INTERESING....FROM POPE FRANCIS (BAD AMERICANS)

The Vatican and the U.S. Catholic Church have had a special relationship since the beginning of the political and religious experiment called “American Catholicism.” But that relationship has become more complicated—and fraught—over the course of Francis’s papacy. 

This was demonstrated most recently in late August when remarks the pope made in Portugal during the World Youth Day gathering were published by the Jesuit-run and Vatican-vetted  Civiltà Cattolica. 

“You have seen that in the United States the situation is not easy,” he told a Jesuit who’d spent a sabbatical year in the U.S. “There is a very strong reactionary attitude. It is organized and shapes the way people belong, even emotionally. I would like to remind those people that indietrismo [being backward-looking] is useless and we need to understand that there is an appropriate evolution in the understanding of matters of faith and morals.”  

FULL ARTICLE

MY FAMILY STORIES: FIRST STORY

By Tim Rohr

For several years I have been dropping "family stories" in Facebook posts and other online places, but thought I'd start sharing some of those stories here on JungleWatch - given the much wider readership: the tens of thousands of views JW receives every thirty days. 

I share these stories only in the hope of encouraging others who have families and who know the struggle...and also to use JW for more than just the "bad news" it has become famous for!

To begin, here's a story I shared on FB on the occasion of my eldest daughter's birthday in 2022. The FB post with comments is linked here. But in case some day the link may not work, the post is copied below. 

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In another post, I wished my daughter, Michelle, happy birthday. But thought I'd share a few more things about her here.

Like many modern parents, my thinking at the time was “two is enough.” And since we had a boy and a girl, it seemed like Michelle was a perfect place to stop. As it turned out, God had other plans.

For the first several years of family life, things were smooth. Guam was in an economic boom and we were riding the wave like a lot of other people. So finding that we were expecting another child, and then another, and then another…all the way to number 7, was not a big deal.

But in 1997, and with number 7, things in Guam were in for a big change.

The Japanese investment bubble (late 80’s to early 90’s) had already burst and Guam had begun to feel the hit. At the same time Bill Clinton decided we didn’t need so many military bases, and Guam really felt that hit with both base closures and major military downsizing.

We lost about 75% of our income between 1997 and 2001. And then 9/11 pretty much wiped us out altogether just as we birthed our 9th child (Dominic).

By then, many people in Guam had begun relocating to the states. But we stayed. I don’t remember why. We were in danger of losing everything and the future looked bleak for a long time to come.

By 2004 we were really in trouble.

My wife and I had been burning the candle at both ends to feed our family, which by then numbered 11, but things weren’t getting any better.

Meanwhile, we had lost our health insurance due to weird complications of my going back to work as a teacher for awhile. And then we found out we were expecting — once again.

I know, I know. Birth control and all that. But No. 10 turned out to be William. And what would I do without him today. William’s birth complications set us back nearly 100k and we had no insurance. It was an unbelievable time.

But this is when Michelle, then-16, really showed herself to be a blessing to our family.

There is not the space to tell all she did. You’ll have to wait for the book for that. So I’ll just tell you the one thing that stands out most in my memory.

In order to survive, our family did many things. One of those things was to begin a business selling Catholic books. Many remember our days as a retail store in shopping malls and commercial spaces, but we began that business by selling books after Masses on Sunday at different parishes.

In order to have our tables and books set up before the first Mass on Sundays, we had to be ready by 6am.

Michelle was the only child really able to help me. (Timmy had a job working at the ship repair facility.) So I had to get Michelle out of bed at 4am, load hundreds of books into my vehicle, tie tables onto the top, and trek off to whatever church was on schedule for that Sunday.

We worked like crazy to set up the display before the first Mass let out. I was usually a stressed out mess, finding a location that would avoid the usual rain, making sure we had enough change, seeing to the receipt books, making sure we had enough tarps to cover the tables when the rain came, etc.

Meanwhile, Michelle calmly took over, beautifully arranged the books, and most importantly, calmly engaged the customers in a way I never could. (All my children possessed a calm that I never had.) Sometimes we would stay all day in order to catch the Sunday night Masses. Making it a 16 hour day sometimes.

And then when we got home, we would have to spend another couple of hours, doing inventory and reconciling the cash box.

It was very hard. And I remember losing my temper a couple times due to all that stress. But Michelle stayed calm.

That little book business was the difference between us losing our home and keeping it. Later, when we began our retail outlet in the Agana Shopping Center, Michelle figured out all the displays and ran the register and customer service on most days.

She did much more than that, including running our cafe (The Basilica Cafe) at the Cathedral, but that would take even more space to write about. I think I have a picture of her taking a break.

In short, Michelle gave her life for our family, especially after we found out we were expecting number 11 (Gianna), and Michelle, away at college in Ohio at the time, gave up her education to come home to help…once again.

