Fighting Irish Thomas

Hitler, Stalin...and Obama? The Jenky and Jenkins hi-jinks

2012-05-06T20:54:00.000-05:00

Reprinted on Spero News and RenewAmerica.

Hitler and Stalin, at their better moments, would just barely tolerate some churches remaining open, but would not tolerate any competition with the state in education, social services, and health care. Barack Obama, with his radical pro-abortion and extreme secularist agenda, now seems intent on following a similar path. --Bishop Daniel Jenky, from his homily at the annual "A Call to Men of Faith" Mass

[This] modification is a welcome step toward recognizing the freedoms of religious institutions to abide by their principles. --University of Notre Dame president, Father John Jenkins, after the Obama administration's "revised" Catholic conscience clause to the HHS mandate

Bishop Daniel Jenky

It's now been over three weeks since the Most Reverend Daniel "Dan the Man" Jenky, bishop of Peoria, delivered that bombshell masterpiece of a speech during the homily at a men's group Mass on the Saturday after Easter. Though it was heard live by a relatively small number of dedicated Catholic males, with the help of the Holy Spirit (as well as his diabolical opponent) the homily has spread like wildfire, inflaming the hearts of friends and foes alike. Meanwhile, Jenky himself (although wisely posting a link to the entire text of his homily on the homepage of the Diocesan website) has remained largely silent on the subject since, perhaps preferring, like the apostles, to wait in his own "upper room" until the feast of Pentecost comes. But in these times of instant media cycles, especially when it involves not just about how the story plays in Peoria but how it has been received at Notre Dame, I doubt the bishop has the luxury to wait 'til Memorial Day weekend to preach a worthy follow-up.

To be sure, this homily, which Jenky started with the declaration, "There is only one basic reason why Christianity exists and that is the fact that Jesus Christ truly rose from the grave," and ends with the admonition "We have nothing to fear but a world to win...Christ wins! Christ reigns! Christ commands!" was top-notch through and through, the likes of which I wish was heard more often from the pulpit. Still, it might be important to note that this homily was delivered not on Sunday morning, when the cathedral is filled with both devout and doubting Catholics, but on Saturday morning, to a bunch of already devout Catholic men to whom his rousing redress amounted to little more than a preaching-to-the-choir pep talk. That his semi-private sermon, considering it contained both the "H" and "S" names, was subsequently taken over by the Left (out of context of course) with the intent to defame the Church, is not exactly news in 2012.

Still, I think the unplanned release of his speech to a wider (and not-so-receptive) audience explains not only Jenky's lack of preparation for his denunciation by national groups such as the Anti Defamation League, the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, not to mention his old nemesis, powerful Illinois senator Dick Durbin, but his initial reluctance to address the ridiculous false charges these groups have leveled against him. While Jenky's homily declared that these times call for "not casual...but heroic Catholics, not Catholics by accident but Catholics by conviction," Jenky currently seems content to let his "accidentally" national speech slip "casually" into the sunset when the next news cycle overshadows it, and he could probably get away with this not-so-heroic strategy if he was only the bishop of Peoria, and did not hold that silly side job in South Bend.

Indeed, the Irish irony of this situation is that most of Jenky's troubles stem not from his role as bishop, but from his relatively insignificant spot on the Board of Trustees at his alma mater, Notre Dame. In a classic case of the inmates running the asylum, 131 irate ND professors and professionals (at last count, as this figure seems to increase on the hour) citing his Obama with Hitler and Stalin comparison, have demanded Jenky's ouster as a University fellow. Lest Irish fans lose hope, there is still a small but vocal group of Notre Dame professors, led by the ageless and fearless Charles Rice, who not only support Jenky, but declare that if their liberal colleagues actually had read what Jenky had said, they would have found a homily that (according to Rice) contained a "limited and appropriate" comparison to the evil duo, which "properly drew attention to the impending dangers to religious and personal freedom" Obama's policies threaten to bring about. Despite these leftist threats, I doubt there is any real danger that the gutless Father Jenkins would remove the suddenly controversial Jenky, for he would rather wait out a hurricane than risk losing still more orthodox alumni contributions by the sudden firing of their new hero. Which is all the more reason for Jenky to not only not resign, but to go on the offensive and justify the Irish faithful's newfound faith in him.

Certainly, with the addition of his latest heroic if somewhat reluctant homily, Jenky is already a giant in Catholic apologetics compared to Jenkins. Whereas Jenky's opposition to the HHS mandate is clear and unequivocal, Jenkins' initial feeble protest to Obama's mandate capitulated so quickly after Barack issued his revision you have to wonder if Jenkins was in on the ruse from the beginning. I call the revision a ruse because to shift the "payment" for contraception and abortifacients from the Catholic institution to their insurance provider is like shifting the role of the Church to that of the Mafia Don who orders the hit rather than the actual hit man. In either case, both parties are still responsible for the murder, and unlike the hapless Jenkins, every Catholic bishop, including the newly in-the-news Jenky, realizes that complying with this mandate would make the Church an accomplice with the murderous "godfather" Obama. In making this latest stand, Jenky no longer remains the pro-Obama sinner that Jenkins is, but he is not yet the candidate for sainthood fellow Peorian archbishop Fulton Sheen (whose cause for canonization Jenky initiated) is either. But he may not be as far from Sheen as it seems...

In other words, if Jenky were to become a saint, this ominous homily must be followed by at least two more acts of great love. While much is forgiven to those whose love is great, much is expected from those (such as bishops) to whom much is given, and just as Our Lord asked Peter three times if he loved Him, I think Christ is in the same process of thrice repeating to the once shaky Jenky the same question. This sermon was Jenky's first answer, and an excellent one it was. But in his now famous homily, Jenky not only took a specific swipe at "the entrenched corruption and sheer incompetence of our Illinois state government, but at the politicians who "pretend to be Catholics...but like Judas Iscariot, betray Jesus Christ [and] vote to cooperate with intrinsic evil." This part particularly frosted the notoriously pro-death senator Dick Durbin, who sneered that the Obama/Hitler/Stalin comparison was "truly unfortunate" and went "way too far." In addition, in response to the "Judas" reference--as well as to a previous time when Jenky labeled Durbin a "cafeteria Catholic"--the defiant Democrat challenged the battling bishop's shepherding skills by replying that, "the cafeteria is crowded with Catholics like me who have profound differences of opinion with the Church." To which Jenky must now reply, "and since your scandalous example is at least partially responsible for this fact, Senator Durbin, I advise you to stay in the cafeteria, because unless you repent you will no longer be served Holy Communion if you enter my Church."

Finally, to be fully forgiven, Jenky must make amends for his past failure as both bishop and University Board member to stand up against Jenkins' Obama invitation. Recently, the underground orthodox Notre Dame student newspaper The Irish Rover (just the fact that the orthodox newspaper, rather than the liberal Jenkins/Obama shill The Observer is underground at ND speaks volumes) noted that "although Bishop Jenky authored a letter reiterating the Catholic Church's teaching on the sanctity of all human life at that time...he offered no public comments on the University's decision to invite and honor Barack Obama at the 2009 Commencement," standing neither with the 82 U.S. bishops who opposed it, nor the ten courageous CSC priests who condemned it.

In the wake of "the Talk" that infuriated so many left-wing ND academics, it's time for Jenky to further wake up the echoes by adding, "although at the time I went along with Father Jenkins and my fellow Board members, thinking a Notre Dame commencement speech by President Obama could be used as a 'teachable moment' by the University, I now realize, not only in light of the USCCB's prophetic teaching "Catholics in Public Life," but in retrospect by how the president played us as fools by promising then that he would give Catholics a conscience exemption for the contraception/abortifacient portions of the mandate, that I was wrong. Furthermore, due to his many gravely flawed policies regarding the sanctity of all human life, I now move that the University of Notre Dame immediately revoke the honorary degree it erroneously bestowed on the president that day, a degree not to be restored to him unless his pro-choice policies truly change."

In this way, the sermon that became national by accident will be proved by God to be no accident after all. For in Jenky's words, when we act as though "we have nothing to fear, but a world to win," "Christ [always] wins"; and recommending the revoking of Obama's honorary Notre Dame degree would be no exception. Sure, the liberal ND Board would have a fit, but to fire the country's only CSC bishop from the country's flagship (and CSC run) Catholic university for being Catholic would cause such an uproar among the loyal sons and daughters of Notre Dame that the remaining Board members' own careers would be finished. On the other hand, if they actually did rescind Obama's ND degree, it would be a major, irreversible step to Our Lady's University once again becoming truly Catholic. If that's not the perfect Catholic "win-win" situation, I don't know what is...unless of course it's both Peoria and the Congregation of the Holy Cross being granted a second saint.

The Santorum forum pt XIII: RIP for RIC(k)?

2012-04-11T16:03:00.008-05:00

Reprinted on RenewAmerica and Spero News.

Thank you for your support, for your encouragement, and for your prayers for our family, especially Bella...Suspending my campaign for President of the United States has been one of the hardest decisions Karen and I have ever faced...because I know my candidacy has offered you a way to fight for your convictions, and I do not want to let you down. --Rick Santorum, from his official website suspension statement

I am sad. There's been an enthusiasm gap for Romney from the get-go. We will work for Romney...but we had so much enthusiasm for Santorum and what he stood for--his character, his integrity. --Alexia Newman, head of a crisis pregnancy center in Greenville, SC, who also served as a liaison to SC's evangelical pastors.

Santorum suspends campaign for GOP presidential nomination, 4-10-12.

During his Easter Monday homily, one of our local priests, citing an ancient saint, said that during the Easter season, because of the unsurpassed joy of the Resurrection, "Christians are not allowed to be sad." Still, after hearing Santorum's fateful announcement Tuesday, I found myself siding with Alexia instead of the homilist. Surely heaven gives an Easter "blues" exemption for an Irishman, especially when the mourning involves the rare case of an honest politician...

Just as the odds were long for Santorum from the beginning, the reasons for his departure from his amazing race were legion also. As Santorum accurately stated, he won more counties (the vote of the "little guy") but without the support of the Republican brass and the way the primaries were set up, their votes did not translate into (enough) delegates. Not only did Rick lack the endless parade of GOP endorsements that Mitt brought, but Romney's endless stream of money bought a tsunami wave of Santorum attack ads. These ads flooding every major market with lies that, while disgusting to the informed evangelical, were enough to sway the casual Republican voter and carry the close states. Finally, on Good Friday, when Santorum's few wealthy donors (citing Texas' refusal to make the state a winner-take-all delegate count) threw in the towel and Bella entered the hospital for her second emergency in two months, Santorum knew he was through.

As Senator Santorum surmised and Ms. Newman accurately summarized, there is both sadness and disappointment when the good man, the virtuous man, finally goes down. If he could only hang on in Pennsylvania, you thought, and hold out until Texas...he could disprove that cynical theory that the man with the most money always wins! But in reality, Santorum was already broke, and while Gingrich (who was reportedly 4.5 million in debt) joked about bouncing a five hundred dollar primary fee check to the state of Utah, Rick risked the far more serious prospects of bouncing his daughter's college tuition checks if he stayed in. Still, if the devout Protestants proved that prayer and spare change could get a committed Christian halfway there, Santorum's quixotic quest also showed that without the equally fervent support of devout Catholics, such a bid will always come up short.

Ironically, Santorum's "Catholic problem," as dubbed EWTN, was depicted perfectly one final time on Easter Sunday in the person of Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Responding to a Bob Schieffer question on CBS's Face the Nation, Cardinal Dolan, sounding more like a waffling political candidate than an unwavering orthodox prelate, somehow managed to agree both with John F. Kennedy, who said in his infamous "religion" speech that the separation of church and state "should be absolute," and also with Rick Santorum, who said those same sentiments made him "want to throw up." Dolan then compounded his duplicity by stating that, while there may be reasons (lack of "character and integrity" perhaps?) not to vote for Mitt Romney, his Mormonism "is not one of them." Although Dolan's take on Kennedy's speech (he at least could have agreed with Archbishop Chaput, who called JFK "sincere but wrong") probably doesn't rise to the level of deception that, say, Father John Jenkins' misinterpretation of "Catholics in Political Life" (which allowed him to honor Barack Obama at Notre Dame) did, it does dramatically demonstrate the lukewarm Catholic support for Santorum that doomed his campaign. At the same time, while Dolan's statement on Mitt's Mormonism may not rise to the level of scandal, it lacks both the prophetic insight and potential heroism of Jimmy Akin's stark claim that Romney's election "would mainstream...the idea that Mormons are Christians, and that polytheism is somehow compatible to Christianity."

Way back in "Santorum forum I," I mused about the possibility of an election pitting the dishonest socialist against the pollyanna polytheist, and prayed I would not be put to that test. Now, faced with this very real decision, readers no doubt wonder if I can now support the at-least-currently conservative Mitt Romney against the no-doubt culture of death Barack Obama. And here is my answer: if Mitt picks a committed Christian pro-life VP (such as Santorum) I'm in. If not, I'm writing someone in or going third party, and praying that when the Lord comes again (probably within the next four-year term), I give a better answer to Christ than Dolan did to Schieffer.

The Santorum forum pt XII: A Santorum-Obama 'contraception debate' I'd like to see

2012-03-29T21:17:00.022-05:00

Reprinted on RenewAmerica and Spero News.

We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social service backgrounds and with engaging personalities. The most successful approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal, and we do not want word to get out that we want to exterminate the Negro population. --Margaret Sanger

17. Finally, careful consideration should be given to the danger of this power passing into the hands of those public authorities who care little for the precepts of the moral law. Who will blame a government which in its attempt to resolve the problems affecting an entire country resorts to the same measures as are regarded as lawful by married people in the solution of a particular family difficulty? Who will prevent public authorities from favoring those contraceptive methods which they consider more effective? Should they regard this as necessary, they may even impose their use on everyone. It could well happen, therefore, that when people, either individually or in family or social life, experience the inherent difficulties of the divine law and are determined to avoid them, they may give into the hands of public authorities the power to intervene in the most personal and intimate responsibility of husband and wife. --from "Humanae Vitae"

SCENE ONE
(The following scene takes place shortly after the lengthy, brokered 2012 Republican Convention, where Senator Rick SANTORUM has emerged victorious. SANTORUM has just been ushered into a green room to prepare for what he assumed was his initial press conference. To their mutual surprise, the room is already being shared by President Barack OBAMA and two of his SECRET SERVICE MEN, who, due to the unusual length of this convention, are preparing for the first presidential debate to be held that same night.)

OBAMA

(with a look of surprise)

Rick!

(OBAMA quickly regains his composure, and rises to shake SANTORUM'S hand)

Congratulations!

SANTORUM

Mr. President!

(SANTORUM shakes, while still speaking)

I wasn't expecting to find you here!

OBAMA

And neither was I expecting YOU, Senator. By the way, what happened to Mitt?

(The PRESIDENT continues talking while motioning to his SECRET SERVICE MEN to put his "Romney Rants" files away and to bring out his "Holier than Santorum" briefcase.)

He was still far ahead of you on delegates, was he not?

SANTORUM

Yeah, I mean, going into the convention, Romney was only a handful of votes away from clinching. But once Newt's delegates came over to me, and then Paul's even started to come my way, he panicked. First, he grabbed the mic and promised everyone their own planet if he were president...

OBAMA

(considering the idea to himself)

Promising a planet? Not bad...

SANTORUM

Actually, Mr. President, that really weirded people out--except for a few of the Paul-ies. For at that point, even some of his own delegates, those who initially liked me but were convinced I couldn't win, came over. But just when I was about to clinch, Mitt totally lost it.

OBAMA

Really?

SANTORUM

Yeah. I mean he started babbling that this wasn't fair, that he spent all this money and the media had promised him the presidency. Finally, when Mitt started playing his "Santorum attack ads" over the loudspeakers at full blast they had to restrain him.

OBAMA

That's too bad. I was just getting ready to make him look sill- I mean, welcome him--

(they both stop to listen to a political commercial suddenly blaring in the background)

COMMERCIAL VOICE

"...while in the Senate, Rick Santorum spent more money than all the other senators combined-"

SANTORUM

Mitt?

COMMERCIAL VOICE

"...Senator Santorum not only voted for the 'Bridge to Nowhere,' but sponsored the 'Bridge to Nowhere--and BACK!'"

SANTORUM

(walking toward door)

MITT?

COMMERICAL VOICE

"...and if Senator Santorum were to become president, no one in this country would ever be allowed to have safe sex AGAIN!"

OBAMA

(taking notes, talking to himself)

That's a good one...

SANTORUM

(SANTORUM opens the door, only to find Governor ROMNEY with his ear up against it)

MITT!

ROMNEY

(clinging to SANTORUM, then OBAMA; hysterical)

I want to be president! Please, won't you let me be president?

SANTORUM

(peeling ROMNEY off)

Get a grip on yourself, man!

ROMNEY

I'll give you anything! Would you like the sun?

OBAMA

(knowingly)

Solar energy's not all it's cracked up to be...

SANTORUM

(soothingly)

It's over, Mitt. Go home. You still have Ann and your kids...and all your money...

ROMNEY

(brightening somewhat)

Yes, my money.

(OBAMA motions for the SECRET SERVICE MEN to take him away)

And it's a helluva lot more money than you'll ever see...

(his voice fades as he disappears)

OBAMA

That was close.

SANTORUM

Yeah. Say, Mr. President-

OBAMA

(with his best fake smile)

Call me Barack.

SANTORUM

Thanks...Barack. So I can't believe they're still holding the debate tonight.

OBAMA

Who knew the Republican National Convention would last a week? Besides, after all the fireworks at your convention, we're gonna get great ratings!

