempting dialog about it.
And my attempt at dialog is rebuffed. Viciously. So not of God.
But this is what you find when examining Medjugorje very closely. The surface layer is all fluff and nice. The next layer is dirty. The layer below that, down right vile.
Medjugorje supporters state that Pope John Paul II was in support of them and called the apparitions the completion of Fatima - yet this is an outright lie. What happened to Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness??
Pope John Paul himself called for the removal of one of the stray friars at Medjugorje. Some 40 friars at Medjugorje refuse to be obedient to the pope. Surely if the Blessed Mother was appearing there - she would tell them that this is a great evil. God loves obedience over all things. And yet, the apparitions tell the friars to do as they please. It's all good...
Medjugorje supporters will say their fruits lay claim to validity of the apparitions. But think about it. Wouldn't the devil advocate the "conversion" of a few lost souls to aid in bringing down 40 of God's most faithful? At the risk of sounding very very vain - it has long been said the Franciscans are God's most favorite order. Hence it would seem they are a prime target for the evil one.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Today from Zenit - about my name saint and the Militia Immaculata.
Militia of the Immaculata
Founded by Maximilian Kolbe
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 15, 2006 (ZENIT.org).- Here is the description of the Militia of the Immaculata which appears in the Directory of International Associations of the Faithful, published by the Pontifical Council for the Laity.
* * *
Official name: Militia of the Immaculata
Acronym: M.I. (Militia Immaculatae)
Established: 1917
History: M.I. was founded in Rome at the International College of the Conventual Franciscans -- which at that time was the "St. Bonaventure" Pontifical Theological Faculty -- by Father Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941), a Conventual Franciscan and martyr of charity at Auschwitz who was beatified by Paul VI and canonized by John Paul II.
Established as a pious union on Jan. 2, 1922, by the Vicariate of Rome through Cardinal Basilio Pompilj, M.I. was given special attention and care by the popes in the course of its history.
In a brief issued on Dec. 18, 1926, Pius XI granted it indulgences and privileges, and on April 23, 1927, it was elevated to the rank of a primary pious union with the brief "Die XVIII mensis Decembris."
Under the "altius moderamen" of the minister general of the Order of the Conventual Franciscan Friars Minor, and consistent with the magisterium of the Church, the association grew and spread to different countries.
On Oct. 16, 1997, the Pontifical Council for the Laity decreed the Milizia dell'Immacolata to be an international association of the faithful of pontifical right.
Identity: Father Kolbe presented M.I. as a "global vision of Catholic life in a new form, consisting of the link with Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, universal mediatrix with Jesus."
The association sets out to promote the expansion of the Kingdom of God throughout the world through the work of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, stimulating all to place themselves at her service in her mission as Mother of the Church.
The focus of the spirituality and formation in M.I. is the consecration to Mary, which Father Kolbe intended as "transformation into her": a style of Christian life which achieves the extreme consequences of love.
There are three key ideas: Mary Immaculate, love, and the mission, to provide formation which commits Christians to grow in an existential dimension (the primacy of the vocation to holiness), an ecclesial dimension (love for the Church and bearing witness to the Catholic faith), a missionary vocation (Christian formation of consciences and the New Evangelization), and a cultural dimension (promoting life by serving people in the Franciscan manner of fraternity, joy, simplicity and hospitality).
The specific areas of unity of M.I. are catechesis, town and city missions, religious instruction courses, updating, Marian culture, publishing, radio broadcasting and Informatics.
Organization: By its nature, M.I. is a unitary association. The organization comprises the Young Knights, the Youth Movement, and Adults.
It is structured into three levels:
-- M.I./1 is the movement, with no strict organizational structure where the members mostly act individually and spontaneously, according to the founder's original project;
-- M.I./2 is the movement broken down into groups, whose members work according to the official programs of the movement;
-- M.I./3 is the movement at its highest level, at which the Knights choose to fully and unconditionally give themselves to Mary Immaculate, devoted solely to her cause: in the missionary apostolate, in parish service, alone or in active or contemplative life communities, using all legitimate means. This rank is specific to the City of the Immaculate, the executive centers, and the institutes inspired by Father Kolbe.
A significant presence of the association are those who suffer from sickness, poverty, marginalization and disabilities. They form the M.I. under the Cross. So much suffering, offered as a gesture of consecration to Mary Immaculate, enables the whole association to participate in the mystery of Christ's redemption and renews the missionary effort.