Thank you, Michelle. Today, she is one of the most successful people I’ve ever known even though, or maybe because, she always put herself second. 

WHEN CAN A BISHOP LAWFULLY TRANSFER A PASTOR TO ANOTHER PARISH?

By Tim Rohr

The title to this post is the title of an important article by canon lawyer, Cathy Caridi at "Canon Law Made Easy." 

This issue blew up here in Guam in 2013 when Archbishop Apuron functionally fired Fr. Paul Gofigan, the lawful pastor of Santa Barbara parish. 

I say "functionally," because Apuron did not outright fire Gofigan - perhaps he had legal counsel telling him he had no right to do so - but demanded Gofigan's resignation. Gofigan refused, but when he returned to his parish he found that the locks had been changed while he was meeting with Apuron. 

It's a long story, and it all led to years of trauma in our local church and ultimately its bankruptcy. It's all documented at Apuron v Gofigan and it is in e-book form: Target = Priest. 

Looking backward, it was certain lay faithful who did the canon law research which provided Gofigan the opportunity to legally fight back against Apuron. Looking forward, it will remain the lay faithful who will stand up to the abuses of power by clerics, especially prelates, and they will do so by educating themselves.

The canonically illegal manipulation of pastors by bishops is one of the most common and harmful abuses in our Church. And this article will explain why. 

THE VIRTUES OF CIGAR SMOKING

Can Cigar Smoking Have a Virtuous Side? What These Catholic Men Say About It

George Ryan
September 17, 2023

He eloquently expresses the unique experience they offer, saying it’s “more about the experience than the cigar itself...it's a very different characteristic and different purpose for persons who consume a cigar versus a cigarette."

In a culture that readily embraces sugar, known for its adverse health effects, while frowning upon cigar smoking, the necessity for nuanced understanding becomes evident.

FULL ARTICLE

SHORT LATIN PHRASES, BATHED IN CHURCH HISTORY THAT TEACH US THEOLOGY IN A FEW WORDS

(posted by frenchie)

Sometimes I easily forget that I am part of the last generation of Catholics who was taught Latin and Greek as a matter of regular education, starting in middle school. 

As an Altar boy, serving the traditional Latin Mass I really did not think twice about the phrases and formulas of the Latin Vulgate, we were living with on a daily basis. 

This was part of our natural environment. You can imagine that I have witnessed during my lifetime a sea change in our liturgy, some for the better good, others with grave concerns, about the direction of our Church during this period of post modernity and relativity.

While I am personally attached to the "extraordinary"form of the Roman Rite. I do not fail to realize that most of our Church has not had the opportunity to experience the beauty and sacredness of the rite.

Yet, despite this reality, our liturgy is still peppered with wonderful formulas, which in a few words reveal to us the theology of our Church, and unveil its whole history.

Lets review some of these often overlooked expressions and phrases.

Gloria Patri, et Filio et Spiritui Sancto

Glory to the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit

The Glory to the Father is a doxology, which means a prayer of adoration, celebrating the Glory of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

During the Liturgy of the hours, the "Glory to the Father" ends the Psalms. It is also recited or sung during the Rosary, at the end of each decades of said Rosary. A beautiful way to glorify the Holy Trinity.

Pax Vobiscum

Peace be with you

These are the words of Christ resurrected, as mentioned in the Gospels according to Luke and to John,

when he returns among his disciples after his death: "Peace be with you, as the father has sent me, I am sending you" (john 20,21)

This is appearing several times in the liturgy.  After the Prayer for the Eucharist, the faithful are invited, in the charity of Christ, to give each other a sign of peace. The same Peace of the Lord, that the priest invites us to share with the world, at the end of the Mass. "Go in the Peace of Christ"

Salve Regina

Hail Holy Queen

The Salve Regina prayer, is probably the most famous addressed to the Virgin Mary. It is supposed to have been penned by Adhemar de Monteil, Bishop of the Puy en Valais in the XI Century. St Bernard of Clairvaux added in the XII Century the last three incantations: "O Clemens, O Pia, O Dulcis Virgo Maria!" which used to be marked by three genuflection's.

The Virgin is depicted as a Queen, but also as a misericordious Mother, whose Heart and Eyes are turned towards Humanity.

This specific prayer is marking the liturgical period between the Feast of the Holy Trinity and the Advent.

It is often sung, to end a celebration.

I hope this help our fellow faithful to get closer to our History and our Liturgy. I am planning to add a few more expressions from time to time.

Pax Vobiscum

THE MOST POPULAR MAN IN ARGENTINA COMMENTS ON ABORTION AND THE POPE

By Tim Rohr

Javier Milei is a former Argentinian football (soccer) star as well as a sometimes rockstar. He is also a current candidate for the presidency of Argentina. And he's not a fringe candidate. 

As the AP reports: 

"Milei... rocked Argentina’s political establishment when he received the most votes in August primaries that serve as a massive poll of voter preferences ahead of the October election."