SANTORUM

(sighs)

I guess. It's just that I've had little time to prepare, and I

(yawning)

haven't slept...in a week...

OBAMA

(rubs his hands together while snickering sinisterly and speaking softly)

That's just what we were counting on-

SANTORUM

What did you say?

OBAMA

I said I'm sure you'll do just fine.

SANTORUM

You're right, Barack. It's not like I'm Governor Romney, and don't know where I stand until my people tell me. Now this debate will focus on jobs and the economy and not social issues, right?

OBAMA

(lying)

That's right...

(here OBAMA drops the position papers he's been studying, and although both he and the SECRET SERVICE MEN scramble to pick them up quickly, SANTORUM grabs them--and glances--at them first)

SANTORUM

Here you go... What's this?

(reading the cover)

"Senator Santorum: Contraception Cop?" I should have known!

OBAMA

Don't look at me Rick. You brought this contraception controversy on yourself.

SANTORUM

(getting angry)

And I suppose the anti-Catholic mandates of Obamacare have nothing to do with it!

(The SECRET SERVICE MEN stand up and step closer, and SANTORUM, seeing this, lowers his voice.)

Fine. I'll save it for the debate. But do you even realize why I'm against artificial birth control?

OBAMA

(disinterestedly guessing)

Because Planned Parenthood wouldn't fund your campaign?

SANTORUM

(shaking his head)

You haven't a clue.

(with hope)

Barack, have you ever read "Humanae Vitae"?

OBAMA

(thinking)

Hmmm...sounds Latin. Is it about the priest sex-abuse scandal?

SANTORUM

(exasperated)

No, Barack. It's Latin for "Of Human Life." It's the Vatican encyclical which dealt with the issues of artificial birth contr-

OBAMA

(nodding knowingly)

Oh yeah. Father Jenkins told me all about that when I was at Notre Dame...

SANTORUM

But did you ever actually read it?

OBAMA

No, but 'Johnny'-

SANTORUM

Well, judging from the blogs "Fighting Irish Thomas" sends me, I wonder if Fr. Jenkins really read it either, but "Humanae Vitae" is not just some outdated document condemning sex. It speaks about...

(here RICK reaches back, trying to quote from memory)

'Deeper principles, based on natural law...illuminated by divine revelation.' It relates how procreation...involves more than just 'biology, psychology, demography and sociology,' but 'the whole man and the whole mission,' not just its 'natural earthly aspects' but its 'supernatural earthly aspects...'

OBAMA

Well, that thing does have a nice rhythm to it-

(chuckles)

no pun intended-

SANTORUM

(ignoring that remark, on a roll)

It talks of how through the union of 'unitive and procreative' aspects of the marriage act, the 'husband and wife, through the mutual gift of themselves...develop that union of two persons in which they perfect one another, while cooperating with God in the generation and rearing of new lives' and through this the 'husband and wife become...one heart and one soul...'

OBAMA

(unmoved)

Very nice, Rick. In fact, that...encyclical as you Catholics call it, has such good flow I'm gonna ask Biden to call the Vatican to see if I can borrow the pope's speech writer. But seriously, couples just can't go around like you and Karen with eleven kids anymore...

SANTORUM

It's only seven, Barack.

(SANTORUM pauses, a tear in his eye)

Eight counting Gabriel.

(regaining composure)

But why not?

(smiles)

I may not be as rich as Mitt, but we can afford them.

OBAMA

Rick, I'm not saying you can't.

(with manufactured sincerity)

Your kids are great, and Michelle and I pray for your little Bella. But think about all those who can't afford seven kids. What kind of example are you setting-

SANTORUM

A HOLY example I hope. But I think you're missing the point, Barack. Natural Family Planning, in regards to spacing out the time when you have children, is just as reliable as artificial birth control, but philosophically they are miles apart. Whereas the first is always open to life, the second's explicit purpose is to prevent life, to separate the two aspects of the act-

OBAMA

That reminds me. I better call Michelle.

(here, the PRESIDENT pulls out his phone and types a quick text)

I love having the girls with me...but you know those Florida beach parties can get pretty wild, and although Malia is a sharp young lady, I'm not so sure about some of her friends. But seriously, Rick. NFP can't work as well as "the Pill" or a condom...

SANTORUM

(looking the PRESIDENT in the eye)

I was talking about married couples.

OBAMA

Even so...if I understand the thing...if you don't want to have babies....then there's gotta be a lot of times you just can't...do it.

SANTORUM

Yeah, there are some, although probably not as many days as you think. But that's where controlling your desires can actually bring you closer to your wife. "Humanae Vitae" does talk about how this control 'sometimes comes only by heroic effort.' I'm not sure I'd exactly call it 'heroic.'

(laughs)

Well, maybe when I was younger it was.

(passionately)

But the point is, even if people don't agree with me on contraception, don't you think they want--they deserve--a president who gives heroic effort?

OBAMA

(knowingly, as if explaining the facts of life)

You would think so. In fact, people might even say they want virtue. Hey, don't get me wrong Rick. I'm not saying what you're doing is bad. I mean, you certainly can't get away with being a skirt-chasing president like Jack Kennedy anymore-

SECRET SERVICE MAN 1

(whispering to his partner)

Not with Michelle around!

SECRET SERVICE MAN 2

(whispering back)

That's for sure!

OBAMA

But in the end, voters aren't really looking for heroism.

SANTORUM

They're not?

OBAMA

No. They're really looking for someone who can give them stuff. You know; food stamps, bailouts, perpetual unemployment checks...

(the PRESIDENT goes into his messianic voice)

'When I was hungry, you gave me to eat. When I was thirsty you gave me to drink. When I was-

SANTORUM

...pregnant you gave me a doctor to murder my baby--for free. "Humanae Vitae" also predicted that the widespread use of contraception would lead to wide-scale, legal abortions...and even in a way predicted "Obamacare," a government policy that would force Christians to support state-sponsored contraception and abortion against their will--and religion.

OBAMA

(defensive)

Nobody likes abortions. And nobody is forcing anyone to get one. But in these economic times a woman should have a choice.

SANTORUM

Is that why our black citizens, a group that still almost universally supports you, now makes up only 13% of the population but has over 35% of the abortions?

OBAMA

Only 13%? Yeah that could be up a bit...especially when over 90% of them vote for me...when they vote. I'll really have to make a push to get them registered and out to the polls...

(making a note)

maybe I could tie some extra food stamps in with voting this year...

SANTORUM

(exasperated)

How well the Margaret Sanger plan worked, and how accurately she predicted you!

OBAMA

Sanger? She was that early to mid-twentieth century women's rights chick, right?

(SANTORUM nods)

Hillary really dug her.

SANTORUM

She was also the woman who through contraception and abortion tried to get rid of the 'human weeds' of society, otherwise known as the 'Negroes.' But she was smart enough to know that these 'reckless breeders' would not listen to her, so she brainwashed three or four prominent African Americans to do her work for her. All in all, her plan for keeping the black population down worked pretty well, but little did she know that someday she would have the most powerful man in the world doing her bidding, a black president who through force of personality could conceivably whittle down his own people to practically nothing. In you, Barack Obama, Margaret Sanger's plan has succeeded beyond her wildest dreams!

OBAMA

(thinking he has been complimented)

Thank you, Rick!

SANTORUM

No, you don't understand, Barack! Doing the will of someone who was trying to exterminate the black population is not a good thing.

OBAMA

No, here's where you don't understand, Mr. Catholic man! In politics; good and bad, right and wrong are not determined by commandments or encyclicals, but by polls and votes. Granted, the people haven't voted yet, but my poll numbers are way higher than yours, so that must mean being the savior of Ms. Sanger's population-control-through-abortion-and-contraception plan is not just a good thing, but a great thing. Some of the words she used may no longer be politically correct, but if you're right, and I can be seen as the fulfillment of her vision, that not only guarantees me the black vote, but the feminist and lesbian vote as well. And that's gonna really be tough to beat...

SANTORUM

How could anyone be so cynical! You're unbelievable...

(suddenly, an inspiration hits SANTORUM)

Hey, that's it! Maybe no one really is as cynical as you, and if I can just show the voters that they really aren't as cynical as Barack Obama, maybe they'll start to realize your vision of socialized control isn't worth believing in either. Heck, maybe contraception and abortion aren't some political liability, but just the promise of new life my campaign really needs!

(reaches and vigorously shakes OBAMA'S hand)

Thank you, Mr. President! This talk was just what I needed!

(like St. Peter on Pentecost, SANTORUM literally bounds out of the room, ready to conquer the world)

OBAMA

(uncomprehendingly)

Glad I could be of some help.

(calling after SANTORUM, who is already out the door)

And call me Barackkkk...

(OBAMA, still baffled, but sensing SANTORUM'S enthusiasm, turns to his SECRET SERVICE MEN)

Should I be worried?

SECRET SERVICE MAN 1

Nah. Look, first, you hit the Conservatives with his support of Specter. Then you remind the Independents about how he lost his last senatorial race by seventeen goddamn points. And if that isn't enough to get that Italian's dander up, remind everyone else that if they even think about voting for him, he'll be going through their bedroom the first chance he gets, and Santorum will be swearin' like a truck driver in no time. Piece a cake.

OBAMA

I guess you're right.

(The three exit the room, but as they do SECRET SERVICE MAN 2 notices something on the floor. It is a rosary which apparently SANTORUM has lost during his hasty exit. The agent, a lapsed Catholic, picks it up--and is suddenly touched.)

SECRET SERVICE MAN 2

(to himself)

It looks just like the one I got for my First Communion. Now how does that first prayer go...oh yeah. I believe in one God, the Father Al-

SECRET SERVICE MAN 1

(annoyed, re-enters the room)

You comin'?

SECRET SERVICE MAN 2

Yeah, I'm coming.

(He puts the rosary in his pocket while continuing to pray the beads silently and as they walk out, the scene ends.)

Margaret Sanger in a 1917 Chicago Daily News photo.

The Santorum forum pt XI: Rick's surprise Guadalupe Shrine visit

2012-03-28T08:58:00.009-05:00

Dear Mr. O'Toole, wrote my friend, Greg Marco. I might have some information for you for the Santorum Forum Part XI.

And so he did! I'm not sure if Senator Santorum's surprise visit to the Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in La Crosse, Wisconsin, was at all inspired by "Santorum forum pt X," -- in fact, I don't know really anything beyond the pictures that "The Badger Catholic" has posted on his site -- but I do know the pictures were so good that I had to share them with you. Enjoy them, and I'll see you soon on the widely anticipated "Santorum forum pt XII."

God's grace and Mary's prayers
Tom O'Toole

Rick Santorum arrives at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin, 3-28-12.

"The God Squad"

Rick Santorum visits the Shrine to the Unborn in La Crosse, Wisconsin, 3-28-12.

Rick Santorum and his daughter, Elizabeth (right), visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin, 3-28-12.

Rick Santorum attends Holy Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin, 3-28-12.

The Santorum forum pt X: 'Rick Rocks' the 'Heights' but where's the 'Hail Mary'?

2012-03-26T19:11:00.031-05:00

Reprinted on RenewAmerica and Spero News.

A liberal, a moderate and a conservative walk into a bar, and the bartender says, "Hello, Mitt!" --a joke from a Santorum campaign ad

Romney is running to win the White House. Rick is running to win back the country. --Foster Friess, Santorum's biggest Super Pac supporter, on why he still contributes to Rick's cause

Rick Santorum in Arlington Heights, IL, 3-16-12

Whether it's winning big in Louisiana or losing to the GOP bigwigs in Illinois, Rick Santorum continues to grab the headlines (and sound bites) if not always for the right reasons. As Mr. Friess (himself not a stranger to a controversial headline or two) continued when interviewed (after Santorum's, if-it's-Romney-we-might-as-well-stick-with-Obama comment, but before his BS response to a "twisted" NY Times reporter), "[b]ecause Rick speaks off the cuff and from the heart and not from a script like Mitt, sometimes the words don't come out quite right. But people also see he speaks from conviction, and that is why so many [regular] folks support him." Although that support was most evident in Santorum's "Louisiana Landslide" victory, which took place on the feast day (according to the pre-Vatican II calendar) of St. Gabriel, God's archangel messenger who heralded the coming of His Son (as well as the namesake of the Santorums' son in heaven), both the glory and the gory of the Santorum campaign were in evidence in Illinois, especially at Santorum's raucous rally in Arlington Heights. And, as this was the only Santorum forum that this "Rick Rocks" writer has personally witnessed so far, I thought a look back would both summarize the ups and downs of Rick's campaign to date and crystallize what lies ahead for his long-shot presidential bid.

Just as I (as many devout Catholics) like to tie Rick's victories with the feast days of angels and saints, it was not without irony that I noted Rick's most notable appearance in the Land of Lincoln took place at Arlington Heights' Christian Liberty Academy on 3-16, which is, if not the most noted verse (John 3:16) in Bible history, is certainly the most quoted one in connection with sports and competition. And, after an opening prayer by the academy's Rev. Calvin Lindstrom (which stressed God's protection against the slanderous onslaught on Rick and his family), it was interesting to hear Santorum tell how, in perhaps the only presidential campaign in history where nearly all of the candidate's supporters tell their man not that they're pulling for him but are praying for him, that his campaign not only started with a prayer--but nearly ended from lack of one.

"Back when the president first got Obamacare passed, I was looking at the potential field of Republican candidates and kept thinking to myself, none of these guys can really take on this thing...from a moral standpoint, so I finally asked [my wife] Karen to pray for me whether or not I should run. And she replied, 'WHAT! Are you CRAZY? No, I will NOT pray for you to run!!!'" After the audience laughter died down, Rick continued. "But then she thought about it, changed her mind, and did pray. She continued to pray through the days before Iowa when polls showed me getting three percent of the vote. But then those voters began to pray and many of them changed their mind, and we stunned the pundits and won Iowa, and are hoping to pull off another upset here."

Rally for Rick, Arlington Heights, IL, 3-16-12

Indeed, if it was up to the people in the crowd that night, Santorum would have romped in Illinois as well. Judging from the "Rick Rocks" (my wife's favorite), "We're Tebowing for you, Rick," and "Home Schoolers for Santorum" banners, I'd judge the partisan crowd of over 2,000 that packed that gym to be about 80% Evangelicals, 20% Catholics, and 1% everything else, which led to not only an uncanny connection between the crowd and Santorum, but an unsavory connection to would-be detractors. As for the first, I've never seen a crowd so able to say exactly the right thing to affirm their guy's speech as the Arlington Heights group of that night. Commenting on the Obama promises, Santorum joked, "He said that the sea would recede and the sun would always shine. Remarkably, all these predictions have not come true. What we need is not Obama's 'Hope and Change,' his promise that the government will always take care of us, what we need is..." Rick paused for a second, searching for just the right word, when someone shouted out "FAITH!" "In a word, yes!" Rick smiled in confirmation. And when speaking of Gov. Romney, and reminding the crowd of how Romneycare was the blueprint for Obamacare, the same phenomenon occurred. "We don't need someone who is just a little bit different on the issue than Obama," Rick reminded. "We don't need another person who doesn't tell the truth. We need..."

"We need RICK!" another voice cried.

"On that note, let me tell you what I'll do for the country," Rick laughed, and then continued.

Still, despite this harmony, it was "the protest," or rather, the "kiss of protest," that most media members remembered. A little later in the talk, two teenage boys in the bleachers stood up, and, after saying something obscene, engaged in a publicity-seeking, MTV-esque kiss before being escorted out to crowd chants of "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" Unlike with the previous call-outs, Santorum said nothing about their comments, probably realizing that they really knew nothing about his policies, let alone about love itself. This thought was confirmed to me when, after the rally, I saw a small group of gay-rights protesters outside shouting "God loves everyone! God loves everyone!"--not realizing this was precisely what Santorum's campaign was about.

For if these boys had opened their eyes, or the protesters had wandered inside, they would have found a truly joyous crowd unlike any that Party-favorite Romney draws, and far more diverse than the divisive Obama attracts. For not only were there white and black, Hispanic and Asian, women and men, there were also children, many children...and, even more shocking, sometimes more than one or two of the children belonged to the same parents! But if there were more children than in the Romney or Obama crowds, there were far more of the "unfortunate," with walkers, wheelchairs and special needs folks as far as the eye could see. And, by their mere presence, the young, the old, and the lame also spoke of the mystical presence of all those aborted, a group who, by his unwavering support, Rick proved that (like God) he truly loves everyone. Indeed, the only group that seemed under-supported was the rich and self-righteous. Of course, if I were Rick, I wouldn't feel too bad about that, for Christ's crowds were low on the very same demographic.

Still, as heartwarming as the night was, we know that in a land where a Christian candidate is outspent not seven to one but seventy times seven to one, that the downtrodden rarely rule the day, and those who always support the unborn haven't been in charge in nearly forty years. After being beaten in the Bayou, an anonymous member of Romney's camp smugly remarked that Santorum's celebrating his Louisiana victory was like football fans cheering a fourth-quarter field goal when their team was down by five touchdowns. A bit of an exaggeration to be sure, but the fact remains that Romney still has twice as many delegates as Santorum, and with New York, New Jersey and other big liberal states fast approaching, if the fourth quarter isn't here, it cannot be far off.