Although legally autonomous, at the pastoral level, all the institutes (secular and religious) inspired by Father Kolbe share the same aims and apostolic commitment: the Franciscan Sisters of the M.I., the Sisters Minor of Mary Immaculata, the Franciscan Sisters of the Militia of the Immaculata, the Franciscan Brothers of the Immaculata, the Missionaries-M.I., the Missionary Sister Crusaders of the Immaculata, the Kolbe Missionary Sisters of the Immaculata, the Kolbe Teaching Missionaries.
Membership: M.I. has more than 3 million members in 48 countries around the world.
Works: M.I. does not have any institutionalized works of its own. When necessary it provides voluntary services to meet specific environmental and social needs: for example, the social recovery of alcoholics and drug addicts, and assisting AIDS sufferers, providing medical and nursing care in poor districts, humanitarian care for young needy mothers,
literacy courses for adults, after-school activities, and parish catechesis.
It systematically conducts evangelization through the Rede Mariana de Radio e Televisao at Santo Andre (Sao Paulo, Brazil), the printing shop and publishing center Jardim da Imaculada at Cidade Ocidental (Brazil), the Mary town training and dissemination center at Libertyville, Illinois.
Publications: Miles Immaculatae, a six-monthly magazine of Marian culture and Kolbian formation. Founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe, specifically for priests and pastoral workers, it is now the official organ of the
International Center.
There are more than 30 periodicals being published to support the apostolate of M.I. in different countries, the majority of which bear the name "Knight of the Immaculata," as an act of homage to the first one founded by Father Kolbe in Poland (Rycerz Niepokalanej) and subsequently in Japan (Seibo no Kishi).
Web site: www.mi-international.org
Headquarters:
Centro Internazionale Milizia dell'lmmacolata
Via San Teodoro, 42/44
00186 Roma -- Italy
Tel. (39) 06.679.3828 -- Fax 06.6994.1017
E-mail: Mlinternational@ofmconv.org
Militia of the Immaculata
Founded by Maximilian Kolbe
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 15, 2006 (ZENIT.org).- Here is the description of the Militia of the Immaculata which appears in the Directory of International Associations of the Faithful, published by the Pontifical Council for the Laity.
* * *
Official name: Militia of the Immaculata
Acronym: M.I. (Militia Immaculatae)
Established: 1917
History: M.I. was founded in Rome at the International College of the Conventual Franciscans -- which at that time was the "St. Bonaventure" Pontifical Theological Faculty -- by Father Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941), a Conventual Franciscan and martyr of charity at Auschwitz who was beatified by Paul VI and canonized by John Paul II.
Established as a pious union on Jan. 2, 1922, by the Vicariate of Rome through Cardinal Basilio Pompilj, M.I. was given special attention and care by the popes in the course of its history.
In a brief issued on Dec. 18, 1926, Pius XI granted it indulgences and privileges, and on April 23, 1927, it was elevated to the rank of a primary pious union with the brief "Die XVIII mensis Decembris."
Under the "altius moderamen" of the minister general of the Order of the Conventual Franciscan Friars Minor, and consistent with the magisterium of the Church, the association grew and spread to different countries.
On Oct. 16, 1997, the Pontifical Council for the Laity decreed the Milizia dell'Immacolata to be an international association of the faithful of pontifical right.
Identity: Father Kolbe presented M.I. as a "global vision of Catholic life in a new form, consisting of the link with Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, universal mediatrix with Jesus."
The association sets out to promote the expansion of the Kingdom of God throughout the world through the work of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, stimulating all to place themselves at her service in her mission as Mother of the Church.
The focus of the spirituality and formation in M.I. is the consecration to Mary, which Father Kolbe intended as "transformation into her": a style of Christian life which achieves the extreme consequences of love.
There are three key ideas: Mary Immaculate, love, and the mission, to provide formation which commits Christians to grow in an existential dimension (the primacy of the vocation to holiness), an ecclesial dimension (love for the Church and bearing witness to the Catholic faith), a missionary vocation (Christian formation of consciences and the New Evangelization), and a cultural dimension (promoting life by serving people in the Franciscan manner of fraternity, joy, simplicity and hospitality).
The specific areas of unity of M.I. are catechesis, town and city missions, religious instruction courses, updating, Marian culture, publishing, radio broadcasting and Informatics.
Organization: By its nature, M.I. is a unitary association. The organization comprises the Young Knights, the Youth Movement, and Adults.