He also recently rocked the world with an interview by Tucker Carlson. The full interview is worth a listen, but for our purposes, the following is what Milei had to say about abortion and Pope Francis.

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TUCKER CARLSON: You oppose abortion. Why?

MILEI: I’ll say libertarian, "liberal," because in English the word "liberal" means something different. So, let me say, as a libertarian, we believe in the unrestricted respect for the lives of others, robed in a principal of non-aggression, and the defense of life, liberty, and property. And if we cleave to these ideas of liberty, one of the most fundamental aspect is to defend the right to life. 

Philosophically speaking I am in favor of the right to life. Beyond that, there is a scientific justification to be had. It’s the fact that life begins at conception. It’s at that very instant that a new being begins to evolve, with its own unique DNA. 

While it’s true that women have a right to their own bodies, the child in a woman’s womb is not her body. That child is not her body. That makes abortion a murder, enabled and aggravated by a power imbalance against a child that has no way to defend itself. 

And beyond that, there is a matter of mathematics. Life is a continuum with two quantum leaps: birth and death. Any interruption of the interim is murder. 

TUCKER CARLSON: So, I would think, you’re a Catholic, you said. You’re just defending, really, the Catholic life principle. The pope, the current pope is from Argentina, I would think he would support you, instead he has criticized you and you’ve called him a communist. Why the disconnect?

MILEI: Well, first because the Pope plays politics. He has a strong political influence. And he has shown a great affinity for dictators such as Castro and Maduro. He is on the side of these bloody dictatorships. 

TUCKER CARLSON: I’m sorry…Raul Castro is a murderer?

MILEI: Right, and Fidel Castro was also a murderer. 

TUCKER CARLSON: But the pope, you believe the pope has an affinity for Raul Castro?

MILEI: Yes, that’s right. He has an affinity for murderous communists. In fact, he won’t denounce them. He’s quite lenient to them. He’s also lenient toward the Venezuelan dictatorship. He’s lenient towards the entire Left even when they are true criminals. That’s a problem. 

But he also takes social justice as the central element of his vision. That’s difficult, because what is social justice, truly? It’s stealing the fruits of one person’s labor and giving it to someone else. 

So it means two things. 

First: it’s stealing. The problem with that is that one of the 10 commandments is thou shalt not steal. To support social justice is to support stealing. So one problem is that it violates the Ten Commandments. 

The other problem is that it creates unequal treatment under the law. And I don’t think that’s fair for some people to be rewarded while others are punished, all through the power of the State that wields a monopoly on violence. 

My Comment: Wow. Just wow. Imagine if we had such guys like him in national, or even especially in local (Guam) politics. He has my vote if I could give it. Meanwhile, here in Guam, we wait...and wait. 

MY COLUMN FOR SEPTEMBER IN THE GUAM DAILY POST

Some surprising conversions at the World Championships in Budapest

Tim Rohr
Sep 15, 2023

My suspicion is that I was invited by the editor of this publication to be a monthly columnist to stir the pot a bit on “church” issues.

I will certainly get to that. But at present, the recently concluded Track and Field World Championships in Budapest have my attention.

CONTINUED

AND THE CHAMORU WILL BE NO MORE

By Tim Rohr

An interesting thing showed up in the Guam Daily Post today (Friday, Sep. 15, 2023), and here it is:

I am not familiar with the goings-on of the Guam Election Commission and am a bit in the dark as to why said Commission would have a discussion relative to Bill 106-37 on its agenda for its next Regular Meeting. So let's explore.

Note: I'll leave item IX. Legal Counsel, for later.

First, what is Bill 106-37?

As set forth in the above agenda, Bill 106-37 is:

AN ACT TO PROVIDE A LEGISLATIVE SUBMISSION FOR CONSIDERATION BY GUAM VOTERS AT THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTION; AND TO PROVIDE GUAM VOTERS THE POWER TO DECIDE ON REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS.

The bill is authored and sponsored by Senators Tom Fisher and Tina Rose Muna-Barnes.

Fisher has nicknamed the bill the "You Decide" bill since it proposes a referendum which pushes the issue directly to the voters and away from the legislature.

But what is the issue?

Fisher and Barnes further confound the issue by proposing, in the legislation, a so-called short title, which is: 

"The Health Protection Act of 2023"

However, the Fisher/Barnes bill has nothing to do with health or protection and everything to do with eviscerating just about every legal protection for the unborn and their mothers:

Legislative Findings and Intent. Purpose. It is the purpose of this Act to allow health care providers to provide abortion services without limitations or requirements that single out abortion services for restrictions that are more burdensome than those restrictions imposed on medically comparable procedures and do not significantly advance reproductive health or the safety of abortion services and make abortion services more difficult to access. - LINK

Compare the "purpose" of the bill to what its authors want to call it: 

"The Health Protection Act of 2023."