Unlike most Santorum supporters, Fighting Irish Thomas has urged this candid candidate to show more, rather than less Catholicity, and at the time of the game when the "Hail Mary" may be the only option, I ask Santorum not to be afraid to throw it. Heck, he already has more Evangelicals praying for him than Huckabee ever did, not to mention all the sick, such as Cheryl McDonough, who offer their sufferings for him, or all those with medical problems like Summer Hurst, who support him because of his daughter Bella. While it is true that most people who call themselves Catholic don't follow their faith, it's now time for Santorum to call all Catholics, devout or not, to pray for him. Just as there's something about Mary that always leads people to Jesus, there's something about Rick (or his wife Karen or daughter Elizabeth) acknowledging the faith by openly asking Catholics and other believers in his time of need to pray the Rosary or "Aves" for his candidacy--knowing full well that the MSM will mock him for it, that simultaneously brings both the greatest risk from the worldly and the greatest reward from God. Perhaps by seeing his courage in asking for prayers, a few open souls will have the courage to answer them. Either way, I say that just as Santorum's campaign began with a prayer, it should also end with one. Then, when the final gun is sounded, whether Santorum has his hands around the ball or not, we'll know that Jesus (through Mary) truly had His Hand in Rick's quest.
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For a Jeanette O'Toole video of the Arlington Heights rally, click here.

Holy (Saint) Toledo! Praying for Super Tuesday

2012-03-05T18:08:00.014-06:00

Reprinted on RenewAmerica.

However great the horror of death, it can be overcome by the power of love in imitation of that love by which he, who is our life, willed to suffer death for our sakes. --St. Julian of Toledo

With Super Tuesday but a day away, Elizabeth Santorum (Rick's daughter) asked the faithful to "work the beads" and rest assured we here at Fighting Irish Thomas will. We'll pray not only that Tuesday's voters can "cut through the crap" (the half truths/lies of the Romney and Paul attack ads), but also, after Romney's thugs first tried to steal the Iowa election from Rick, then did manage to steal two delegates away from Santorum after the Michigan election was over, that the primaries are on the up and up. In that regard, I've decided to feature one of tomorrow's saints as well. Indeed, if I had time, I would write about all of Tuesday's featured saints, including Colette of Corbie, Agnes of Bohemia, and Chrodegang of Metz. But since I am at the 11th hour, and since Ohio is deemed the most important state for Rick, I'm appealing to the bishop who shares a town Ohioans know well, St. Julian of Toledo.

Julian was born in 642, and was baptized in the Italian city of Toledo where he later became bishop. Julian originally tried to lead a quiet monastic life, but his talents inevitably thrust him into the limelight when the Visagothic king Wamba appointed him to the bishopric (no pun intended). Felix's (Julian's biographer) description of his subject, "a prudent and prayerful man, well-informed, generous, approachable, and concerned with the weaker members of society," could also be applied to Santorum, and the fact Julian not only fought the religious heresy of the day; Monotheism (a forerunner to Mormonism?) but political heresy against the (I'm not kidding!) "traitor Duke Paul" makes Julian an especially apropos saint for Rick. Julian was also a prolific writer, and although Rick has written only one book, Julian's writing, like Rick's, "is shot through with a personal faith and conviction that makes it rewarding reading even now." Or, as we should say in the case of Santorum's book, It Takes a Family, especially now.

St. Julian of Toledo, pray for us ... and Rick Santorum too!

The Santorum forum pt VIII: Rick's Arizona and Michigan primary saints

2012-02-25T08:57:00.008-06:00

Reprinted on Spero News and RenewAmerica.

Satan is attacking the great institutions of America, using the great vices of pride, vanity, and sensuality... -Rick Santorum, from a speech to Ave Maria University in 2008

[Romanus] made a pilgrimage to the reputed spot of the martyrdom of St. Maurice, and...healed two lepers along the way. News of this miracle reached Geneva...and the bishop and all the townspeople turned out to greet him. -from Butler's Lives of the Saints on St. Romanus of Condat

On the outbreak of the First World War....[Fr. Brottier] enrolled as a volunteer chaplain and spent over four years on the front. He flung himself into the most dangerous situations, ministering to the sick and dying...almost miraculously [surviving] in positions where the average life expectancy was measured in weeks rather than months. -from Butler's Lives of the Saints on Bd. Daniel Brottier

Will the White House age Rick as missionary work aged Daniel?

During Wednesday's (Ash Wednesday's!) Republican debate, Rick Santorum was attacked (among other things) for his 2008 claim which thirty years ago (remember Ronald Reagan?) would have been cheered, but even today every devout Christian knows is true; that Satan is alive and well and thriving in America. As his Republican opponents (especially Romney and Paul) conspire with the Obamanites and the MSM to "paint" (remember the ad!) Rick's Catholic Christian conservatism as mean and extreme, let's look ahead to what heavenly help Santorum can look forward to against the powers and principalities Rick must overcome to win next Tuesday's Arizona and Michigan primaries.

But before we preview February 28's pivotal battles, first we'll take a look back to see how Santorum's saintly strategy has worked thus far. Indeed, while most secular pundits saw Santorum's February 7 triple upset victories in Missouri, Minnesota and especially Colorado as incredible, the followers of the saints saw Rick's hat-trick as almost inevitable. Not only was Santorum's patron saint, St. Richard, one of the February 7 saints of the day, but just as Rick has his kids helping his campaign, King St. Richard also had three saintly children, sons Sts. Willibald and Winnebald and daughter St. Walburga, working for him. And, although I am a bit more of a White Sox fan than a diehard "Cub," anyone familiar with that North Side Chicago baseball team, knows they hang "W" flags outside whenever they win, and the three wins from St. Richard's three "W" saints are too much a coincidence for even Mitt's team to not "catch" on to.

But next Tuesday, say Romney, Newt and the perpetual candidate Paul, is a different story. Not only does Santorum have no patron saints in his starting lineup that day, but two of his big hitters Saint Oswald of Worchester (a humble monk who was called to be the only simultaneous bishop of Worchester and York) and St. Hilarus (who, for courageously defending the Holy See against the dissident Bishop Dioscorus, was elected pope while still a deacon) are celebrated on February 29 during leap years, and thus are benched until the next day. But when you have the Triune God, something that Romney does not believe in and Paul would have the states vote on, to manage your teammates, even the bench players can deliver when called upon.

Is Romanus offering Rick the White House?

Tuesday's first saint, Romanus of Condat, was a humble hermit who modeled his community after the teachings of the desert fathers. This seemingly made Romanus the perfect patron for Rick in Arizona, but just as Santorum found that he had to modify his "No Child Left Behind" stance if he was to reform education, Romanus found the light clothing worn by the desert monks unsuitable for the cold nights in the Jura Mountains between Switzerland and France. So they switched from sheets and sandals to animal skins (the sweater vest of the 5th century) and wooden clogs, and their sanctity succeeded. Despite the MSM's snickering about Santorum's religion, if Rick, like Romanus, could heal some sickly lepers (or even a CNN debate anchor) I think Romney would finally be toast. In the meantime, his intercession should do.

Still I think the unsung hero saint of that day who could put Santorum over the top Tuesday is Blessed Daniel Brottier. At 23, Daniel was ordained a priest in the Missionary Congregation of the Holy Spirit, the perfect order in this instance because it invokes the Member of the Trinity that the Mormons do not believe is God. Besides his aforementioned "miraculous" stint on the WWI front, where Brottier attributed his survival to the intercession of St. Therese (a favorite of the O'Toole household, since she helped save the life of our only daughter, Therese, during a rough pregnancy) but he spent eight years as a missionary in Senegal, Africa, where the natives he baptized helped him build a cathedral in Dakar. These experiences not only make Bd. Daniel the right man to help Santorum with his foreign policy, but also to keep the candidate safe while campaigning on the streets of downtown Detroit or at the Arizona-Mexican border.

But the most striking similarity of Bd. Brottier to Sen. Santorum is the fact that Fr. Dan spent the last thirteen years of his life (he died Feb. 28, 1936) ministering to orphaned and abandoned children, virtually the same neglected (by Obamacare) group that got Rick into the race in the first place. Finally, since being a "blessed" means Daniel Brottier is still one step, one miracle, away from sainthood, this should also give him all the more incentive to intercede for Santorum. I'm not sure if Santorum winning Tuesday's two primaries would be enough to get Bd. Dan numbered among the saints, but if he kept it up through the nomination and general election...let's just say his favorite saint, the ever-popular St. Therese, would have nothing on him.

Protestants and ill-informed Catholics (such as those who voted for Obama in '08) must remember, as 2nd century Christians did on the first dies natalis ("birthday into heaven") of St. Polycarp (perhaps the first saint to be thus celebrated) that, in their words "we can never forsake Christ, who suffered for the salvation...of the whole world, or worship anyone else. To Him...we offer adoration, but to the martyrs, as disciples and imitators of the Lord, we give the love they deserve for their unsurpassable devotion to their own King and Teacher: may it be our privilege to be their fellow-disciples." Currently, the Obamanites mock Rick because they think Satan is not real, and the Romneyites slam Santorum because they fear the devil IS, and they are afraid their lie-laced negative ads will soon convict them of colluding with Satan, the Father of Lies himself.

Blessed Daniel and St. Romanus stand ready. Are we ready to stand as their fellow-disciples, and together adore Christ as we pray for Brother Rick, as he walks through the Valley of Darkness on his way to bring Light to White House?
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You can join in Adoration for Santorum here.

Mormons, contraception, and Santorum: will Rick be 'pierced' by Macfarlane's 'sword'?

2012-02-22T11:58:00.022-06:00

Reprinted on RenewAmerica and Spero News.

John Lanning was a bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, [and] the director of public relations for LDS...Lanning's job was simple: foster in the minds of Americans that the LDS was a family-oriented, harmless, and ordinary Christian church...For over forty years Lanning had served the LDS diligently and brilliantly...and by the 1990s his public relations campaign had worked...[but] over time Lanning's attitude toward his religion had changed from unthinking acceptance to an exciting search for inconsistencies...his doubts increased...Lanning...considered suicide. He could no longer pray because he no longer believed in God--or at least...not the cartoon Mormon version of gods. "Who are you!?" John called out, his voice filled with misery. "Are you Lucifer or Jesus or something else?" -from Pierced by a Sword, by Bud Macfarlane Jr.

Lanning had been dead for twelve minutes by the time the ambulance arrived at the LDS hospital. Lanning entered a tunnel of light...and a being of light stood at the end of the tunnel...the being took the form of a woman...in a [black] hooded garment. He was anxious to see her face...but when he did he screamed. There were dark holes where her eyes should have been, and giant warts on skin as old and dry as the desert...her name...was Death. "Contraception, my sweet. Contraception has made you mine!" she cackled, as her skeletal fingers beckoned him to...the flames [and] the lake of fire. -from Pierced by a Sword, by Bud Macfarlane Jr.

To elect a Mormon to the American presidency would...be a disaster. -Jimmy Akin, senior apologist for Catholic Answers and contributing editor for Catholic Answers Magazine

Having just finished re-reading Bud Macfarlane's Pierced by a Sword, his classic 1995 novel of Catholic apocalyptic apologetics, I am struck by how much his prophecy comes into play in the 2012 presidential election. For if Michael D. O'Brien's novel Father Elijah correctly predicted the increased promotion of abortion and loss of religious liberty the election of an Obama-esque president would bring, a "Pierced" Romney-like character shows that going from a lying, smiling socialist to a smiling, lying Mormon is like going from, well, the frying pan into the lake of fire. But if John Lanning escaped the flames (if not martyrdom) perhaps Pierced says there's still hope for us (and the US) too...

If O'Brien's tales endure due to their almost mystical theological depth, Macfarlane's succeed because of the utter simplicity of their Catholicity. This amazing fictional account of how a small group of Catholics, including stalwarts, reverts and converts, are called from across the country to band together in South Bend, Indiana, to save the world by proclaiming, with the help of modern technology, the gospel warnings of the various Marian apparitions is music to any orthodox believer's ears. Of course, to a Domer who blogs as Fighting Irish Thomas, the storyline, especially the climax when the exiled Pope Patrick I is called by the Holy Spirit to Notre Dame and given one last shot to convert the masses by celebrating a Mass on the steps of the Golden Dome just as the conquering World Union armies are about to blow it apart, is simply irresistible. True, because of the period piece nature of Bud's book, some details already seem dated--the "cutting edge technology" used to get the word out, included fax machines, "cellular" phones and a new computer tool called the "Internet," but its message remains timeless. Still, as much as I want to focus on the timeless factors, I must date this review by concentrating on a part of the story in an attempt to save something that has the potential to save the world; namely, the 2012 presidential election, starting with the Republican nomination.

Although Pierced (like Father Elijah) contains an anti-Christ Obama-esque character with the fitting name of Harlan Gello (whose "Omega Center," having eliminated many of the elderly and "retarded" are now applying the final solution to unenlightened clergy and priests) it also includes the Mormon saga of John Lanning. Until reading this novel I not only had no idea of how screwy and secretive this so-called Christian sect was, but how cutthroat of a political organization this cult really is. And, as crazy as the LDS's theological "diversions" are, including "Lucifer is the defiant brother of Jesus," and "every Mormon who is 'exalted' will become [like Jesus] the god and king of his own planet after death" (Pierced, pgs. 155,157), Jimmy Akin, perhaps the most respected Catholic apologist writing today, notes that the main reason Mormons cannot be considered Christians is that they do not believe in "the central mystery of the Christian faith...the most Holy Trinity" (CCC 233). According to Akin, the "disaster" of a Mormon president is due not only to the fact that "it would spur [Mormon] recruitment," but "would mainstream the idea that Mormons are Christians, and that polytheism (which is what Mormonism really amounts to) is somehow comparable to Christianity." Still, the real root of the problem, in the eyes of Akin, is not even that Mormons are polytheists, but that they are the only polytheists claiming to be Christians. And, in the words of Macfarlane, they will do anything to accomplish their goal.

In Pierced by the Sword, John Lanning, after being granted his vision of hell, is brought back to life, and almost immediately converts to Catholicism--and then exposes Mormonism as the dangerous cult it really is. The LDS's million-dollar smear campaign on him does little damage to the media-savvy Lanning, so finally, while he is converting thousands of Mormons on the streets of Salt Lake City during the great Tribulation, he is assassinated by one of the Council of Fifty (the LDS's shadow government/police force) and later, when only the faithful remnant remain on earth, Lanning is declared a saint. Granted, the Romney camp is thus far only guilty of a multi-million dollar character assassination of Santorum (and the others) but their smear not only gives credence to the belief that Mormons will do anything necessary (including outright lies) to win you over, but adds a certain poignancy to Rick's seemingly silly commercial, where a figure who looks a lot like Romney is trying to shoot Santorum--only to find that Rick has tricked him and he is really shooting at a cardboard cutout of his Catholic nemesis.

And if the Mormon angle wasn't enough; contraception, which has amazingly become a major issue in the campaign, was a prime theme in Pierced as well. Not only was Lanning shown he was deserving of hell for contraception (despite the fact they used it to put off babies so that they could evangelize) but Nathan Payne, another main character, is converted when God gives him a vision of not only what the sons he fathered while sleeping around (and were killed by abortion) would have looked like, but of his two daughters "who had been destroyed because the pill did not allow them to adhere to [girlfriend] Gail's uterine wall...the second day of their life" (Pierced, pg. 293). Whether Santorum has handled the contraception issue as wisely as Macfarlane (or Pope Paul VI) is a debate for another day, but for those sincere Christians and lukewarm Catholics who are still baffled by Santorum's "staunch" contraception stance, Pierced by a Sword (not to mention "Humanae Vitae") is well worth the read.

As I write on this Ash Wednesday, on the eve of the important Republican primaries in Michigan and Arizona as well as the date of yet another crucial Republican debate, I can think of no more fitting (or entertaining) book to recommend for Lent than Pierced by a Sword. Read it while there is still time, and share it with a friend so that, whether by deadly socialist or lying Mormon, they are not fooled again. I'm not sure about you, but if we can be spared the Tribulation by prayer, fasting...and Santorum, I'm all in.

Pierced by a Sword, or Macfarlane's other two classic Christian novels, can be purchased for FREE (and a $1.00 shipping fee) at catholicity.org; (click on "free novels"...you'll be glad you did!)

Parable of the "prodigal papa": Michael D. O'Brien's "The Father's Tale"

2012-02-17T16:26:00.005-06:00

Reprinted on RenewAmerica and Spero News.

To enter into the domain into which this book takes its readers is to find oneself in the precincts of Holiness...The scrim that lies between ordinariness and That Which Lies Beyond...is pierced. -from author Thomas Howard's The Father's Tale review

The best of Michael O'Brien's novels. He creates characters like Dickens, explores human relationships like Austen, and has the epic scope of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky...will merit inclusion in any list of the world's greatest novels. -from Fr. Joseph Fessio's TFT review

There are no perfect parents in this world, Andrew. None. We all make our mistakes, and we leave marks and gaps in our children's lives. But we do love them--imperfect love, as all human love is. Then, when children become adults and have their own families, they begin to understand. They in turn learn the need for forgiveness. In prison I learned to forgive my own father, and saw that he needed to forgive his father. No one is exempt from this. It goes all the way back to Adam and Eve.

You're saying that you want me to forgive you...the best father in the world?

Yes, whenever you are ready... -from The Father's Tale

Despite the glowing book-jacket compliments, conventional wisdom says that when the average 2012 "reader" looks up (or picks up!) Catholic writer/artist extraordinaire Michael O'Brien's latest and greatest novel The Father's Tale (Ignatius Press, 2011) and discovers it has ONE THOUSAND AND SEVENTY TWO pages (not counting "Author's Notes") 99% percent of the texting, twittering masses will put it down forever, never to explore the eternal wisdom contained within. But orthodox Irish writers, whether it be the Canadian O'Brien or the American O'Toole, are too much dreamers to believe in conventions, so if O'Brien can pierce "ordinariness" and what "Lies Beyond"; bridge heaven and earth in a work of fiction, surely an O'Toole review should be able to close the gap between those who (still) read books and those who can't handle more than 150 characters. Granted, the gap between those who read and write and those who twitter and tweet is almost as great as the gap between heaven and earth, but O'Brien and O'Toole (both prodigal father's themselves) believe in the power of writing's "secret weapon," the Eucharist...