It is structured into three levels:
-- M.I./1 is the movement, with no strict organizational structure where the members mostly act individually and spontaneously, according to the founder's original project;
-- M.I./2 is the movement broken down into groups, whose members work according to the official programs of the movement;
-- M.I./3 is the movement at its highest level, at which the Knights choose to fully and unconditionally give themselves to Mary Immaculate, devoted solely to her cause: in the missionary apostolate, in parish service, alone or in active or contemplative life communities, using all legitimate means. This rank is specific to the City of the Immaculate, the executive centers, and the institutes inspired by Father Kolbe.
A significant presence of the association are those who suffer from sickness, poverty, marginalization and disabilities. They form the M.I. under the Cross. So much suffering, offered as a gesture of consecration to Mary Immaculate, enables the whole association to participate in the mystery of Christ's redemption and renews the missionary effort.
Although legally autonomous, at the pastoral level, all the institutes (secular and religious) inspired by Father Kolbe share the same aims and apostolic commitment: the Franciscan Sisters of the M.I., the Sisters Minor of Mary Immaculata, the Franciscan Sisters of the Militia of the Immaculata, the Franciscan Brothers of the Immaculata, the Missionaries-M.I., the Missionary Sister Crusaders of the Immaculata, the Kolbe Missionary Sisters of the Immaculata, the Kolbe Teaching Missionaries.
Membership: M.I. has more than 3 million members in 48 countries around the world.
Works: M.I. does not have any institutionalized works of its own. When necessary it provides voluntary services to meet specific environmental and social needs: for example, the social recovery of alcoholics and drug addicts, and assisting AIDS sufferers, providing medical and nursing care in poor districts, humanitarian care for young needy mothers,
literacy courses for adults, after-school activities, and parish catechesis.
It systematically conducts evangelization through the Rede Mariana de Radio e Televisao at Santo Andre (Sao Paulo, Brazil), the printing shop and publishing center Jardim da Imaculada at Cidade Ocidental (Brazil), the Mary town training and dissemination center at Libertyville, Illinois.
Publications: Miles Immaculatae, a six-monthly magazine of Marian culture and Kolbian formation. Founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe, specifically for priests and pastoral workers, it is now the official organ of the
International Center.
There are more than 30 periodicals being published to support the apostolate of M.I. in different countries, the majority of which bear the name "Knight of the Immaculata," as an act of homage to the first one founded by Father Kolbe in Poland (Rycerz Niepokalanej) and subsequently in Japan (Seibo no Kishi).
Web site: www.mi-international.org
Headquarters:
Centro Internazionale Milizia dell'lmmacolata
Via San Teodoro, 42/44
00186 Roma -- Italy
Tel. (39) 06.679.3828 -- Fax 06.6994.1017
E-mail: Mlinternational@ofmconv.org
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Saint of the Day
CASTORA GABRIELLI
Memorial: 14 June
Died: 1391
Patronage: difficult marriages, widows
Profile: Castora was a lay woman of the Catholic Curch. She was wife and widow to Santuccio Sanfonerio, a lawyer at Sant'Angelo in Vado, Umbria, Italy. She was also a Franciscan tertiary (SFO). Castora is remembered for the sanctity she brought to her every day work.
CASTORA GABRIELLI
Memorial: 14 June
Died: 1391
Patronage: difficult marriages, widows
Profile: Castora was a lay woman of the Catholic Curch. She was wife and widow to Santuccio Sanfonerio, a lawyer at Sant'Angelo in Vado, Umbria, Italy. She was also a Franciscan tertiary (SFO). Castora is remembered for the sanctity she brought to her every day work.
Anti-Catholicism. The last acceptable bigotry.
It would seem that Canada isn't the only place to want limits on Catholicism.
Source URL: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032203.html
LifeSiteNews.com
Wednesday March 22, 2006
San Francisco City Government Calls Catholics 'Hateful, Discriminatory, Insulting, Ignorant'
Top Cardinal is "decidedly unqualified", says resolution
By John-Henry Westen
SAN FRANCISCO, March 22, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In one of the most startling attacks on the Catholic Church coming from a governmental body in the United States in half a century, the governing body of the city of San Francisco - the Board of Supervisors - voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a non-binding resolution blasting the Catholic Church for its opposition to homosexual adoption.
While many city's residents agree with the Church's stand against homosexual adoption, the resolution stated "It is an insult to all San Franciscans when a foreign country, like the Vatican, meddles with and attempts to negatively influence this great city's existing and established customs and traditions, such as the right of same-sex couples to adopt and care for children in need."