Why not call it "The Abortion Protection Act of 2023?" That's exactly what it is. But of course Fisher and Barnes didn't and they won't. 

All pro-aborts must hide their real lust for "murdering babies" as Sen. Telo Taitague recently and rightly termed it, behind "1984-ish" double-speak. 

But this "double-speak" appears to be why the bill is on the GEC agenda. 

Per 3 GCA § 16105. Preparation of Ballot Title by Election Commission:

The Election Commission shall provide a ballot title for each initiative, referendum or legislative submission to be submitted to the voters within ten (10) days after the measure is certified for a position on the ballot, and publish said title once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation on Guam. The ballot title may differ from the legislative or other title of the measure, and shall express the purpose of the measure in not more than one hundred (100) words. The Election Commission shall give a true and impartial statement of the purpose of the measure in such language that the ballot title shall not be an argument, or likely to create prejudice either for or against the measure. (Emphases added)

So there it is. Since Fisher and Barnes have thrown off their "legislative yoke" (and what they are being paid for) by shoving this issue onto the voters, by law, the Guam Election Commission gets to "pull back the curtain" on Fisher and Barnes and bare their "murdering babies" bill (again, see Telo) in words the electorate can plainly read and understand.

Of course we don't know if the GEC will do this, but here's hoping they will. 

Meanwhile, Fisher and Barnes have nothing to worry about. Stat after stat, report after report, election after election, affirms, confirms, and re-affirms and confirms that the majority of Guam voters, the majority of whom are communion-going Catholics, will support abortion on demand. 

There is nothing to fear. Fisher and Barnes (and their sidekick Parkinson) will be the heroes of the CHamoru Self-Extermination Project (since 2/3 of abortions are of children of CHamoru ethnicity), and Micronesians or Koreans or Chinese or Filipinos or whoever will happily reproduce themselves into the majority and the CHamoru will be no more. 

And you voted for this Guam. 

SEN. FISHER: ROSARY IS "WEAPON OF VIOLENCE"

By Tim Rohr

The following was posted on Kandit News one day ago:

Fisher tells pro-life advocate the Rosary is a weapon of violence. • By Troy Torres

 

The debate between proponents and opponents of the legalization of abortion often becomes scandalized by overzealous overtures from both sides. And just when you thought you've heard it all, in comes pro-choice activist Thomas Fisher, a senator in the Guam Legislature, to make an allegation that I'm sure we haven't heard before.

According to Sharon O'Mallan, in a heated meeting with the senator, he shouted at her and another woman, "You people holding up your rosaries in front of an abortion clinic ... very intimidating and violent!"

"I was shocked, and so was the woman with me," Ms. O'Mallan said. "We just looked at each other while he was yelling at us. I couldn't believe he actually thought these rosaries we have are weapons. We're peaceful in our protests."

"Regarding the comments of Ms. O'Mallan, Senator Fisher has no comment," the senator's chief of staff, Lloyd Cubacub said.

The confrontation, which happened in March, may be a glimpse into the what the tenor of a public hearing may be Wednesday (today) at 2 p.m. in the Guam Congress Building's public hearing room. That is when legislation by Mr. Fisher to put the question on whether the restrict abortion to a referendum of voters will be discussed.

That very legislation is what led Ms. O'Mallan to schedule a meeting with Mr. Fisher in March, when the senator first introduced the bill. The meeting quickly devolved, Ms. O'Mallan said.

"I said, 'Your bill would make abortion legal up to right before the baby is born,'" Ms. O'Mallan recounted part of their argument. "He said 'It’s the woman’s choice and none of our business,'" the woman recounted.  

"He questioned me about why I am doing this and I told him that in an abortion someone dies.   A little baby dies. I told him that this law would remove the parents' consent rights and minors could have abortion without their knowledge. He said 'Good, because then those parents won’t force their kids to stay pregnant.'  He said that if minors want an abortion they should be allowed to have an abortion," she recalled.

Ms. O'Mallan said she raised several other points of view with the senator, and that he was not amenable to any of them.

Among those points were that the Guam Catholic Pro-Life Committee began offering a program for women who have gone through with abortions to avail of healing services. "He blew up here in a shouted disbelieving laugh," she said.

Ms. O'Mallan is the chairwoman of the Guam Catholic Pro-Life Committee.

MY NOTE:

True. O'Mallan is chairwoman of the GCPLC. And this is why I MADE CERTAIN that neither I, nor anyone connected with THE ESPERANSA PROJECT was, or could be connected to the word "Catholic" or the words "Pro-Life." The issue, the KILLING of defenseless, helpless, innocent human beings, stands on its own. 

In my opinion, Guam's Catholic Church has done NOTHING to staunch the killing of its own (2/3 of abortions are of CHamoru ethnicity and therefore most likely Catholic). 