On one level, The Father's Tale is "merely" an epic re-telling of the parable of the prodigal son, but with a modern twist. Instead of waiting patiently for his son to return home, the introspective (and increasingly reclusive) bookseller Alex Graham, when confronted with the fact his Oxford-attending son Andrew has left school to join a cult, leaves his modest but comfortable Canadian existence to pursue his lost lad, only to "find" himself (literally and figuratively) on a nearly year-long journey leading half way around the world. As he does, the novel really becomes three books, turning from the prodigal son parable into a romantic love story (with a Russian heroine at that) then to a cloak and dagger spy saga (when Alex Graham is mistaken for "Agent Bell") and finally, with a surprise reversal not seen this side of "Huck Finn," back into the parable again. As with all of O'Brien's novels (but even more so in this one) you not only get drawn into the characters but you personally feel their pain; you cry when his son abandons his faith, are disappointed that the Russian relationship doesn't end in marriage, pray that Alex doesn't have to undergo torture at the hands of the Russians (or Chinese) and rejoice when the prodigal(s) return. But mostly, if you are "Catholic" (either in sacrament or spirit) you are sad when the novel ends, for you know with certainty there is not another book on earth that can take its place.

But this joyful "sadness" leads us to the reason why O'Brien is not like any other author, and why, in the days of the instant message, his "old school" message--and deliberate manner of delivering it--cannot be ignored. Taking nothing away from Dickens' memorable casts or Jane Austen's "novel" insights, a man who leaves his wife of twenty-some years and their ten children cannot write characters like this forever-faithful family man, and a devout-yet-sheltered Anglican spinster cannot explore relationships like a saintly Catholic journeyman-husband. In some ways, Dostoevsky's Orthodox epics come closest to O'Brien's Roman-tic Catholicism, but with one big exception. Given the fact that I cannot fully appreciate Dostoevsky's poetic style as Graham (and O'Brien) do since I am unable to read them in the original Russian, I still wager that the fanatical gambler Fydor never wrote a love passage comparable to this from TFT:

Then the long courtship full of hand holding and brief, discreet kisses. The thrill of praying beside her at Mass, knowing that their souls were uniting, knowing that the reined passions would be released on the wedding night, when they, like two deer maddened by love, would dance in the holy forest under skies crammed with singing stars. A great joy was hidden in their longing. He and Carol discussed it often, murmuring consolations and reminders, waiting together for the sacrament, as love deepened and deepened until it seemed there was no bottom to the reservoir. When the reservoir fountained at last, there was no holding it back; it became a river, became a flood, then spilled into the oceanic cosmos of supernatural love, natural and supernatural flowing together in potent-fertile joy. They drowned in it and were born.

How poor were the tumbled metaphors with which he had sought to express something that was—was everything: the mystery of love. The dance of love. The sea of love. The kingdom of love. The night Jacob was conceived, the night Andrew came into existence. The countless tender moments.

The fire that burned but did not consume, two small flames that filled the whole realm of their covenant, uniting into a single flame that was greater than the sum of its provinces. They had no need for lands, or money, or power. Their bed was consecrated and joy filled; its four posts were the quadrants of the world’s compass, their quilted blankets a domain spreading from horizon to horizon.

Prayer was the atmosphere of their kingdom. Their children were conceived in prayer and born in prayer. Carol had died praying, held in his arms and enfolded in his prayers. Birth and death had been suffused with grace. And because that was true, Alex now reminded himself, even the darkness was enfolded, even the loss and the abandonment, and the falling through the ice of the solid world into the desolation beneath (pgs. 291, 292).

In the end, the reason why the characters, relationships and love stories in O'Brien's novels are both more poignant and profound than all the others is quite simple. This humble Canadian, who spends a good deal of his existence in front of the Blessed Sacrament, is the first author to create truly Eucharistic characters. Although Ralph McInerny's characters (especially Father Dowling) hinted at it, and Bud Mcfarlane Jr.'s fiction approached this threshold before he abruptly abandoned the literary scene, only O'Brien's creations (through the intercession of Mary) bare, as Graham did preparing to meet suffering (and maybe martyrdom) a truly Eucharistic soul:

Alex lay back and let the Presence radiate from the center of his chest to every soul of his body. As he was enveloped by the sweet burning in his heart, all fear departed. His thanksgiving was wordless and clear. Drifting deeper into the state of inner rest...he sensed his prayer was rising into the chorus of praises from the countless martyrs of China and their angels and was joining the pleas of all the Communion of Saints [including] the greatest one, the Lady crowned with twelve stars (pg. 982).

Because of this Eucharistic Presence, O'Brien's themes, such as TFT's insistence that not only must fathers forgive wayward sons, but wayward sons must forgive imperfect fathers, rise above the level of insight to revelation, and his novels ascend from the level of "worthwhile" to salvific. But as eternally epic as O'Brien's latest may be, I still have one bone to pick...

As stated earlier in this review, I was disappointed that the romantic relationship between Alex Graham and the generous-but-agnostic Irina Filippovna didn't blossom, but I reluctantly trusted the author's insight that her continued refusal to embrace Christ spelled its doom. Apparently, O'Brien had something better in store for the widower Graham all along, for when finally Alex returns home, a new mate for the renewed bookseller begins to emerge...on the very LAST PAGE of the novel! Even for an Irishman, this extreme amount of romantic teasing is completely unacceptable, and to paraphrase Cardinal Francis George's criticism of Barack Obama's sleight-of-hand slight of the Catholic conscience with his heathen healthcare plan, I cannot and will not stand for it!

For the good of all the new fans this review has brought you, I hereby order my Canadian friend back to his computer to write a follow-up novel, where we find out how Alex and his new wife fight against the returning president, or the secretive Mormon, or (hopefully) joins forces with Bella and her proud Pennsylvania papa, whatever the case may be. On the other hand, we have a few months before we find out how this story all turns out, so I guess your best move right now is to spend (even) more prayer time in front of the Eucharist. Something tells me, Michael, that the United States (and the whole world) is going to need it.

P.S. Although I went "old school" and read A Father's Tale from an actual book (I renewed it from the library twice!) I'd like to thank Kevin O'Brien (no relation) for sending me the complete version of TFT on tape. If tapes are a better option for you to hear this "tale," please contact Kevin at 1-888-840-WORD or through his Theater of the Word website or facebook.

Campaign 2012: The Ballad of Rick Santorum

2012-02-03T04:23:00.027-06:00

Today is the day the music (aka Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, The Big Bopper) died. Let Rick Santorum's ballad bring the music alive again !!

Rick Santorum feels we should stick to our core principles, constitutional as well as spiritual; we can't do this without God! This song was written with these values in mind, echoing the unvarnished record and beliefs of a man of Faith, Rick Santorum. -Jack Bond, 1-28-12, Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas

The Santorum forum pt VII: can Rick's conservatism stop Obama's contraceptive-ism?

2012-02-01T17:15:00.003-06:00

Reprinted on RenewAmerica.

[H]usband and wife become in a way one heart and one soul...marriage is a love that is total...[M]arriage must of necessity retain its intrinsic relationship to the procreation of life...[or else] who will prevent public authorities from favoring those contraceptive methods which they consider most effective? Should they regard this as necessary, they may impose their use on everyone. -Pope Paul VI, from the encyclical "Humanae Vitae"

Everybody is guilty of some transgression against conservatism except Santorum. -Rush Limbaugh

Rick Santorum with his daughter, Bella (in an undated photo).

Just as President Obama announced his full-scale war on the Catholic Church, presidential candidate (and the only true conservative Catholic in the race) Rick Santorum, was forced (due to the hospitalization of his special needs daughter, Bella), to withdraw from active campaigning in Florida. Indeed, his third-place 13% showing in the Sunshine State appears to hold an anything-but-sunny hope in his attempt to stop the wealthy Romney's coronation for the Republican nomination. But as the Santorum candidacy heads into February, Bella's miraculous recovery seems to have Santorum believing his 13% on January 31 may prove lucky yet.

Santorum's unshakable optimism that he is the only conservative who can stop the moderate Romney and defeat the increasingly anti-Catholic Obama is based not only on his orthodox Christian faith and the recent "endorsements" of conservative champions such as Limbaugh and Michelle Malkin (who, after calling for prayers for Bella, called Rick "the most conservative candidate still standing," the last man for whom "character and honor still matter") but on the fact that his friend and "Reagan conservative," Newt Gingrich, keeps imploding. True, Newt got 31.9% of the Florida vote compared to 13.4% for Santorum (and 46.4% for Romney) but when you consider Gingrich lost not only the lead but nearly 20% of his Florida voters in a week, things are not exactly looking up for the former Speaker of the House. Mired in controversies ranging from uncharacteristically poor debate performances (in the last debate, after Gingrich blasted Mitt for investing in "Fannie" and "Freddie," Romney then calmly informed Newt that the tax records showed that the former speaker had also invested in "Mae" and "Mac," and Gingrich's goose was cooked) to his over-the-top attack ads on Mitt (including one that said Romney denied kosher food to Jewish holocaust survivors in nursing homes) to being sued by members of the rock group Survivor for the unauthorized use of their hit "Eye of the Tiger," Florida exit polls confirmed that while most voters still considered Gingrich more conservative than Romney, they "no longer liked Newt." On the other hand, polls such as Public Policy Polling not only showed Santorum the most "likable" candidate, but the man with the best chance of defeating Romney between Santorum or Gingrich if one of them dropped out. Of course, that's a big "if."

But if Gingrich can't be persuaded by Santorum's conservatism, perhaps he can be swayed by Rick's Catholicism. When (on Jan. 20) the Obama administration, through heretical Catholic Health and Human Services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, said that Catholic employers, including all church run schools, hospitals and charities, must provide free contraceptive drugs to its employees, Barack's "culture of death" policies went from a covert war on Catholics to an all out, Hitler-esque call for their extermination. Granted, Humanae Vitae's prediction of forced contraception (and sterilization) hasn't become part of the "Obama solution" yet, but everything else Paul VI predicted (in 1968) would happen in Humanae Vitae if contraception became commonplace, from abortion on demand to man "forget[ting] the reverence due to a woman and reducing her to a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires" (aka widespread pornography), has come to pass, so there's no reason to think that once the monstrous Obamacare is put in place that this won't be next. Sure, many faithful bishops, including Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, who denounced the mandate as "unconscionable," saying Obama is forcing the Church "to act as if pregnancy is a disease to be prevented at all costs," have already joined the fight, but surely the battle would be much easier if one of their generals would recapture that once-mighty fortress of liberty, the White House. And who better than the Catholic candidate who not only consistently talked the pro-life talk, but long has walked the walk.

Still, it doesn't get any easier for Santorum, because before potentially more favorable match-ups in Minnesota, Missouri or Colorado, Rick has a Saturday date in Vegas. On the surface, it's another bad fit for the conservative Santorum, as the libertarian forces in Nevada (including the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, where "most of the girls are pimpin' for Paul") enthusiastically "back" the crusty Texas congressman, while the state's significant Mormon population (up to 25% of the state's Republican caucus goers are LDS) blindly follow Mitt's cult. But in the spirit of taking the good fight to the gambling state, I bought a one-dollar scratch-off lottery ticket yesterday, in the hopes of sending some winnings to my pick Rick. As it turned out, my "lucky" number, 13, was the same as Santorum's percentage in Florida, and I matched it--twice. While I did double my investment, the two dollars I won probably won't turn Santorum's campaign around, but if this is an omen that Santorum will double his support, either through voters seeing through Romney, or Gingrich dropping, we'll both be happy. Meanwhile, my wife, Jeanette, and I will continue following the strategy of Paul (the pope, not the congressman) praying to Christ and receiving the Eucharist to strengthen ourselves for the upcoming primaries--and presidential election. For although a gamble may pay off in the short run, in the ultimate battle of good v. evil, luck is not enough.

Rick Santorum and Joe Paterno: two tragic American tales

2012-01-23T17:30:00.005-06:00

Reprinted on RenewAmerica and Spero News.

I said many, many times that one of the reasons Joe was hanging on to that position is because if he left, he’d die...I knew Joe very well, and it was a very tragic tale, his last few months...tragic that a life so well lived and someone who had made such a great contribution to sports and to our culture would have the end of his life end in such a sad way. -Rick Santorum

The official cause of death for the legendary Penn State coach, Joe Paterno, was complications from lung cancer, but I think former Penn State player and current ESPN broadcaster, Todd Blackledge, was more to the heart of the matter when he said "Joe Pa" "died of a broken heart." GOP presidential candidate and Penn State alum, Rick Santorum, elaborated on this theme when Paterno passed away yesterday, a date already made more than tragic as the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the beginning of the end of our Republic.

Indeed, if anyone can sympathize with Paterno, it may be Rick. For Paterno, nearly six decades of legendary coaching and Catholic humanitarian work were tossed out the window when Joe was fired from the school he loved more than life, not for doing anything wrong, but allegedly for not doing enough right to catch the child molester from hell, Jerry Sandusky. Few even thought to ask if "old school" Joe was ever coached on the modern methods of what to do with alleged child abuse, or why he wouldn't think his responsibility completed when he reported what he knew to school authorities, and got back to the only business he really knew; transforming young men's lives while teaching them how to play football. But Sandusky was long gone from coaching, and, needing a scapegoat, "State" fired Paterno instead. Only in America do legacies change so quickly...and unjustly...

Conversely, only in America can a man's rather lengthy history of marital infidelities actually catapult him to the top of the "conservative" heap. If no one would have predicted in early November that Joe Paterno would go from national hero to coaching curse in a matter of days, few foresaw that publicity from Newt Gingrich's "open marriage" would actually help him win the Republican primary in supposedly Christian South Carolina, while leaving Rick Santorum, the man all the evangelical leaders supported, in the dust. Of course, it remains to be seen if the darling of the debate, Newt, will again self-destruct, but meanwhile, the time for Santorum (the candidate who is often maligned for being too Catholic) to catch fire is now growing short. While it is only in heaven that souls like Santorum and Paterno usually get their fair share, I am not opposed to my wife's suggestion that we enlist some heavenly coaching help. Joe Pa, look down on your fellow servant from Penn State, and from one Nittany Lion to another, pray that January 22nd be remembered not as the anniversary of legal abortion, but as the day you, through the most pro-life candidate we've got, Rick Santorum, began to overturn Roe v. Wade and turn this country around.

Santorum forum pt VI: the truth and the South Carolina showdown

2012-01-17T21:40:00.014-06:00

Reprinted on Spero News and RenewAmerica.

I beat Governor Romney very clearly [in polls] head to head. It's not just about coalescing around a conservative, but coalescing around a conservative who can win. -Senator Rick Santorum

Rick is right. -Governor Mitt Romney, responding to one of Santorum's statements during the South Carolina debate

It's one thing when Rick Santorum is declared second--by eight votes--in Iowa despite widespread claims of vote fraud. It's yet another when the news stations say Santorum placed fifth in New Hampshire (behind fellow conservative Newt Gingrich) when the official tally later finds Rick finished fourth, ahead of Newt. But when Governor Huntsman drops out and Santorum still gets a sixth of the questions (in the South Carolina debate) in a five-man field, you start to wonder if the conspiracy; the Catholic conspiracy, is also "game on."

On the surface, it seems Santorum's campaign is not only doing all the right things (more about that later) but is getting all the right endorsements. Besides the "unpresidented" support of a group of 150 of the most influential Christian leaders in the country who met in Texas last week, Santorum is garnering support from groups ranging from Concerned Women for America and the National Organization for Marriage. And they are saying all the right stuff; from Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council (and one of the "150"), "Rick Santorum has consistently articulated the issues...both economic and social...that are of concern to conservatives," to Maggie Gallagher, the influential former chairman of the NOM; "What moved me the most were the words Rick Santorum used to 'connect the dots,' why support for marriage, life and the economy are not separate issues but bound together by principles." But the reason Rick is still trailing in South Carolina is not so much that Rick is not articulating these principles but that he is playing by them and the others are not.

While Santorum continues to run a clean and honest campaign, the others have done quite the opposite. Perry's attacks on Romney of "vulture capitalism" and on the others as "Washington insiders" are so juvenile and uninformed that most pundits agree he has lost all credibility. On the other hand, one is tempted to say that Ron Paul's presidential campaign(s) never had credibility, but the fact he has built up a sizable band of steadfast if unstable followers is a testament to the desperateness of the times. That Paul has made his reputation on a web of conspiracy, race-baiting, and lies (Paul consistently took credit for new-letter lines such as "the government created AIDS," and "[w]e can safely assume that 95% of the black males in Washington D.C. are...criminal," until 2001, when he about-faced with "...those words weren't really written by me"), shows that either his rabid group of disciples haven't thought enough to even examine their hero's integrity, or, more chilling still, have and still don't care. The "Paul-en angel" might not have enough minions in his cult to garner the nomination, but a third-party Paulian run is just another Obama re-election End Times scenario that is becoming all too real.