The city supervisors levelled an ad hominem attack on former San Francisco Archbishop William Levada, who has been appointed to head the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), one of the most senior posts in the Church. " Cardinal Levada is a decidedly unqualified representative of his former home city, and of the people of San Francisco and the values they hold dear,'' the resolution stated.
The supervisors also demonstrated their childishness as they attempted another dig at the Cardinal by indicating in the resolution that the CDF was once known as the Office of the Inquisition. "That the Board of Supervisors urges Cardinal William Levada, in his capacity as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican (formerly known as Holy Office of the Inquisition), to withdraw his discriminatory and defamatory directive that Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Francisco stop placing children in need of adoption with homosexual households," reads the resolution.
The resolution attacked the teaching of the Catholic Church that homosexual adoption does "violence" to children since they would be placed in an environment that is not conducive to their full human development. The resolution blasted the teaching as "hateful and discriminatory rhetoric (that) is both insulting and callous, and shows a level of insensitivity and ignorance which has seldom been encountered by this Board of Supervisors.''
Demonstrating their own profound ignorance, at least in terms of biological realities, the supervisors contend, "Same-sex couples are just as qualified to be parents as are heterosexual couples."
Concluding, the board urged current San Francisco "Archbishop Neiderauer and the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Francisco to defy all discriminatory directives of Cardinal Levada."
Members of the Board of Supervisors and their contact information follow:
Jake McGoldrick
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=4635
Michela Alioto-Pier
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=22396
Aaron Peskin
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=4637
Fiona Ma
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=12725
Ross Mirkarimi
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=29087
Chris Daly
http://www.sfgov.org/daly
Sean Elsbernd
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=26661
Bevan Dufty
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=12723
Tom Ammiano
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=7251
Sophie Maxwell
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=4641
Gerardo Sandoval
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=4643
It would seem that Canada isn't the only place to want limits on Catholicism.
Source URL: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032203.html
LifeSiteNews.com
Wednesday March 22, 2006
San Francisco City Government Calls Catholics 'Hateful, Discriminatory, Insulting, Ignorant'
Top Cardinal is "decidedly unqualified", says resolution
By John-Henry Westen
SAN FRANCISCO, March 22, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In one of the most startling attacks on the Catholic Church coming from a governmental body in the United States in half a century, the governing body of the city of San Francisco - the Board of Supervisors - voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a non-binding resolution blasting the Catholic Church for its opposition to homosexual adoption.
While many city's residents agree with the Church's stand against homosexual adoption, the resolution stated "It is an insult to all San Franciscans when a foreign country, like the Vatican, meddles with and attempts to negatively influence this great city's existing and established customs and traditions, such as the right of same-sex couples to adopt and care for children in need."
The city supervisors levelled an ad hominem attack on former San Francisco Archbishop William Levada, who has been appointed to head the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), one of the most senior posts in the Church. " Cardinal Levada is a decidedly unqualified representative of his former home city, and of the people of San Francisco and the values they hold dear,'' the resolution stated.
The supervisors also demonstrated their childishness as they attempted another dig at the Cardinal by indicating in the resolution that the CDF was once known as the Office of the Inquisition. "That the Board of Supervisors urges Cardinal William Levada, in his capacity as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican (formerly known as Holy Office of the Inquisition), to withdraw his discriminatory and defamatory directive that Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Francisco stop placing children in need of adoption with homosexual households," reads the resolution.
The resolution attacked the teaching of the Catholic Church that homosexual adoption does "violence" to children since they would be placed in an environment that is not conducive to their full human development. The resolution blasted the teaching as "hateful and discriminatory rhetoric (that) is both insulting and callous, and shows a level of insensitivity and ignorance which has seldom been encountered by this Board of Supervisors.''
Demonstrating their own profound ignorance, at least in terms of biological realities, the supervisors contend, "Same-sex couples are just as qualified to be parents as are heterosexual couples."
Concluding, the board urged current San Francisco "Archbishop Neiderauer and the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Francisco to defy all discriminatory directives of Cardinal Levada."