My advice to the brave women such as Ms. O'Mallan and Ms. White is to throw off the "Catholic" label and attack, attack, attack - as Ms. White so well did here and Senator Taitague did here. 

Go for it! How beautiful to see women standing up for women...and against men: Senators Fisher and Parkinson are guys (sans uteri).

WHY TELO HAS MY VOTE FOR TELLING JAYNE TO STFU!

By Tim Rohr

The Honorable Telo T. Taitague (Minority Whip) was a disaster in the previous Calvo administration. I don't even want to get into the why's and how's. Basically, she was a politician and did the minimum to get paid. I didn't vote for her in every election since 2012. 

However, I will vote for Telo in 2024 and ever thereafter so long as she keeps this up:

Woman to woman: You’re not representing all the women of this island • By Troy Torres

LINK

Telo Taitague told the governor’s director of women’s affairs, a taxpayer-funded position, that her advocacy of abortion is not representative of all women on the island. 

Ms. Taitague, in a two minute lecture to Jayne Flores Wednesday at the legislative public hearing room,  asked “I have to bring this up because it’s just been bugging me, that the women’s bureau here is representing who? What? Just people who [want] to murder babies?”

She questioned why Ms. Flores was testifying in favor of two pro-choice bills the legislature was hearing, in her capacity as the director of women’s affairs. 

The Bureau of Women’s Affairs’ enabling statute charges the agency and its director with specific duties and responsibilities over the use of the tax dollars it receives. Among these duties are the promotion of equitable wages for women, and stopping violence against women. Neither abortion nor reproductive health issues are found in its mandate. 

“I wouldn’t say anything if you came on your own personal time to testify in favor of murdering babies,” she said. 

“On any of these bills you should have a neutral position because you represent all of the women of Guam,” Ms. Taitague told Ms. Flores. “You’re a director paid with taxpayer money! You are not representing all the women of this island, that’s for sure.”

I'M SMART ENOUGH NOT TO GET HURT. YOU CAN TOO.

By Tim Rohr

Jets confirm Aaron Rodgers tore achilles in debut for team

Okay, here's a real aside from what you'll usually find on JW. But I need a break from all the drama. So a little NFL commentary. 

I'm actually an expert. Sort of.

In the 1960's I was such a football weirdo I could name a football player with a number from 1 through 99. And I was hardly in 8th grade. 

I have no idea why I was passionate about football. I was too small and weak to make it on any school team, but that didn't stop me from breaking teeth and collarbones on Sunday afternoons playing tackle football - sans any protective gear - at the local school "football field" where I played with and against many neighborhood friends. 

While I was small and weak, I had an uncanny ability to stay on my feet after being hit and hit and hit. It's something in me that I would later understand as a hatred to lose. It was a weird thing. 

For whatever reason, as a boy, I had a very low self-image. But on those Sunday afternoon sandlot football games - at Jones Middle School - I assuaged that low self-image in sheer blood-letting. And I bled a lot: broken teeth, bones, and so much blood running from my nose that no one wanted to tackle me. 

As a small aside. A few years ago I took the train - which didn't exist when I was a kid - from Downtown LA to my mother's home in what has become known as the Inland Empire. The train passed through my old hometown of Baldwin Park and right next to Jones School and across Merced Avenue. 

Sure enough, that "football field" is still there and the eucalyptus tree we used as a goal line is also still there. My mind raced back decades. But the train was faster and it passed from view in an instant. 

Well, all that is to preface what I want to say about Aaron Rodgers - and his season-ending injury. So here goes.

First. Rodgers isn't Brady - Tom Brady

Brady isn't the greatest quarterback ever because he passed for more yards, threw more touchdowns, had the best passer-rating, or whatever, Brady is the greatest because - are you ready for this: 

BECAUSE HE WAS SMART ENOUGH NOT TO GET HURT.

I don't know how he didn't get hurt or why, but Tom Brady, SEVEN-TIME SUPER BOWL CHAMPION, found a way to never get hurt. Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, and many other greats DID NOT. 

Second, Brady kept his cool. Rodgers didn't

I don't recall the year, but Brady didn't do so well and the Patriots - like just about every other team with an aging - but otherwise beloved star - decided to move on. And so they did. 

Brady, after being the Patriots' darling for two decades and leading the previously bottom-feeding team to an unprecedented SIX SUPER BOWL VICTORIES, was cast off as an aging liability where he was picked up by the equally lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Being a "cast-off" is probably what revitalized Brady and he immediately led the Bucs to a Super Bowl victory, only their second in franchise history - and the SEVENTH for Brady - while the Patriots crashed to their worst season in 20 years. 

Back to Rodgers

Meanwhile, as a similarly loved and decorated star for the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers grew bitter after the last couple of disappointing seasons and started "blaming." 