Still, if Paul's madness is obvious, Mitt Romney's evil is much more subtle. Not unlike the Mafia boss who is charming (or at least not violent) in public, Romney rarely dirties himself on the stage, relying instead on his hit-men and their PAC attacks to blow his opponents away. That these attack ads aren't truthful (his latest anti-Santorum ad claims the senator supports voting rights for imprisoned killers and rapists, while the senator actually supported a bill for former inmates who are out and have successfully completed their parole) seems not to matter to the mighty Mitt, as long as they get him into power. Like the Mafia Don, he smiles as he claims he had nothing to do with these goons or their crimes, while later reaping the spoils. Santorum did make Romney look guilty over his PAC ads for a brief moment on the South Carolina debate stage, but Mitt quickly recovered and, putting on his most pleasant presidential face, promised to look into it before they went to commercial.

For all these Machiavellian tactics, Santorum would still have a chance if Gingrich would step aside--and, along with the Evangelicals, the pro-life Catholic leaders would support him. Long the darling of the debate fans (no doubt why he gets so many more questions than Santorum), Newt never fails to get off a few good zingers, including Monday night when he talked about how, unlike liberals, conservatives actually think work is good. But being president is not the same as being captain of the debate team, and there is a reason conservative leaders keep choosing Santorum, a man who can not only talk the talk but who has (in both public and private life) walked the walk, over Gingrich. With his ridiculous "When Romney comes to town" PAC ads, Newt has not only lowered himself to Mitt's level, but actually helped his opponent by making an anti-Republican anti-capitalism attack on Romney's days at Bain Capital. As a professed friend of Santorum, I hoped the new Catholic "Newt" might drop out so that the longstanding, steadfast Catholic could present a unified conservative option to the "Massachusetts moderate," but as long as there's a debate to be had and an ego to be stroked, it appears the old Newt still holds sway.

Which leads us back to the pro-life Catholic leaders, a group that, even in this eleventh hour, could still "steal" the election for Santorum. While some, like former ambassador to the Vatican, Mary Ann Glendon (perhaps her time as Harvard professor has softened her to the charms of the "Mass. mod."), are openly endorsing Romney, and some, like Catholic apologist Jimmy Akin, who says, "to elect a Mormon, a polytheist who presents himself as a Christian, would be a disaster," are boldly denouncing Mitt, few are both warning against Romney and recommending Santorum. Still, worst of all are the Catholic bloggers like Mark Shea, who endorse nobody but still mock Rick.

In his log-in-his-eye post, "Murderers for Jesus," Shea takes to task Santorum for his provocative (if out of context) quote, "On occasion scientists in Iran working on the nuclear program turn up dead. I think that's a wonderful thing," and immediately compares Santorum to Planned Parenthood abortionists. "There's a reason for the Just War theory," the smartest-guy-in-the-room Shea pontificates, and "Santorum should try to learn it." While there is no doubt that Shea knows a lot about Catholic doctrine (for he has more time to study Church teachings than Santorum), his dismissal of Santorum based on one off-the-cuff campaign comment, considering the countless faith statements Rick has made that are rock solid, leaves one to wonder about the basis of Shea's bitter motives. It's one thing to teach by knowledge, it's quite another to condemn with it.

Indeed, by saying Rick's endorsing of the killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist is definitely not part of a "Just War," Shea is calling himself not only a scholar but a theologian (and one who makes magisterium-like decisions at that) and by declaring the scientist is certainly not an enemy combatant but merely a civilian is making himself not merely a U.S. citizen but a U.S. intelligence agent as well. Rick might be overzealous in his applying the Just War theory when it comes to defending his country, but trashing a Catholic candidate who, with the help and support of his wife and seven children is trying to live out his faith in the most difficult of places, is not only the height of hypocrisy, but the very definition of cowardice. Perhaps when Obama is re-elected and the Catholic blogs are silenced as purveyors of hate speech, Barack will let Mark keep his, since his writing did more to ensure Obama's re-election than most of his henchmen. On the other hand, if Romney wins, I'm sure he could always use a good PAC writer.

Back home, my wife is pleased to show me that her new site, Adoration for Santorum, now has people praying to Jesus for Santorum not only across the United States, but in Pakistan and Germany as well. I'm sure Rick would agree that this is the wonderful thing about being a Christian...there's always hope as long as you have a prayer. And when you have prayers from around the world, sometimes even PAC attacks and bloated bloggers aren't enough to stop you. Right, South Carolina?

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Rick Santorum.com
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Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration chapels: their place in our busy world

2012-01-12T22:06:00.001-06:00

To visit the Blessed Sacrament is . . . a proof of gratitude, an expression of love and a duty of adoration to Christ our Lord (Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC 1418 from Paul V Mysterium Fidei).

The church and the world have a great need for Eucharistic worship. Jesus awaits us in this sacrament of love. Let us not refuse the time to meet Him in adoration in contemplation full of faith and open to making amends for serious offenses . . . of the world. Let our adoration never cease (CCC1380 from John Paul II Dominicae Cenae).

If you have read the section on the Sacrament of the Eucharist in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, you most certainly have been struck by the passage that says the Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life," "the sum and summary of our Faith" (CCC 1324, 1327). While it all sounds great, keeping it the source of our Christian life is another story; by midweek the lesson of the Sunday liturgy is ancient history, and even if you are fortunate enough to attend a morning Mass on weekdays, the remembrance of the daily bread is often a distant memory by nightfall. So to keep "our way of thinking attuned to the Eucharist" (CCC 1327), more and more parishes are offering a booster dose of what St. Irenaeus called "the medicine of immortality" by keeping the Sacred species exposed in the sacred spaces known as Perpetual Adoration Chapels.

While the Eucharist has always been the constant source of our strength in Christ through the context of His Church, two recent developments have greatly aided accessibility to its Presence in the life of the laity. The first occurred when St. Pius X, "The Pope of the Eucharist", in his decree of Dec. 20, 1905, urged the frequent reception of the Eucharist. St. Pius X expressed as only he could:

Holy Communion is the shortest and the safest way to Heaven. There are others: Innocence, for instance, but that is for little children. Penance, but we are afraid of it. Generous endurance of the trials of life, but when they come we weep and ask to be spared. The surest, easiest, shortest way is by the Eucharist.

Ironically, while Pius X decried Modernism, which was the virtual worship of science and technology, transportation advances also made the reception of daily Communion more convenient. For example, where we live, there are ten daily Masses at four Catholic churches within ten minutes of our house ranging in times from morning to noon to seven p.m. at night. So in my suburban situation, barring sickness or car problems, there is no reason (excuse) to miss a daily Mass.

But if daily Mass can be seen, at least in our country, as the spiritual anecdote to the increase in mechanization that occurred at the dawn of the 20th century, Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration must be viewed as the Sacramental weapon to combat the excess of computerization as we approach the 21st. Although Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration has long been a part of the worship of many Religious orders and communities, its emergence on the parish level in the mid 80's (which coincidentally coincided with the rise of personal computers and cable TV) caught many prelates by surprise. In the Chicago area (which mirrors the experience of many metropolitan areas), the first parish Perpetual Adoration Chapel was established at St. John Vianney's (Northlake, IL) on the feast of Corpus Christi, 1986. As Father Charles Fanelli, the pastor of St. John Vianney's recalls, "I was just recently assigned as pastor of St. John Vianney's when I attended a dinner put on by the Daughters of St. Paul in the fall of 1985. I was introduced to Bishop Thomas Daily (then bishop of Palm Beach, Florida). Well, when he heard I was a new pastor, he told me 'If you want your parish to flourish, you have to start Perpetual Adoration.' I was so impressed by his talk, that I decided to establish it here, if at all possible."

Although Fr. Fanelli smiles when he sheepishly states that "Perpetual Adoration was a big leap. Sometimes I think we only went ahead with it because we did not know what we were getting into," there was a bit of truth to that sentiment back in 1986. The then latest directive of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops called Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass, written in 1974, was fairly vague on the issue. Although it stated in item 82 that "Exposition of the holy Eucharist either in the ciborium or in the monstrance is intended to acknowledge Christ's marvelous presence in the sacrament . . . It fosters very well the worship which is due to Christ in spirit and in truth," it also asserted "This kind of exposition must clearly express the cult of the blessed sacrament in its relationship to the Mass." Thus, while in a Religious community whose "institute has been approved by the Church . . . The form of adoration in which one or two members of the community take turns before the blessed sacrament is also to be maintained and recommended" (#90), the bishops suggested that for most parish churches "the exposition of the blessed sacrament for an extended time" be only "once a year" (#86). There was no history of Perpetual Adoration among the laity, and thus grass roots movements for Perpetual Adoration Chapels such as the one at St. John Vianney's were investigated rigorously by the local Ordinaries, and some were closed down.

In the case of St. John Vianney's parish, however, Perpetual Adoration survived. Although the Archdiocese of Chicago did send out its representative, Fr. (now Bishop) Raymond Goedert, to inspect the chapel, Fr. Goedert was highly impressed by the worship there, and his favorable report resulted in uninterrupted Eucharistic Adoration in the little chapel across the street from St. John Vianney's main church, which continues to this day. And, while Fr. Fanelli humbly claims "We are probably a bad example for promoting Perpetual Adoration because we've had no great miracles here," the change in the Sacramental life of his parish these past twelve years would suggest otherwise.

Fr. Hardon states, "Prayers before the Blessed Sacrament should be seen as an extension of Holy Communion," in other words, it should never take people away from the Mass, but lead them to it. This is exactly the case at St. John Vianney's; the daily Masses at the parish, which in 1986 were lucky to attract fifty people, now draw over two hundred. Meanwhile, although attendance at the four regular Sunday Masses has remained constant, the parish has since added a Spanish Mass, a Filipino Mass, and a Polish Mass to meet the needs of worshippers far and near. Participation in the other Sacraments has increased also. Fr. Fanelli personally hears between fifty and sixty confessions a week, and his associates hear similar numbers. By comparison, the pastor of a nearby Catholic church (without Perpetual Adoration), when asked about confessions replied sadly, "This week I heard two." St. John Vianney's also attracts many missionary priests who visit the chapel and then are invited to say Mass, and their comments are illuminating. For example, Fr. Fanelli told me the story of a missionary priest from Spain who stayed with him for several days. As this priest had visited many parishes both in Europe and the United States, Fr. Fanelli asked him if he noticed anything different about St. John Vianney's, and he nodded yes. "Do the men and women act differently?" Fr. Fanelli wondered. "No, no, it's not the adults," the missionary exclaimed. "It's the children! I've never seen so many children in the congregation as you have. That is a good thing for your parish!" Not to mention this is a sign that the Sacrament of Marriage is flourishing here too!

Of course, the vibrant spiritual life at St. John Vianney's can not all be attributed to Perpetual Adoration. As Fr. Fanelli points out, "A lot of our parishioners are avid readers of Fr. John Hardon, and Fr. John recommends a weekly trip to the Sacrament of Penance. At Confession, sometimes the penance, or a possible solution to a sinful condition, may be a trip to the Adoration Chapel. So one complements the other, and the graces all work together."

And yet, as the one thing that stands out most in the prayer life of St. John Vianney's (when looked at by outside observers), more and more parishes are adopting this answer (Perpetual Adoration) to the question of how to deepen their communion with Christ and each other. St. John Vianney's was the first parish to establish Perpetual Adoration in the Chicago area, but there are now more than twenty. Visitation of Elmhurst is a good example of a parish that recently embraced Perpetual Adoration due to Fr. Fanelli's recommendation.

Visitation's pastor, Fr. Michael Lane, after witnessing the increase of faith at St. John Vianney's, called Fr. Fanelli, hoping he would explain this phenomenon to him personally "When a pastor calls upon another pastor, it is not usually to say 'Hey, how's it going?"' Fr. Lane explained. "I think Fr. Fanelli already knew I was interested in Perpetual Adoration. We soon began to talk about the subject and Fr. Fanelli spoke at great length on how powerful Perpetual Adoration was. Since the parishioners do all the scheduling and arrangements, he said his main job, besides prayer, was to continue to urge people to go, to deepen their commitment to Adoration once the novelty wore off."

"Did you talk to any others priests about Adoration?" I inquired.

"Yes. Many of the priests I talked to, who did not have Perpetual Adoration, said it would never fly. They said my parishioners are too busy to commit to something like that every week. But I prayed about it, and we went ahead with the plans. The first sign-up day (for adorers) was to be Pentecost Sunday. If I didn't get at least one hundred worshippers to pledge one-hour-a-week, I was going to cancel the plans. Well, the Spirit was working because five hundred signed up that day, with an additional one hundred alternates." Needless to say, Fr. Lane went ahead with the chapel, and on the Feast of Corpus Christi (1997), Perpetual Adoration was formally established at Visitation.

"Perpetual Adoration is a great lay apostolate," says Fr. Lane. "I pray in the chapel and sometimes watch it from my window, but the people do all the scheduling, finding substitutes, etc. They also give me a lot of suggestions."

"Such as?" I wondered.

"One person wanted to put an ad in the local newspaper to publicize our chapel to the nearby towns. Another suggested, and paid for, the renovation of the chapel. A third asked if he could commission a marble statue of Mary holding the baby Jesus, while Jesus holds the Eucharist. I approved the plans, and he went ahead with the project for the statue at his own expense."

But why do so many people pray at these chapels, and what is it that keeps them coming back? "In our busy world, there is an almost constant level of activity and noise," noted Fr. Fanelli. "People need a place where they can pray in silence."

"You mean what Mother Teresa said, 'The fruit of silence is prayer,'" I offered?

"Exactly. In the beginning, we had certain times set up in the chapel for group recitation of the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and other novenas. But we found that those types of prayers are better said in the church, and the chapel was better served by silence."

"Also, with so many retail stores not only open Sundays, a practice the Church frowns upon, (CCC 2184-2188), but twenty-four hours a day, a twenty-four hour place of prayer is a great way to counteract the effect this warped work schedule has on families," I added, and Father agreed.

Another poignant use of Perpetual Adoration is as perhaps the premiere alternative to the mass media's monopoly of our time and manipulation of our minds, especially through television and personal computers. When exploring this subject on his popular EWTN show, Life on the Rock, host Jeff Cavins talked about how many people (Catholics included) sit in front of a TV and/or computer several hours a day. First, the proliferation of stations due to cable and satellite dishes increases our television choices making it harder to turn the set off. Secondly, the use of remote control allows us to watch (if not comprehend) several shows at one time. Our mind is literally flooded with images until the shows practically overwhelm our senses and our ability to find any goodness or truth or beauty in what we are viewing. Similarly, browsing endless websites, entering random chat rooms, or spending hours on computer games can eventually lead us to deny the necessity to bear witness in the real world, if not the belief of His Real Presence in it.

By contrast, the eyes of a soul who often looks upon the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament see not random images, but a single Light. Unlike television viewing, where the TV dominates the exchange, in Eucharistic Adoration there is constant communication, the Lord listening as the soul speaks, then the soul listening as the Lord responds. And while many agnostic computer experts dream of capturing time and space by literally plugging us (complete with tiny microchips in our foreheads) into the "Net," Fr. Hardon in his article "Prayer Before the Blessed Sacrament," explains that "The prayer before the Eucharist believes that time is erased by the miracle of the Real Presence, and so is distance and space." Computer technology may lead you to believe that through the information highway man can someday conquer the world, but faith in Christ's Death and Resurrection, strengthened by belief in the Real Presence convinces us that Christ already has.

But while the Perpetual Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist can surely guide all believing Catholics humbly yet confidently into the next millennium, is there any real hope for our separated Christian brethren? After all, the Protestant churches "have not preserved the proper reality of the Eucharistic mystery in its fullness ..." thus "Eucharistic intercommunion with these communities is not possible" (CCC 1400). Still, although Protestants cannot receive Holy Communion in a Catholic church and thus will never really know Jesus "in the breaking of the bread" (Luke 24:35) barring conversion, prayer before the Blessed Sacrament may be the way of allowing our Protestant brothers some experience of the Real Presence, and must be explored as a possible road not only to individual conversion, but the eventual reunification of Christianity. While Fr. Michael Place, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Chicago, after noting the different context Protestants have for communion and the priesthood, doubts the likeliness of a significant change in a non-Catholic due to Perpetual Adoration, "because they don't have the same predisposition to its graces," Fr. Michael Lane is not so sure. "If Perpetual Adoration can enliven the soul of a lukewarm Catholic, it can certainly change the heart of an evangelical Christian. In fact, why limit (Perpetual Adoration) to Christians? God is an opportunist and will use whatever means He has available. A great sinner might stop in to get warm, but it could be the start of his conversion. Recently I saw a teenager going by here on rollerblades, and when he sped by the chapel, he suddenly stopped. I invited him to come in, and he later did. Maybe he entered this first time out of curiosity, but his next trip here might be out of conviction."

Commenting on the place of his parish's Perpetual Adoration Chapel in the faith community, Fr. Fanelli said "Sometimes its presence is like good weather. You don't appreciate how much good it does until much later. I know our chapel has encouraged some vocations within our parish, but I'm sure it has contributed to many outside our boundaries as well. I've heard some stories, but who knows how many men have left their houses after a fight, planning never to return ... but then stopped into our chapel. And because they found this place to pray, they also found courage to go back home. Who can know how many evils the prayers here have prevented, or how many people, so weighed down with the worries of life, could not have even gotten out of bed some morning without the Adoration offered here?"

Father is right. By ourselves, we cannot, as St. Paul suggests, "Pray without ceasing" (1Thes 5:17), but in union with Christ and the communion of saints, we can. Likewise, Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapels unite the parish community in continuous prayer as never before, and even makes John Paul's plea "Let our adoration never cease" possible. "For God, all things are possible..." (Matt 19:26) a dramatic increase in vocations, the reunification of Christianity, the end of abortion and, depending upon how much Eucharistic Adoration increases, "even greater works than these" (John 14:12).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

O'Toole, Tom. "Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapels: Their Place in Our Busy World." The Catholic Faith 4, no. 4 (September/October 1998): 33-36.