Members of the Board of Supervisors and their contact information follow:
Jake McGoldrick
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=4635
Michela Alioto-Pier
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=22396
Aaron Peskin
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=4637
Fiona Ma
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=12725
Ross Mirkarimi
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=29087
Chris Daly
http://www.sfgov.org/daly
Sean Elsbernd
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=26661
Bevan Dufty
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=12723
Tom Ammiano
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=7251
Sophie Maxwell
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=4641
Gerardo Sandoval
http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=4643
Monday, June 12, 2006
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
I am a modest dresser. When I wear skirts they're usually long. I'm pretty well covered.
Our culture sells sex. So all the clothing folks wear these days is tight and revealing. Yet, so many people, both men and women, compliment me on my clothing. Long clothing is slimming. Cropped pants paired with a 3/4 length sleeve top isn't pretty. It just makes you look like you can't work a dryer properly and shrunk your clothes. If you're short they make you look shorter. If you're a size 10 trying to cram into a size 8, just realize you'll look like a sausage. It's not flattering. We wonder why the teen pregnancy rate is so high while we let our kids walk the streets looking like prostitutes. Spaghetti strap tanks in winter. Jeans so tight you can tell if the quarter in their back pocket is heads or tails. Might as well just put them in a sandwhich board that says "molest me."
In hot weather. My friends stand there turning into lobsters in their tanks and shorts. Fanning themselves and panting. Here I am in my long sleeves, long skirts and hats. Cool as a cucumber. How do you do it? they ask. Look at the desert dwellers. They all go out fully covered. Their clothing is a portable tent, keeping them cool. Folks look at me as if I've just announced I'm the antichrist, then totally ignore what I have to say. Even though the proof is standing right infront of them.
I recently discovered Shukr, a website for Islamic clothing. I had visited a blog not long ago, by a recent Christian writer on modesty in dress. Shukr was among her links page. Months later I placed my first order. I caught the most wonderful sale. Most of what I bought was one third it's original price. I bought enough stuff to get free shipping and a free hijab (head covering). What does a Christian woman need with a hijab? Our Islamic sisters aren't the only ones covering their heads. We Catholic women should still be wearing chapel veils. But due to a slip of the tongue by a bishop at the end of Vatican II and an overzealous media bliz, most Catholic women chucked their veils.
Back to Shukr. I bought 4 skirts. They fit wonderfully! Good sturdy construction which is essential for me since I don't drive and am either walking, biking or taking public transportation. Shipping was fast (and free due to the amount I spent). Communication by the seller was excellent. Highly recommend them to anyone!
I've added them to my links section as well as a link to one of my favorite websites about the chapel veil.
Our culture sells sex. So all the clothing folks wear these days is tight and revealing. Yet, so many people, both men and women, compliment me on my clothing. Long clothing is slimming. Cropped pants paired with a 3/4 length sleeve top isn't pretty. It just makes you look like you can't work a dryer properly and shrunk your clothes. If you're short they make you look shorter. If you're a size 10 trying to cram into a size 8, just realize you'll look like a sausage. It's not flattering. We wonder why the teen pregnancy rate is so high while we let our kids walk the streets looking like prostitutes. Spaghetti strap tanks in winter. Jeans so tight you can tell if the quarter in their back pocket is heads or tails. Might as well just put them in a sandwhich board that says "molest me."
In hot weather. My friends stand there turning into lobsters in their tanks and shorts. Fanning themselves and panting. Here I am in my long sleeves, long skirts and hats. Cool as a cucumber. How do you do it? they ask. Look at the desert dwellers. They all go out fully covered. Their clothing is a portable tent, keeping them cool. Folks look at me as if I've just announced I'm the antichrist, then totally ignore what I have to say. Even though the proof is standing right infront of them.
I recently discovered Shukr, a website for Islamic clothing. I had visited a blog not long ago, by a recent Christian writer on modesty in dress. Shukr was among her links page. Months later I placed my first order. I caught the most wonderful sale. Most of what I bought was one third it's original price. I bought enough stuff to get free shipping and a free hijab (head covering). What does a Christian woman need with a hijab? Our Islamic sisters aren't the only ones covering their heads. We Catholic women should still be wearing chapel veils. But due to a slip of the tongue by a bishop at the end of Vatican II and an overzealous media bliz, most Catholic women chucked their veils.
Back to Shukr. I bought 4 skirts. They fit wonderfully! Good sturdy construction which is essential for me since I don't drive and am either walking, biking or taking public transportation. Shipping was fast (and free due to the amount I spent). Communication by the seller was excellent. Highly recommend them to anyone!
I've added them to my links section as well as a link to one of my favorite websites about the chapel veil.
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