Seeing all this, Aaron Rodgers probably had Brady dreams. So he sought to cast himself off to none other than the New York Jets, which hadn't won a Super Bowl - nor achieved much of anything since the Joe Namath voodoo thing in 1969. 

Apparently the Joe Namath voodoo thing is still operative. In his first season with the Jets, Rodgers went down during the first game on the fourth play and it's over.

Rodgers is 39. I hope the best for him. But Rodgers isn't Brady. Brady was smart enough not to get hurt. 

I'm nearly 30 years older than Rodgers. And I'm smart enough not to get hurt. You can too.  

Meanwhile, that dude that filled in for Brady, Zach whoever, did a pretty damn good job. Jets won. Just let this dude play and stop looking for 39 year olds. Seriously. LOL.

A FIRST: ENTIRE FAMILY AND UNBORN CHILD ARE BEATIFIED MARTYRS

By Tim Rohr

So while Guam is busy (via its legislators and governor and the majority who voted for them) searching for ways to kill more of its unborn children, a few days ago (Sep. 10) and for the first time ever, an unborn child is now a beatified martyr with sainthood as the next step. 

Polish family killed by Nazis beatified as martyrs, including their unborn child

The beatification is unprecedented as it marks the first time an entire family is so honored together, at least since the formalization of the canonization process. It is also the first time an unborn or newborn child was beatified as a martyr. (FULL STORY)

FISHER AND PARKINSON'S ABORTION BILLS ATTACK WOMEN - AGNES WHITE

Agnes Malilay White, a registered nurse for four decades, testifies at today's public hearing against Senator Fisher's and Parkinson's abortion bills stating that both bills are an attack on women and women's safety. 

YES, I ACTUALLY THINK HE IS THE POPE

By Tim Rohr

For about a decade now, opposition to Pope Francis has been growing ever louder, and not just from "rigid" (the pope's favorite derogatory adjective) traditionalists, but from a growing number of so-called "moderates" (I'd call them "lukewarm"), and even liberal Catholics who fear the pope is going too far too fast.

Story on the pic 

For those who would like a crash course in what is going on, see Frenchie's recent post ON THE SYNOD ON SYNODALITY, and/or see "Cardinal Burke drops bombshell on Synod of ‘ideology’ and ‘schism’" (the article contains a link to a free pdf book titled “The Synodal Process is a Pandora’s Box."

I don't claim to be any sort of visionary, but I began saying the same ten years ago when this Argentine cardinal presented himself, after election as Supreme Pontiff, upon the loggia high above St. Peter's Square in 2013. 

Why I immediately thought there was trouble ahead is a post for another day, but to summarize, the "pope of mercy" has been anything but merciful, and the "pope of humility" has been anything but humble, and the pope has been...well, anything but pope. (In fact, he insists on only being a bishop - the bishop of Rome.)

True, we've had troublesome pontiffs before. In fact, we've had some really bad dudes, particularly in what came to be called the "Iron Age of the Papacy." But usually these guys were too busy killing each other or conniving on how to harbor ever more power and mistresses to have time to propagate profound doctrinal error - something the present pontiff appears to have both time and the will to do.

All of the foregoing is to preface the following. 

Naturally, there are alarmists, some of whom are ordained. Recently a certain U.S. priest, already a known "alarmist," posted a "gloves-off" YouTube attack upon the Francis Papacy, even going so far as to suggest - or even declare - that Francis ("Bergoglio" - his pre-pope last name - and as his detractors call him) is not the pope.

As I am semi-known as a lighting rod for controversial Catholic issues, I received several emails and messages linking to this latest alarmist attack. 

I am quite sure that the senders did not expect my reply - which I will copy below, however, most replied with "good point." Here is my reply to the attack on Francis:

Yes. I actually think he is the pope in the same way God gave Israel corrupt kings as punishment for their worshiping other gods. Catholics have been worshiping other gods for quite a while, e.g. majority of Catholics voting for Obama and Biden. So God said, “okay, here you go, here’s Francis.” Rather than harangue on the pope, priests like (name redacted) should be telling Catholics to pray, fast, and get off birth control.

I don't know about the rest of the Catholic world, but for the U.S. to abort 4,000 babies a day post-Roe, and for U.S. Catholics - which comprise the largest single voting bloc (25%) - to consistently support pro-abortion presidential candidates, well there's little to complain about when it comes to Francis. 

And to bring it home, again, for Guam, perhaps the most Catholic place in the world per capita: to be, for three decades, post-Roe, the easiest place in the nation to procure an abortion - and even now, post-Dobbs, the only place in the nation where "Roe continues to have vitality"... well, we hardly need some synod (or "sin-odd" as I like to spell it) to screw things up further. 

God doesn't condemn anyone to Hell. He just lets us have our way.

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Meanwhile, and soon, there is this:

ABORTION BILLS ON THE LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR

ABORTION BILLS ON THE LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR

By Tim Rohr

Abortion bills on the Legislative Calendar. 