Reprinted by permission of The Catholic Faith. The Catholic Faith is published bi-monthly and may be ordered from Ignatius Press, P.O. Box 591090, San Francisco, CA 94159-1090. 1-800-651-1531.

THE AUTHOR

Tom O'Toole is a freelance writer from Chicago, Illinois.

Copyright © 1998 Catholic Faith

The Santorum forum pt V: a 'Rocky' hope for New Hampshire?

2012-01-07T20:21:00.011-06:00

Reprinted on RenewAmerica and Spero News.

In the days of doubts, in the days of oppressive reflections concerning the destiny of my native land, you alone are my strength and staff, O great, mighty, true and free...if you were not, how could one do anything but fall into despair at the sight of all that has taken place in our homeland? -Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev

While I will not be continuing in this race...I thank the Lord God Almighty and this republic...I will always believe in the greatness of [America] and the greatness of our God. -Michele Bachmann, from her concession speech

Game on. -Rick Santorum, after his "tie" in Iowa

As stunning as Rick Santorum's miraculous "second place" finish (the unofficial total had Santorum losing by a mere eight votes, although another caucus source, citing Romney shenanigans, had Santorum up by twelve) in Iowa was, the former senator had little time to celebrate if he hoped to replicate his David v. Goliath feat in the far less friendly (to Christians anyway) state of New Hampshire. The good news; that Bachmann dropped out, that Santorum's national numbers were rising, and that his campaign (after struggling to take in a few thousand a week) was now raking in a million dollars a day, was dwarfed by the fact Rick Perry stayed in, Romney was still up in New Hampshire by thirty points, and Mitt often spent a million dollars a day before breakfast. The game may be on, but the oppressive "days of doubt" had just begun.

While it is much easier to predict Rick Perry's staying will hurt Santorum more than Bachmann's exit will help him, there is much to learn from Michele's ugly finish and graceful departure. It doesn't take a political genius to see that Perry's silly jumping back into the race (was his Texas A&M jogging suit picture supposed to show his sex appeal to middle-age southern woman?) makes the Texas governor the potential spoiler for Santorum's hopes in South Carolina, just as Fred Thompson was for Mike Huckabee in 2008. But Bachmann's "Christian" Tim Tebow TV ad provided the perfect example of what Santorum isn't--and what his candidacy should never be.

Stealing the Tebow comparison from Perry, who was the first to say "I hope I am the Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses" (a rare Perry prediction that came true, although not in the way he envisioned), Bachmann then made this infamous ad comparison; "The establishment...loves to hate Tim Tebow. He's not smart enough...he's not accurate enough...he's a born-again Christian...but he just keeps on winning. Well, the same could be said of Michele Bachmann. No baggage, Christian and...she just keeps winning votes." Not only was Michele's timing extremely unfortunate (after six dramatic wins in a row, by the time Iowa happened, the likable Tebow had lost his last three games in convincing fashion) but her conclusion was largely inaccurate. Michele did not lose Evangelical-friendly Iowa because she was a Christian, but because she dismissed the more devout Christian (Santorum) and imitated the one who had more money (Perry).

New Hampshire, on the other hand, is a different story. I'm not saying there is no Christian media (or voters) in the Granite State, but Santorum has gotten about as cordial a reception there as Christ did before the Sanhedrin. Actually, now that "Rocky" Santorum (wisely Rick has accepted the comparison between himself and an underdog fictional sports hero instead of an actual player who fell apart prior to the playoffs) has made it to the big time, he has had to fight the punches of three different opponents simultaneously. First, I think Santorum's counter-punches against the other candidates have been particularly effective. Not only did the voters not take Rand Paul's (son of "mad doctor" Ron Paul) claim that Santorum wasn't really pro-life seriously, but it got fellow candidates Newt Gingrich and Perry to publicly adopt Santorum's stance that abortion should be illegal even in cases of rape and incest. Furthermore, it actually provoked some usually non-committal pro-life organizations to speak out in favor of Santorum and against Paul. "It seems [Paul] values reducing the federal deficit higher than human life," said Keith Mason, president of Personhood USA, adding he had "serious concerns" about the other life stances of the man who made millions on racist pamphlets bearing his name in the 1990s and accused George W. Bush of "staging" 9/11 so "W" could invade Iraq throughout the 2000s.

Second, I've thought Santorum's sparring with the MSM, while not a knockout, has at least scored a decision for the Roman Catholic "Rocky." Although battered by CNN John King's attempt to paint him as "racist" and "religious extremist" (if only because King rarely let Santorum get a word in edgewise) Santorum nevertheless remained calm and answered that although his Catholic faith taught him that not only abortion but contraception was wrong, he had never imposed the latter on his constituents, and would not do so as president. When King smugly asked if Santorum said to his wife "I told you so," Tuesday night after his "victory" (Santorum had been steadfast in his conviction he would win or come in second in Iowa while his wife wasn't so sure), Santorum got the last laugh when he replied, "[a]ctually we were watching you on CNN to get the final results, but before we did she fell asleep."

Which brings us to Santorum's last battlefront, the voters in New Hampshire themselves. Many of you have seen the Concord College convention footage where Santorum was roundly booed for his views on gay marriage. While I don't think Santorum handled it as poorly as many liberal pundits proclaimed, there are a few "halftime adjustments" I think Rick could make in going forward. Although I like his idea of dialoguing with the students, instead of starting out asking, "[a]re you saying that everyone should have a right to marry?" (for this too-broad statement would include children and even those currently married to another), perhaps he should begin with something like, "[s]hould any two consenting adults be allowed to wed?" As this question draws almost universal approval on most campuses, I think Rick should then proceed not with the example of polygamy, as he did that day, but with the example of brother and sister or father and daughter to show how their logic then degenerates. Still, even if he handles it flawlessly and doesn't get flustered (as he did briefly then) chances are he will still get heckled, for as former presidential candidate Huckabee said while examining the video, "[w]e now live in a post-Christian culture in America, so such scenes are becoming the norm rather than the exception."

Does this mean Santorum is doomed unless he compromises his message? While most talking heads (even the few who like Rick) seem to think so, I believe just the opposite. Although Santorum doesn't have to go out of his way to talk about abortion or gay marriage, when asked he has to be ready for the worst, in order to answer his best. Instead of being less "Catholic," I urge Rick to an even greater practice of his faith, to not only pray and attend mass on Sunday but to say the rosary, study the Catechism, and go to mass daily, so the grace he receives from the Holy Eucharist will lead to an even more powerful, more filled-with-the-Holy-Spirit answer each time his beliefs are challenged. As Huckabee stated, "those who are heckling are probably not going to vote for you anyway," but there are always those quiet undecided souls in the crowd longing not for vague talking points (like Obama and Romney recite) or even a devout-but-lacking-depth faith like Bachmann or Perry, but someone who speaks the Truth with knowledge and conviction. You still may not win, but you must go out each day with the "full armor of God" (Ephesians 6:11) in order to stand a chance.

Like Turgenev (although the author writes about nineteenth century Russia, it might as well be twenty-first century America), I am sometimes tempted "to fall into despair at the sight of all that has taken place" in my homeland...and then something wonderful--or dreadful--happens that brings me back to He who is "great, [Al]mighty and true." Wonderful like the unexpected showing of Santorum in Iowa; dreadful such as the way he has been treated in New Hampshire. But just when I am about to settle for and accept the secular Republican sages' wisdom that Santorum's passionate Catholicism can't win and that Romney's moderate Mormonism is not cult-like, none other than my RenewAmerica editor, devout Christian Stephen Stone, intervenes.

Amazingly at the very moment I am about to waver, Steve e-mails the staff with an advance copy of A Mormon's Story, his new book detailing how he not only just endured a decade of "unlawful, un-American, unconscionable persecution" at the hands of the "secretive and abusive" leaders of the Mormon Church, and later answers me with his insider's view that Huntsman is "thoughtful but liberal...wrong on too many issues," while Romney is "dishonest and crafty...unprincipled and completely unacceptable." So I must get back to work now on a man I can trust, so that we do not witness an election between two unacceptable candidates. Yes, Lord, I believe in your greatness. Help my unbelief that the greatness of America, a greatness that Santorum can restore, is not a thing of the past.

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Rick Santorum.com
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Corapi corrupted update: the lost tapes ('squash' included)

2012-01-07T10:21:00.012-06:00

Having been busy lately trying to bolster the quixotic yet Christian presidential bid of Senator Rick Santorum (including running the "Saints for Santorum" campaign), I have not been able to provide an update on the strange-yet-sad struggles of John Corapi. Fortunately, I've found just the thing, and I am pleased to present to you "Corapi: the lost tapes" (including the previously-squelched squash talks) for your viewing pleasure. So sit back and enjoy, knowing that the bad bold bald man himself has come back to the fold, and will even write you personally about his recent transformation -- for a small donation of course.

The Santorum forum pt IV: why "brave-hearts" must speak out

2012-01-02T21:34:00.009-06:00

Reprinted on Spero News and RenewAmerica.

For Zion's sake I will not be silent,
for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet,
Until her vindication shines forth like the dawn
and her victory like a burning torch. -Isaiah 62:1 (the opening verse of the First Reading at Christmas Eve Mass)

It is interesting to note that...our evangelical Protestant brothers and sisters are often quick to mention Jesus as the force behind their athletic success [while] Catholics have been reluctant to credit Christ when the mikes are on and the cameras are rolling...Perhaps therein lies the source of the dilemma; although Catholic athletes do see--and readily accept--the reality that sports figures are role models, their humility also reminds them of the far greater truth, that they are not yet saints. -from the Introduction of my book Champions of Faith: Catholic Sports Heroes Tell Their Stories

Freedom! -William "Braveheart" Wallace

On New Year's Eve, my colleague (and friend), Matt C. Abbott, and I both ran political columns on the Iowa primary; mine unabashedly for Rick Santorum, Matt neutral as usual. Now before I state my case for "not being silent," I have to admit there are many solid journalistic (and even Christian) reasons for not taking sides.

Matt, with his neutral journalism, is far more likely to get a paying job (neither Spero News nor RenewAmerica offer any financial compensation for our efforts) at the fewer and fewer media outlets that compensate columnists, while my prophetic, burning-bridges style of writing makes my hire far less likely. And, not only could a neutral Abbott do a world of good at, say, the Chicago Sun Times, in the meantime I'll wager he gets far fewer nasty letters and cyber threats. Also, by taking the neutral stance, Matt doesn't have to worry if a candidate messes up, for whether it is praising an athlete or endorsing a candidate, any misstep by your "hero" drags your name down a little too. And finally, Matt's Catholic humility reminds him that unless or until he himself is a saint (and can see into a man's soul) how can he (especially in the light of three prominent pro-life Catholic priests falling from grace in just the past year) possibly recommend another's integrity...especially when promoting them as the leader of the Free World? And yet, as persuasive as these arguments once were, at a time when we must elect someone who must not only defeat, but reverse the policies of a man Catholic novelist Michael D. O'Brien called "the spirit of the anti-Christ...the most effective advocate of the murder of the unborn ever in America," they must no longer keep us from speaking out.

Knowing Matt as a journalist who does his homework, I have no reason to doubt him when he calls the twelve subjects in his recent column "orthodox Catholics." However, judging from the comments of the majority of these interviewees, if the knowledge of their faith is as low as their grasp of the issues, we will soon be a country dominated by Mormons and Muslims. At least Peter Crumley admits he is "not...well nuance[d]" about the candidates' pro-life positions when he falls back on the old mainstream media practice (as opposed to a decision based on Catholic doctrine) of picking the lukewarm "lifer" Romney because "he has the best chance to beat Obama." On the other hand, Carlos Casa-Rosendi's cynical "I [actually] hope both parties lose" endorsement of Perry is both un-Christian and un-informed considering the several candidates who have come out in defense of the unborn. Meanwhile, William Grossklas must be watching too much pro-Paul propaganda (as opposed to reading encyclicals) if he believes the "mad doctor's" deserting our human rights allies (such as Israel) or abandoning the unborn to "states rights" (no doubt Dr. Paul would have allowed the South to secede over slavery) is in line with Papal teaching.

Still, I reserve my harshest criticism for Judie Brown. As the president of the American Life League, I suppose she, like the bishops, cannot endorse a specific candidate for fear of losing her organization's tax-exempt status. Although like Randall Terry (the radical convert-to-Catholicism who has been in the pro-life battle as long as Brown) I now think it best for the Church to junk its TE status so they can really tell the faithful how to vote instead of beat around the "Bush" (pun-intended), Brown still should know better than to answer Abbott's question by her cop-out endorsement of "God and his power versus the partisan rhetoric and gobbledygook that is undermining" the right to life.

Does Brown not realize, given her status as a pro-life leader, that if she doesn't at least say something to the effect that "there are several fairly good pro-life candidates" instead of lumping them all into the moralless morass of "partisan rhetoric gobbledygook," she is not only opening the way for less informed Catholics to vote for the lukewarm-life Republicans, but even the pro-abortion Obama, whose smooth "I, too am for fewer abortions" rhetoric convinced thousands of confused Catholics to vote for him in 2008? Say what you will about Rick Santorum, but his authoring and sponsoring of the "Born Alive Infants Protection Act" was not "partisan rhetoric," and his opposition to all abortions, as demonstrated by Rick and his wife Karen "authoring" and raising seven wonderful children, including the severely handicapped but extremely happy Bella, is far from "gobbledygook."

I guess this is the point in my article where I make my "Braveheart" speech, the one in which William Wallace asks Robert the Bruce (played for the moment by colleague Matt Abbott) to unite the clans to fight for Scotland--or stand up for Santorum as the current quest for freedom calls for. The reasons why not to are legion; even my Spero News editor, Martin Barillas (based on his time working the GOP), says he doesn't think Santorum can win, although (based upon his experience with me) added "[b]ut [perhaps] the point [is] to fight even if we don't believe we can win, if only to be a witness." THANK GOD we (despite the interference of the present administration) still have forums like RenewAmerica and Spero News where we can openly witness to the faith...and its champions. All the more reason to champion our champions on these sites while there's still time.

I presented my athletic "champions of faith" as "imperfect heroes still striving for the heroic virtue that will make them champions on the next level, that is, heaven." Even Santorum's relatively few mistakes compared to the other candidates were made in this striving--including Rick's controversial support of Arlen Specter (not unlike Wallace's for the Bruce) which was based on a (false) premise that Specter's promise to support Bush's pro-life Supreme Court nominees--which he did--would carry over to the rest of Bush's pro-life agenda--which it did not.

Meanwhile,"winner" Mitt Romney's whole campaign, the Kennedy-esque promise that his faith won't influence his policies, is based on a false premise; either Mormonism isn't meaningful to him, as he always stated it was, or his quirky religion will influence his decisions, and his motto becomes a lie. It is too soon to know if Newt's new-found Catholicism will keep him from his former pattern of adultery, and too late for Paul's outer-space theories of governing to return to earth. If Bachmann and Perry can stop belittling Santorum (and each other) and unite behind the people's choice of Christian conservative, the former Senator from Pennsylvania still has a shot at Pennsylvania Avenue. And if the Catholic abbots (and Abbotts) of the world would only endorse him, I'd say Obama's pro-death agenda no longer stands a chance.

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Rick Santorum.com
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The Santorum forum pt III: Rick's Holy Innocents' day miracle

2011-12-30T17:49:00.006-06:00

Father,
the Holy Innocents offered you praise
by the death they suffered for Christ.
May our lives bear witness
to the faith we profess with our lips.
We ask this in the name of Jesus our Lord... -from the opening prayer of the Mass of the Holy Innocents

When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under...[which] fulfilled what had been said by Jeremiah the prophet;
   A voice was heard in Ramah
      sobbing and loud lamentation;
   Rachel weeping for her children,
      and she would not be consoled,
      since they were no more. -Matt. 2:15-18

Work as if everything depended upon you, then pray as if everything depended upon God. -St. Augustine

The Holy Innocents praying for Rick Santorum.

Early Wednesday morning (December 28), I eagerly flipped on the TV, only to find my man Rick Santorum stuck in fifth (or sixth) in the latest Iowa poll, behind Paul, Romney, Gingrich and Perry, and tied or slightly behind Michele Bachmann. By nightfall, Santorum (according to CNN) had surged into third with 16%, with Mitt flip-flopping ahead of the "mad" Dr. Paul. Of course, polls, with their small samples and margin of error, cannot be taken as gospel, but if Santorum's eleven-point surge since the beginning of December can be largely attributed to Rick's hard work, his nearly six-point rise in one day may be due to Augustine's second option.

As endorsements from prominent Evangelicals such as Bob Vander Plaats gave Santorum a big mini-boost, being chosen by newspapers such as the Oskaloosa News (with small but loyal followings) kept the rise slow and steady. In giving their "hands down endorsement," the paper praised not only Santorum's policies but his availability. From the time they first met Rick (and noted the close bond within the family) when he was serving pie at a Kiwanis shelter with his wife and children, to after the last TV debate when, while most of the candidates beat it to the national media's "spin room," but Santorum stopped to talk to them, "[h]e consistently made time for the little guys like 'Osky,'" echoing the feeling of a lot of folks in Iowa.

Also the sudden flocking of former Huckabee supporters, including the founders of "Huck's Army," the tireless twenty-three year old twins, Brett and Alex Harris, didn't hurt either. Brett's claim that "Rick has the same dark horse potential as Huckabee did in '08," confirmed the hopes of many Evangelicals, while brother Alex's dynamic speech "Now is not the time to settle for second or third best--not when we have a candidate like Rick Santorum!" galvanized them. But what was so special about Wednesday?