For those who would like some commentary on what these bills are about. , Bob Klitzkie on Tall Tales gives it here.

The following is copied from the 37th Guam Legislature Calendar for September 13, 2023. 

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Public Hearings –Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 2:00 PM- Speaker Therese M. Terlaje, Chairperson Committee on Health, Land, Justice, and Culture

WhenWed, September 13, 2pm – 4pm

WhereGuam Congress Building Public Hearing room (map)

Description

Buenas yan Håfa Adai,

Please be advised that the Committee on Health, Land, Justice, and Culture will convene public hearings Wednesday, September 13, 2023 starting at 2:00 PM, in the Guam Congress Building Public Hearing room, for the following agenda items:

2:00 PM:

• Bill No. 78-37(COR)-William A. Parkinson- AN ACT TO ADD A NEW CHAPTER 98 OF TITLE 10, GUAM CODE ANNOTATED, RELATIVE TO EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION FOR SURVIVORS OF RAPE. 

• Bill No. 106-37(LS)-Thomas J. Fisher/ Tina Rose Muña Barnes- AN ACT TO PROVIDE A LEGISLATIVE SUBMISSION FOR CONSIDERATION BY GUAM VOTERS AT THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTION; AND TO PROVIDE GUAM VOTERS THE POWER TO DECIDE ON REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS.

• Bill No. 111-37(LS)- William A. Parkinson- AN ACT TO ADD A NEW CHAPTER 91B TO DIVISION 4, TITLE 10, GUAM CODE ANNOTATED RELATIVE TO EXPANDING ABORTION SERVICES IN GUAM; AND TO CITE THIS ACT THE “HEALTH PROTECTION ACT OF 2023”.

The public is invited to provide oral or written testimony on the agenda items. Written testimony may be submitted to senatorterlajeguam@gmail.com or hand delivered to the Office of Speaker Therese M. Terlaje at the Guam Congress Building. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, individuals requiring special accommodations should contact the Office of Speaker Therese M. Terlaje at (671) 472-3586 or senatorterlajeguam@gmail.com . All hearings broadcast on GTA TV Channel 21, Docomo Channel 117 and livestream on the Guam Legislature YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GuamLegislatureMedia. 

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The following was written by Dennis Prager and was originally published on July 11, 2023 on Townhall.com. 

As a personal note, I am very familiar with the issue and it took me awhile to comprehend the incomprehensible: children with whom you previously enjoyed a normal and even loving relationship suddenly and inexplicably cut you out of their lives - and, as far as you know - forever. 

Most of what I've read and studied about the issue has been the product of psychologists, therapists, or people otherwise involved in this professionally. Mr. Prager is a social commentator, and in this column, he not only correctly calls it a "pandemic," but gives dead-on reasons for why it is a pandemic, a pandemic of cruelty. 

The following is his column copied in full from Prager's column.

A PANDEMIC OF CRUELTY

By Dennis Prager, July 11, 2023

There is a pandemic in the Western world — especially, but not only, in America — that few are talking about, let alone addressing.

This pandemic doesn’t actually kill people. But it does destroy people, ruin lives, crush families and cause permanent, debilitating pain — far more than have the vast majority of cases of COVID-19.

This pandemic consists of adult children who have decided never again to speak to one or both of their parents. The vast majority of these people were never sexually or physically abused. In fact, nearly all were loved by their parents.

So, then, why have these people decided to hurt their mother, their father or both in one of the worst ways possible?

There are three primary reasons.

The first is the ascent of the therapeutic mentality. Prior to the explosion of psychotherapy, people were governed by “shoulds.” Beginning in the 1960s, however, the therapeutic model replaced the moral model as the guide to one’s behavior. People who lived at that time will recall the phrase, “there are no shoulds.”

I will use a family story to illustrate this point. Despite the fact that his mother was a very difficult woman, my father called her every night, and every night she would yell at him. I heard the yelling because instead of holding it to his ear, my father would place the phone on the kitchen table while she ranted.

Had my father been born a generation later and gone to a therapist where he discussed his mother, if he said how much he dreaded calling his mother, the therapist would likely have led my father to believe there was no reason he should talk to her. And a culture that declared, “there are no shoulds,” would have concurred. The therapist would have declared my grandmother “toxic” and thereby given my father the green light to avoid calling her.

But my father lived in the age of shoulds, and he was a religious Jew who had been taught the Ten Commandments since childhood — the Fifth of which commands us, “Honor your father and mother.” Moreover, he believed, as did most Americans, that the Ten Commandments were given by God.

In our post-biblical age, there are no Ten Commandments. In fact, there are no commandments, period. That’s what “no shoulds” was all about — no Commandments. Instead, you do what you feel is right. If you don’t feel like talking to your mother or father, you don’t. My father, governed by the Ten Commandments and many other shoulds, called his mother every night despite the fact that he rarely felt like doing so.