Before we go to the mystical factors, I'll start with the usual suspects. I thought Santorum's appearance on nationally syndicated radio host Michael Medved's program that day went particularly well. After an extremely cordial exchange, Medved, while not completely backing away from his statement that Mitt Romney had, considering both his resources and moderate conservatism, the best chance to beat Obama, agreed it was a good thing for social conservatives to converge around Santorum, and later even hinted at a possible Santorum upset. And speaking of radio, Wednesday also marked the debut of Santorum's Iowa radio ad, a positive spot that highlighted Santorum praise from everyone from Sarah Palin to Rush Limbaugh before concluding with the call for "all conservatives to unite" around him.

But perhaps just as important as Santorum's positives were the negative factors involving the other Christian conservative candidates. Rick Perry (whose ink-black new dye job actually made Romney's Grecian Formula look good) ran a tired TV spot linking Santorum and Michele Bachmann in with the "Washington insiders" that probably backfired on any informed Iowan (in other words, those likely to caucus), for as Bachmann (who countered by calling Perry the king of "crony capitalism") correctly stated, "it's not just being in Washington, but what you do there that matters." Still, as bad of a day as it was for Perry, December 28 was a downright disaster for Bachmann.

To me her downfall started earlier in the week when Iowa Republican.com's Kevin Hill confronted her with her earlier blanket statement in Des Moines that abortion (in this case, partial birth abortion) was a "states issue," in contrast to her earlier pledge to Personhood USA in which she vowed to fight abortion at both the state and federal level, and "She dodged the question. Twice." Caught between a "tea party" and a fetus (or between states rights and "inalienable rights") Bachmann didn't want to alienate either fiscal or social conservatives, and her 100% pro-life stance suddenly looked lifeless. But just as Bachmann spent the day desperately warning all the once-wavering Iowans now coming over to Santorum they must instead support her because "Santorum (who by the way sponsored the federal law banning partial birth abortion) can't win," that night she lost her campaign chairman (if not her campaign) as Iowa state senator, Kent Sorenson, defected to, of all people, the diabolical Dr. Paul. Whether or not Bachmann's claim that Paul paid Kent off to leave her is largely academic. The real moral of the story is that if a candidate lives by the economy driven tea-partiers, then she must also die by them.

But was there more to Rick's rise than what meets the eyes, an army at work other than the remnant of Huckabee's? December 28 also marks the day Catholics celebrate as the Feast of the Holy Innocents, honoring those young souls whom Herod slaughtered in his failed attempt to slay the Christ. Catholics think of the Holy Innocents as the forerunners of those souls slaughtered by the modern scourge of abortion, and ask their intercession to end this abomination. Call it the "FIT factor" if you will, but Fighting Irish Thomas (wishing to bear witness to the faith I profess) not only issued my second "Santorum forum" article (a tribute to Santorum volunteer, Wendy Jensen) that morning, but later that day reissued my "Blood of the Young Innocents" column on the meaning of the Holy Innocents, dedicating it to the efforts of a modern "wiseman," Rick Santorum. Meanwhile, my wife's "Silent Souls for Santorum" Facebook page was asking like-minded souls (on heaven and on earth) to pray a novena for the former senator, as well as answering the doubts of the skeptics who wondered if this simple father of seven (eight counting the Santorum's child in heaven, Gabriel Michael) had enough firepower to end the reign of the modern Herod known as Obama.

And so, if the intercession of the Innocents was partially responsible for Santorum's December 28 surge, it also showed that many Christians must continue to work and pray if this unlikely upset will indeed come to pass. The O'Tooles' prayers alone aren't enough; surely Jenkins' continued reign at Notre Dame (if not the Irish's debacle in the Champs Sports Bowl) is proof of that. Think of Santorum's December 28 surge as a sign; proving that although the ascendance of a committed Catholic to the White House is still improbable, it is far from impossible as long as we believe like Augustine and Rick, working as if everything depended upon us, and praying as if everything depended upon God.

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Rick Santorum.com
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The blood of the young innocents

2011-12-28T18:02:00.007-06:00

Our 2011 reprinting of "Blood of the young innocents" (first published in 2006) is dedicated to Rick Santorum, the most pro-life of the 2012 presidential candidates. May Gabriel Michael (the Santorum's son who died after only two hours on this earth) lead the Holy Innocents in prayers for an upset victory for his papa in Iowa -- and many more to follow!

A voice is heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more. -Matt. 2:18 quoting Jer. 31:15

Our week of martyrs continues, and the contrast (at least in age) between yesterday and today's saints couldn't be more dramatic. St. John lived into his mid 90s, none of the Holy Innocents lived past the age of two. While St. John's importance to the Church is as numerous as his days, the Holy Innocents are crucial because of their lack of age. As the name implies, the youngest of the Church's canonized martyrs are important because of their innocence; besides the Blessed Virgin Mary, they are probably the only other saints who have not committed sin.

For the uninitiated, the Holy Innocents are the baby boys of Bethlehem who Herod the Great, after being hoodwinked by the Holy Spirit (when God warned the Magi in a dream NOT to tell Herod where the Christ Child was) ordered their massacre. The estimate of how many children were actually slaughtered ranges from Butler's "no more than a few" to Syrian menologies 64,000, and while the real number is certainly somewhere in between, it is the significance of these martyrs "who died instead of Christ" that matters.

An Opus Dei priest once told me that the devil desires blood, and the younger and more innocent, the better. From the time of Cain and Abel, Satan has managed to twist men's minds into murdering his brother, and for almost as long, Lucifer has convinced civilizations to sacrifice children. Whether it is ancient cultures sacrificing their newborn to the gods, Herod (whom the non-Christian historian Josephus described as "a man of great barbarity toward everybody") slaughtering today's young saints, or selfish modern parents aborting their children in 2006, the devil seems to be getting his share. On the one hand, his strategy doesn't make sense; surely the devil knows by now (as Ignatius of Antioch succinctly summarized), "The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians." But in a shortsighted way, it is genius, for the killing of innocent blood so shocks the human heart that, as with Rachel, it has the potential to paralyze us in grief.

But, in these moments of sorrow, if we can just see our way to even a short prayer (and in sad times, prayer to the Holy Innocents is perfect), we realize that Christ has shed His Blood precisely to free us from such fear. From the blood of the lamb, sprinkled on their doorways, that saved the Israelites from the Angel of Death, to the Lamb of God shedding His Blood on the Cross, to His Body and Blood being offered at every Catholic Mass, Christ has given us the Blood which not only nourishes our souls but spurs us on to save others. Like the Holy Innocents, let us offer ourselves as hope to the hopeless, whether it be an unenlightened frightened expectant mother trying to make the right "choice," a shattered tattered homeless man trying to find shelter or something to eat, or an abused confused intellectual trying to find his way back to faith. For if you do, you will find your own lost innocence miraculously restored again.

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On a personal note, my wife Jeanette miscarried a baby on this day in 1988, so the Feast of the Holy Innocents holds a special significance for us. I have no doubt our babe in heaven not only prays for us, but gets his or her cool young martyr friends to do the same. Party on, Holy Innocents!

The Santorum forum pt II: Wendy Jensen, volunteer angel

2011-12-28T09:26:00.006-06:00

"How sweet can a person be? She had a little body, but the heart of a lion." -Rick Santorum, on the death of Wendy Jensen, his most dedicated volunteer

"Clearly, God needed some help in heaven, and brought one of his angels home to help Him reach as many hearts as possible during the Christmas season." -from the Iowa GOP website, commenting on Jensen's passing

Rick Santorum autographs a coffee mug for Wendy Jensen on Wednesday night [12-14] at a campaign Christmas party. In background, from left: Mark Halperin of Time magazine, Santorum's daughter, Elizabeth, and son, John.

Clearly, to both the unbeliever and mainstream media, things have not exactly gone smoothly for the "Rick Santorum for President" campaign. Mired in Iowa with little money, few key endorsements, and puny poll numbers, all those who secretly giggle about his Google "problem" chant Santorum doesn't stand a chance. Even when he does get a big endorsement (especially that of The Family Leader's Bob Vander Plaats) the MSM tries to shroud it in controversy to kill the little momentum Rick had. But speaking of the death of "The Little Momentum," the unexpected passing of 4'9" Wendy Jensen, Santorum's both sweetest and hardest-working volunteer, would appear to sound the death knell for Santorum's Iowa campaign. But if that is so, then why, when I pray for Santorum, do I keep hearing the sound of the piano?

By all accounts, Wendy Ellen Jensen was a tiny but mighty bundle of energy for all sorts of Christian charity. Besides her work at Bethesda Lutheran Church, the life-long Iowan also volunteered at the local hospitals, and recently found her calling as phone bank caller for Iowa's GOP candidates. Working up to ten-hour shifts and making up to 1,000 calls a day, Jensen, whose motto was "just one more call," had the knack of being insistent but "with a voice so soft and tender people wouldn't hang up on her." After volunteering for McCain in 2008, Jensen got on a bit of a local (and winning) roll, calling to get out the vote for Rep. Thomas Latham and Gov. Terry Branstad. But when the 2012 presidential campaign came around, Jensen, after originally volunteering for early arriving and departing candidate Tim Pawlenty, made what would be her last (if most heartfelt) choice when she became a member of the Santorum "family."

Still, this match made in heaven originally seemed anything but. At first, the old-school Lutheran seemed a bit headstrong for the traditional Catholic, as Jensen told Santorum he needed to keep his phone office open later if he expected to contend. In fact, Wendy's support seemed less for Santorum than for his special-needs daughter, as her morning greeting was always "How's Bella?" or "Tell Bella I'm praying for her!" rather than anything to do with the candidate himself. But clearly the diminutive Jensen related to Santorum's disabled daughter as few can, and rather than be scandalized by Bella's campaign presence (appearances that often included Santorum's wife and six other children) Wendy instinctively knew that the littlest Santorum was the key to his candidacy...and victory.

Finally, after nearly a year of tireless telephoning, Santorum recently got Jensen (despite her protest that she had made less than 500 calls that day) to quit early, and honored Wendy with the award of the rare "Santorum for President" coffee mug at the campaign's Christmas party. Glowing, the single Jensen gushed about how she wanted Santorum to meet the other man in her life, her pastor, the Rev. Randy Gehring. Ironically, the two Christian men would meet but a few days later--on the occasion of Miss Jensen's funeral.

Although Santorum was the only politician to speak at Jensen's funeral after she was found dead in her apartment (her death thus far attributed to natural causes) at the age of 55, he insisted he would be introduced only as her friend. "Here is the little vessel," spoke Santorum"...[that] so much goodness and greatness emitted from," while Gehring recalled Jensen as both "caring and kind, selfless and generous." "She was such an inspiration," added Dane Nealson, director of the Ames GOP victory office in 2010; "There were times she [said] she couldn't wait to see Jesus' face and see the angels. Although my heart grieves, knowing she's in a better place also makes me smile." And that "better place" (along with her sense of humor) may just be the key to a Santorum victory in 2012.

While it is a Catholic rather than Lutheran doctrine that declares saints in heaven pray and "do good" for those on earth, knowing the tireless nature of the "Angel" Jensen (as the Iowa GOP now refers to her) I believe she would not want to leave any unfinished business in Iowa, especially that concerning her long shot Catholic. Not only does her heavenly "phone bank" now include all the angels and saints, but heaven might prove a great place for her pointed piano playing. You see, back on earth our serious phone volunteer also had a mischievous habit of playing her piano; LOUD, when her not-so-Christian upstairs neighbor was doing something she didn't approve of. So if angels begin to descend and the saints start to march on Iowa, and the talking heads against Santorum are suddenly drowned out by an invisible piano, I'd say that's a good sign "Saint" Wendy has one more trick (and victory) up her sleeve.

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Rick Santorum.com
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Jesus is Born, Alleluia!

2011-12-24T23:00:00.000-06:00

From all of us at Fighting Irish Thomas, we wish you a "very" Merry Christmas!

Rick Santorum: champion of faith (and family)

2011-12-24T10:31:00.010-06:00

"Family is the bedrock of society. Unless we protect it with the institution of marriage, our country will fall." -Senator Rick Santorum

"Many voters like him but are unwilling to support him because...nobody else is." -from the blog The American Catholic

Ten years ago, when I published my book Champions of Faith: Catholic Sports Heroes Tell Their Stories, the worry was that I wouldn't find enough devout Catholic athletes to write a book, or that the ones I chose would not remain...faithful. Now, ten years later, I honestly can say that my list, with the possible exception of Sammy Sosa (even Jesus' list included a Judas!) held up well. But if finding faithful athletes (Tim Tebow notwithstanding) is hard, finding Christian politicians is hell--or at least hard-er. But the 2012 GOP Iowa Caucus is upon us, and unless we are looking forward to the End Times, most conservative Christians realize we must elect someone other than Barack Obama if we want to get our country back on track. In this vein, while we are fortunate to have several men--and woman--of good faith vying for the Republican nomination, we know from (Saint) Paul and politics that only one can win. Thus, Fighting Irish Thomas endorses the one man who sees himself first and foremost a champion of faith--and family, Rick Santorum.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I must admit that, despite what the polls say, the issues of life (abortion, euthanasia, traditional marriage) matter more to me than the economy--or all of the other issues combined. You see, I believe our founding fathers listed our "inalienable rights" in the order of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," for a reason, for without first protecting the right to life, none of the others would be possible. While all of the Republican candidates maintain a certain respect for life and family, not only does the degree to which they support these values vary, but I would also argue that the conviction with which they hold the social issues carries over to their convictions on all issues. And this makes the choice much clearer.

While there might have been a time, given the choice between him and Barack Obama, that I could have supported the so-called Republican known as Ron Paul, after the latest debate I now know that time has come and gone. Forget for a second that his frightful foreign policy makes Woodrow Wilson look like a warmonger. Paul has become so obsessed by the federal deficit that he has forgotten his commitment to the unborn, babbling that "all the Supreme Court justices are good...and bad," failing to commend any of our current justices at a time when support for a pro-life judge (after Obama's two liberal nominees) is critical. Once nicknamed "Dr. No," the James Bond villain that the pitiful Paul now most closely resembles, is "Goldfinger," as the gold standard is now even more important to him than God. Nothing would make Obama chuckle more than a Paul win in Iowa.

Speaking of baffling Iowa front-runners, a Newt triumph in Iowa would only be slightly less disastrous than a Ron win. With almost as much baggage as Imelda Marcos has shoes, the thrice-married Gingrich can hardly be considered a serious flag bearer for family values. And if his profiteering from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac wasn't bad enough, his global warming collaboration with Nancy Pelosi should make Iowa conservatives shiver. Mr. Gingrich has many good ideas, but if anyone would burn in Obama's "hell's kitchen," it's him.

But before we discuss the man whose camp coined that phrase, it's best to dismiss the lesser of the GOP's dueling Mormons, Jon Huntsman, Jr. While the moderate former governor of Utah is trying to remake his image by recently agreeing to back a Right-to-Life Constitutional Amendment, the last-place-in-the-Iowa-race Huntsman has recently presented a more liberal religious profile, saying that although he is a Mormon, "I'm not overly religious," adding that with one daughter married to an Episcopalian, another attending a Catholic school, and a third adopted from India with a Hindu background, "I get satisfaction from many different types of religions and philosophies." This wishy-washy religious statement no doubt explains how he can support both anti-abortion and pro-gay couples (supporting state benefits for gay partners) legislation, if not his low poll numbers.

This brings us to the man most "prominent" Republicans back as the moderate most likely to beat Obama, the seemingly perennial presidential candidate, Willard "Mitt" Romney. Unlike Huntsman, Mitt says he bears his Mormonism proudly, but at the same time echoed the liberal JFK by proclaiming, "I will put no [church] doctrine above the plain duties of the office, or sovereign authority of the law." Of course, this statement is a contradiction of terms if one is truly pro-life and is fighting to outlaw abortion. And, while I'd like to think this unflappable flip-flopper is sincere in his conservative conversion, Romney strikes me as the Manchurian candidate (actually, at age 64, the Manchurian candidate with a dye job) programmed to say whatever will maintain the support of the powers that be. And this suspicion is supported precisely by the fact the man who once converted two hundred Frenchmen on mission and served for years as a bishop says nothing publicly about his religion and refuses to release his tax returns. While Bachmann, Santorum, and even Perry talk openly about their faith, Mitt's secretiveness about his religion leads one to suspect that non-Christian tenants such as the Trinity is not true, and Jesus is Satan's brother, are only the tip of the cultish Latter-Day-Saints iceberg. Currently, Romney is not only on the "Right" edge, but right on the edge of being someone I could support against Obama, and I pray I don't have to make this choice.

While Rick Perry is a conservative Christian I could support, there are some chinks in his armor that make this Rick not my first pick. While his fumbling, bumbling debate style is not what I feel is a deciding factor, it should be a consideration when you know he will eventually be opposed by the silky-smooth debater Obama. But an even bigger flaw in Perry's repertoire is how any Christian conservative could sign an executive order making the HPV vaccine (which prevents a sexually transmitted disease) mandatory for every girl in Texas--sexually active or not. Also, as a Catholic who believes the death penalty should only be used in the most extreme circumstances, I am also not in line with Texas' execution rate. Still, it is Perry's public health policies, while not as much of an abomination as Obamacare, that should give all Christians pause.

And this, as they say on American Idol, brings us to our final two. Michele Bachmann, mother of five children and twenty-three foster children (not all at the same time) is a true conservative who has not only professed and legislated Christian family values but has also lived them. The problem with Bachmann is that she has either misspoke (proclaiming our founding fathers worked to end slavery, and stating NATO air strikes killed up to 30,000 Libyans, are but two of her worst gaffes) or uttered un-truths about Obama or her fellow Republicans so many times on the campaign trail it becomes difficult to fathom. Even if mistakenly saying John Wayne (did she mean John Wayne Gacy?) was born in Waterloo shouldn't be her personal Waterloo, it makes even her stalwart supporters cringe when they realize what the president's men will do with so many bloopers. Especially when you consider that, while Perry usually apologizes for his major mistakes (including the HPV fiasco) Bachmann rarely does.

Also, a widespread, if largely unspoken (in fear of political correctness, if not a frying pan to the head) conviction among fundamentalist Christians is the conservative biblical belief that "[w]ives should be submissive to their husbands as to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:22; see also Col 3:18), meaning that if husbands should run the household, men certainly should run the country as well. To this I can only add that if in dire circumstances (such as absence or death of a husband) a woman must run the household, in dire times (and what is the election of 2012 if not dire?) she also may run for president--when there are no strong Christian men to do so.

But that is clearly not the case as long as Rick Santorum is a candidate. After four productive years as representative and twelve as senator in Pennsylvania, Santorum (whose conservative Catholicism was subject to perhaps the greatest left-wing political attack in history, a smear so severe it included making Rick's name slang for a gay term, and then put that slur on Google) thought he was done with politics forever. But after watching how the president rammed through Obamacare, a law so evil Santorum declared it "will cost America its soul" and (taken to its "death panel" extreme) could cost his daughter Bella (who was born with the genetic disorder Trisomy 18) her life, he decided to run again, this time for the office where faith and family could make the ultimate difference. Once a leader in the war on terror as a member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, the father of seven now would be a leader on the war on the family, the only candidate for president against all abortions and all artificial birth control. Once one of the few senators with the guts to oppose the majority of the Congress on popular but flawed economic legislation such as the recently re-passed tax holiday (correctly noting it was being funded straight out of Social Security) Rick is now the only conservative criticizing the Supreme Court both for its legalization of abortion and its overturn of sodomy laws, showing how this court decision paved the way for the legalization of gay marriage.

While this is not the proper place to detail all of Santorum's pro-life, family-friendly Senate initiatives (including the right to teach "intelligent design" in public schools, and the fight to save Terri Schiavo) it is the right time to wonder why Rick does not currently have more conservative support, especially in Iowa. True, since Tuesday, when Santorum garnered the coveted endorsement of Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The Family Leader (as well as that of Bob Hurley, head of Iowa Family Policy) Rick's Iowa numbers have doubled from five to ten percent, but he'll need a bigger bump than that to win here. As Vander Plaats notes, unlike in 2008, when he could rally all of Iowa's Christian conservatives around one candidate (Governor Mike Huckabee), this year the vote is split among (at least) three. But even more to the point is The American Catholic blogger's assertion that many complacent Catholics, after seeing Santorum's small (if rising) numbers and believing the polls and pundits, forsake their first (and often second) choice and vote for the usual suspect, Romney, instead.

Well, my fellow Catholics, if Huckabee's Iowa win (but subsequent national loss to McCain) was on Evangelicals, Santorum's success (or lack of it) is on us. If you have any money or time in the next two weeks, send it to or spend it on the "San Man's" Iowa campaign. And Iowa Catholics; you are the ones who must not only rise up and caucus, but convince your Protestant neighbors that on January the third, the day we celebrate The Holy Name of Jesus, it is Rick Santorum, whose name has been defiled on the Internet but originally (from the Latin "sancta sanctorum") meant "the holy of holies," who will make America holy once again.

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Rick Santorum.com
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The "Claus" Clause

2011-12-21T02:00:00.004-06:00

Having just turned five years old, I was a little young (at least back then) to question the “holiday” law-of-the-land. Of course five-year-olds believed in Santa Claus! But it was back in the day when several ages of neighborhood kids used to hang around together, and I was running with some seven- and eight-year-olds who were feeding me some pretty good reasons not to believe in that benign big man.

Most of you are at least vaguely familiar with the various Protestant Reformation (and later secular) traditions that transformed Saint Nicholas into Santa Claus, so it is not necessary to go into those now. What I’m wondering is why many devout Christians including some Catholics, conclude that, while it’s absolutely crucial to be truthful to your children, in the case of Santa Claus, it’s perfectly acceptable to LIE.

Yes, I used the word lie deliberately, rather than some double-speak like “story-telling” or even “half-truth.” For to go along with the Santa myth is not harmless fantasy; it is deliberately deceiving your children about the Good News, specifically the Salvation Story. In my case, it was not the “time factor” (all those houses in one night!) or “small chimney, big body” arguments that dissuaded me. It was because while many “good” poor kids got few, if any presents, many “bad” rich kids received more than their share—completely contrary to the basic “good kid, bad kid” theory of Santa gift distribution. Perhaps few other five-year-olds adopted my line of reasoning, but the fact remained that my devout Catholic parents were the ones who sold me on the Santa Story, and this made the discovery all the more disillusioning. For it was the first (and one of the only times) that my folks had lied to me—and once that absolute trust is lost, every parent knows how hard it is to get it back.

Also, this article is not aimed at those, who, through negligence, convenience or simple lack of faith, are routinely dishonest with their kids. This warning is geared toward good parents like my own, who through societal or peer pressure, gave in to the Santa Claus myth. So if you are in the latter category, but think I was either an over-sensitive lad or am making a holiday molehill into a holy-day mountain, let me conclude with a couple of good reasons for raining on the kids’ Kris Kringle parade.

First, in our ever increasing materialistic society, I believe this once sacred cow of Christmas consumerism is actually in danger of being swept aside. Twenty years ago Santa may have been safe; the one dude that could be politically correct and fat. But in our 21st century, high-speed, cell-phoned-off society, I notice more and more adult radio and TV ads (which kids all hear and see) poking fun at the Old, Out-of-Shape One whose place techno-society is rendering irrelevant. But the better reason, if you are a Christian, is simply that the real story is better than the make-believe one.

In telling my kids the true story of St. Nicholas, a skinny bishop who did his best to bring gifts to poor kids so that they too might share in the joy of Christmas, I found it fit in much better with the true meaning of the holiday than the cliche-ridden, contradictory tale of sleighs and reindeer. Plus, St. Nicholas’ life is not only a great example of the Christian axiom, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 21:35), it is a perfect lead-in to the story of the Incarnation, where the Lord of Lords received the praise of angels and gifts of kings despite being born in a stable.

So withstand the pressure from your peers or (sometimes) even your own parish, and resolve this Christmas to tell your toddlers the real truth, for in the case of Christ, truth is always stronger than fiction. While it is not necessary to preach, as fundamentalists have, that “Santa is one letter removed from Satan” (for it is possible to show your kids that, just as there is some truth in the various Protestant versions of Christianity, there is some good in the Santa Claus tales), it is imperative not to perpetuate the Santa Claus lie. For Satan IS the “father of lies” (John 8:44) and he will gladly add your version to his X-Mas list if you only give him the chance.

Was Holtz hoodwinked? My Christmas letter to Lou

2011-12-18T09:24:00.002-06:00

Dear Tom,

Thank you very much for your letter. I really appreciated the article you sent. It is easy to see why you are successful, because you pay great attention to detail and let absolutely nothing slip by you. I consider you a true friend.

Sincerely,
Lou Holtz [a letter to the author from Holtz shortly before he resigned as the head coach of Notre Dame in 1986]

Dear Alumni, Parents and Friends,

Before you read any further, please know that this letter will ask you to be a loyal son or daughter of Notre Dame. We think it...so important [to] tell you why. We truly understand the pride and love Notre Dame's loyal sons and daughters share for their alma mater.

As parents, we have been blessed to have three of our four children earn degrees from the University...and this year Lou finally got one himself. His honorary doctorate from Notre Dame is something [we] will always treasure, maybe as much as the statue of him...that the pigeons roost on outside Notre Dame Stadium.

As donors, over the years we have chosen to support many worthwhile Catholic schools and...medical institutions...and know from personal experience that sometimes [they] can have an impact very close to home. Some of you may recall Beth's serious and recurring struggles with cancer. At one point Beth was diagnosed with stage IV cancer, and only given a 10 percent chance of survival...if not for the cancer research by leading academic institutions such as Notre Dame, we might never had the opportunity to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary last July. Thank goodness for the doctors...scientists, researchers--and donors who gave us [this] chance...

We assure you, Notre Dame is one of the places we support with pride and confidence...[it] has an unmatched spirit and commitment to excellence. Now more than ever, it is also a place where innovative and potentially life changing research activities further its vision to be a force...in the world...we encourage you to support [this] vision by making a gift today...to change many lives tomorrow.

In closing, Lou often says there are three things you need to know about a person: Are you committed to excellence? Can I trust you? Do you care about me? A gift to Notre Dame answers all those questions.

God bless...and go Irish!
Beth and Lou ('11) Holtz [Notre Dame's 2011 Fall fund-raising letter]

Lou Holtz
ESPN Plaza
Bristol, CT 06010

Dear Lou (and Beth),

I've now read and re-read your Notre Dame Fall fund-raising letter a dozen times, and although it was not addressed to me personally as the one you wrote shortly before you resigned as head football coach at Notre Dame (a letter which, though I've read it hundreds of times, rarely fails to bring a tear of joy to my eye, as it was the first time you counted me among your friends), I "now more than ever" feel, as both a loyal son of Notre Dame and a loyal friend to you, compelled to respond to your "confidence" and trust in your new alma mater.

You see, Lou, although the University of Notre Dame has taken many subtle (and, recently, not so subtle) steps away from being obedient servants of the Catholic Church over the last forty years, Notre Dame president, Fr. John Jenkins, knows that to reach his "vision" for Notre Dame, he still needs the money of those alumni and subway-alumni who are faithful to Rome. In this vein, he is also cunning enough to use prominent orthodox Catholics like yourself to appeal for funds to those who think Notre Dame is still the Catholic university (and team) it once was. As you may know, Jenkins asked Coach Brian Kelly to write this fund-raising letter last year, only to find Kelly's pro-choice voting record (not to mention his mediocre 8-5 football record) yielded less than stellar returns from the pro-life, pro Fighting Irish alumni. Thus, he now turns to you, the living Irish coaching legend himself. I'm sure President Jenkins believes getting the devout Catholic (and even better, honorary ND doctorate holder), Lou Holtz, on board to give his research-cash pep-talk this year is almost as huge as getting the pro-death (and also honorary Notre Dame doctorate holder) President Barack Obama to give the 2009 Notre Dame Commencement speech--which is exactly why I am warning you to withdraw both your verbal and financial support of Jenkins' new "vision" for Notre Dame.

While Fr. Jenkins' securing President Obama to give the 2009 ND Commencement address (not to mention awarding him an honorary doctorate) is neither Notre Dame's latest or greatest disregard of Catholic doctrine, it was in such brazen disobedience to the US bishops' 2004 letter "Catholics in Political Life" (which forbade Catholic universities from honoring pro-choice celebrities) it proved the final straw as far as the average Catholic blindly backing ND. As both the young (the student pro-life groups and The Irish Rover, the alternative pro-life student newspaper) and old (prominent ND professors such as Ralph McInerny and Charles Rice, plus the prestigious Sycamore Trust, a group of distinguished Notre Dame alumni heaven-bent on reviving Notre Dame's religious reputation) fought this invasion from within, nearly ninety bishops and a half a million laymen (the amount of signatures collected on an online petition started by the Cardinal Newman Society) voiced their outrage from without.

Still, the devious Reverend Jenkins stubbornly stuck to his underhanded plan, proclaiming to insiders that Obama's arrival was not a day of dissent but dialogue. He assured the faithful that Mary Ann Glendon, the saintly former ambassador to the Vatican and current Harvard law professor whom was to receive the Laetare Medal at the same ceremony, would give a "Culture of Life" acceptance speech that would serve as counterpoint to Obama's culture of death commencement. This talking point proved to be news to Glendon also, and when she found out how Jenkins was jerking around her good reputation to justify his evil intention, she refused the medal (indeed, the Laetare Medal whose motto ironically is "Truth is great and it will prevail" was left unclaimed in 2009) reminding him that this was supposed to be "a joyous day for graduates, not the right place...to defend the serious problem raised by Notre Dame's decision to disregard...the settled position of the United States bishops," and Jenkins was left to justify himself. But flash forward to 2011, and the divisive president of Our Lady's university has seemingly once again snatched his wicked victory from defeat, by tricking the newly honored Holtz into his duplicitous den.

It is interesting to note that your fund-raising letter does not promote Notre Dame as you (and the school) once did; a place that witnesses to the Catholic faith, but instead as a premier research institution--which coincidentally is exactly how Fr. Jenkins promotes it! Certainly, there is nothing wrong with scientific and medical research; as you correctly noted, cutting-edge cancer treatment contributed to saving your wife's life. But it was curious that in telling the story this time, you failed to mention as you did previously with me that when the doctors had all but given up on her, Beth made what even they considered a miraculous recovery on December 12th, a miracle you attributed to Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose feast day it was that day...and also the day Our Lady told me to write this letter. Because it now stresses research over faith (instead of faith guiding research), Notre Dame has not only seen its faculty slip from 85% Catholic in the 1970s to just over 50% today, it currently supports a faculty whose motto is "The University [of Notre Dame] should not compromise its academic aspirations in order to maintain its Catholic identity"--instead of the other way around!

But if the Catholicism of the general ND teaching population is bad, Lou, that of its research wing is worse.

While 48% of the science faculty (less than the University mandate of 50%) was Catholic in 1998, the percentage was down to 37% in 2007--the last year the University would release these figures. If such secrecy seems fishy, consider this tidbit: for the last several years Jenkins has been lobbying hard for Notre Dame to join the Association of American Universities (AAU) which consists of 61 premier research universities, nearly all of which aggressively pursue embryonic stem cell research and cloning...but none of which are Catholic. I don't doubt that a Lou Holtz clone could have done a better job coaching than some of the clowns they hired since you resigned (in fact, I've sometimes thought your statue could have done a better job) but any time science (or religion) somehow convinces itself it must destroy life in order to save it, it has not only lost touch with God, but with humanity as well.

True, Lou, Fr. Jenkins has done some good things (if only due to political pressure) at Notre Dame since the Obama fiasco, but he continues to make many rather shady moves as well. For example, Jenkins has allowed the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture to launch "Project Guadalupe" (a name Beth would no doubt approve of), an ambitious set of courses and hands-on experience that would not only culminate in a masters degree, but train students "to become the next generation of pro-life leaders." On the other hand, Jenkins has not only given an outstanding leadership award to General Electric, one of the most pro-choice leaning companies in the country (and one of Notre Dame's biggest donors) but allowed the appointment of Roxanne Martino to the University's Board of Trustees--despite her long history of financial support to some of the most strident pro-abortion organizations in existence. Fortunately, pressure led by the Sycamore Trust has since led Ms. Martino to resign, but I think you get the point. Players who "selectively" followed your rules when you were coach never remained on your team long, and neither should a president of a Catholic university who selectively follows the Catholic faith.

In summary, Lou, let's see how Jenkins fares given your "three things you need to know about a person" test.

It's true that Fr. Jenkins is committed to excellence (in research if not religion) but I'm sure in their own way the research scientists of the Third Reich strove for excellence too. As for the "can I trust him" maxim, when 83 bishops, 500,000 conservative Catholics, and every orthodox priest and professor from Notre Dame echo the words of former South Bend bishop, Bp. John D'Arcy, that Jenkins "chose prestige over truth," and Jenkins' (a man who graduated from Oxford and Berkeley after studying at ND) only defense is that he misunderstood the US bishops' directive, a document the average 5th grader could discern, I'd say it's difficult to give him the benefit of the doubt. Lastly, I can say that Jenkins does care about me, but only when my articles expose his hypocrisy and the president's men are once again forced to deflect my rhetoric. So unless you personally hand your donation over to Professor Carter Sneed at the ND CEC and tell him to earmark it for Project Guadalupe, I'd say its better to donate to those who are saving Notre Dame such as the Sycamore Trust (besides exposing Martino, they have also stopped the University from hosting The Vagina Monologues and the Notre Dame Queer Film Festival) or The Irish Rover (whose goal is to reverse the trend of a student body that is 31% pro-choice when they enter Notre Dame but 43% pro-choice when they leave) than to put it in the hands of the man whose researchers are more likely to laugh at the faith than practice it.

Lou, I now know you were too busy coaching and commentating to realize the crimes committed against Our Lady by the so-called leaders of Notre Dame since Fr. Hesburgh signed the Land o' Lakes document back in 1967, but now that you know the Truth, anything you can do to help Her TRUE loyal sons and daughters in this battle for the faith at ND would be greatly appreciated. I realize you would probably lose your job at ESPN if you seconded Ralph McInerny's comparison of Fr. Jenkins to Julian the apostate...but it would make such an impact in restoring Christ-like leadership to this nation's once and future flagship Catholic university, I bet a grotto statue of St. Louis Holtz would someday bookend the Stadium statue of Coach Lou Holtz if you did. All the best to Beth and the kids, and may your son Skip one day succeed you as coach of the Fighting Irish, so you will never again be forced to pull for your son at the expense of your Mother, as you did this year when Notre Dame played South Florida (again, not a good day for Fighting Irish fund-raising). Forever I remain...

Your true friend of Notre Dame,
Tom O'Toole ('81)

FIT's new e-mail address

2011-10-11T16:52:00.004-05:00

After our recent move, it was necessary to leave Comcast; we have the same e-mail name, however, this time it is through gmail.com. So if you're trying to get in touch, our e-mail is tacotoole @ gmail.com (take out spaces).