Though the Bible commands us to love our neighbor, love the stranger and love God, there is no commandment to love our parents. On the other hand, there is no commandment to honor anyone except our parents.

A second reason for the Ignore-Parents (IP) pandemic is parental alienation. This is usually caused by one parent against the other during and/or after a divorce — frequently, though certainly not always, by the mother against the father. She is so angry at her husband or soon-to-be ex-husband that she has decided to hurt him in one of the worst possible ways — by convincing one or more of their children that their father is a terrible human being, unworthy of their love, respect and time. The children should therefore not only cease to love him but have nothing to do with him.

A third reason for the IP pandemic is ideological. In these instances, a spouse may be involved, but often it is the decision of the child. This is the newest reason for ignoring parents. I suspect few of us ever encountered parents whose children did not speak to them because of how the parent voted. As much as Democrats and other liberals hated Richard Nixon, it is hard to imagine a grown man or woman in the late ’60s or early ’70s refusing to speak to a parent because the parent voted for Nixon. But there are probably hundreds of thousands of parents who voted for Donald Trump who have a child who will not speak to them because of that vote — or because the parent holds some conservative value such as that marriage should be defined as the union of a man and a woman.

For the record, I am not speaking about myself. My two sons and two stepsons and I speak regularly, love one another and share values. But I know how lucky I am. I have written this column because I have spoken with an inordinate number of wonderful people who have a child or even children who do not speak with them.

Yes, there are times when a parent is so pathological or evil — or when it is the parent who has chosen to ignore a child — that communication is essentially impossible. But in general, the infliction of such pain on a parent is about as great an act of cruelty as most people will ever inflict on another human being. If there is a God who gave the Ten Commandments, these people will be judged accordingly. 

WHAT'S WRONG, GUAM?

By Tim Rohr

Enigma - a person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand.

"Enigma." 

That's the word I was searching for to describe Guam, though it still falls short of what I'm still looking for. 

How else to describe a place and a people who - perhaps more than any other single ethnicity in today's world - so very much value family, ancestry, history, and continuity of culture - I speak here of the CHamoru - and at the same time not only embraces, but militates radically for its own self-extermination?

SOURCE

I speak of the CHamoru "love affair" with abortion, which, as the above horrible facts demonstrate, is monstrously aimed at the CHamoru unborn - and, if the now-governor had her way - even the already born. *

* In 2013, the now-governor testified against legislation that would mandate normal medical care for children who survive a failed abortion - functionally advocating for letting the child die unattended.

None other than frontline CHamoru culture warrior, Michael Bevacqua, has publicly argued in support of killing the unborn - even (or especially) if they are CHamoru - as a sacred CHamoru cultural practice. 

And of course there is the election and re-election of Guam's most infamous and radical advocate for killing the unborn, our current governor, Lourdes Leon Guerrero, who, during her entire time as governor thus far, has spared no expense or resource in her anguished quest to provide for the killing of evermore Guam babies - most of whom - as reports show - would be of her own CHamoru blood.

In 2008, the pro-life organization known as American United for Life, did a 50 state study to determine which states provided the most and least legal protections for the unborn. Guam was not included in the study, however, a friend and I used the AUL criteria to see where Guam would rank. 

Guam ranked last. In other words, in 2008, Guam was the easiest place in the nation to procure an abortion, and, in fact, Guam had held that distinction for at least three decades, i.e. more or less after the Guam Legislature fell silent on abortion upon the disastrous demise of P.L. 20-134, aka "Belle's Law," (1990-1992). 

THIRTY-THREE years later, Guam, even post-Dobbs, still leads the nation as the place most favorable for killing the unborn, and in fact is "the only place in the United States...where Roe has continuing vitality:"

"...the Territory of Guam is the only place within the United States’ territorial jurisdiction where Roe has continuing vitality."

- Case No. 23-15602, IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT GUAM SOCIETY OF OBSTETRICIANS AND GYNECOLOGISTS, ET AL., Plaintiffs-Appellees v. DOUGLAS MOYLAN, Defendant-Appellant v. LOURDES LEON GUERRERO, Defendants-Appellees. On Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Guam, No. 1:90-cv-13 (Tydingco-Gatewood, J.), APPELLANT’S OPENING BRIEF, Pg. 12.

To further exacerbate the "enigma," Guam is perhaps the most Catholic place in the world per capita. 

What's wrong, Guam? 

As the record now shows, for decades, a sexually-ravenous clergy - all the way up to our bishops - ate our children while we buried our heads in novenas, rosaries, and processions; and most recently we happily elected and re-elected, as our governor, the most publicly vicious advocate of fetal homicide ever to run for office - and we did that twice. 

Something is wrong. Something is very, very wrong. And whoever is in control of selecting Guam's next bishop...must needs know this. 

Meanwhile, we would do well to remember that mercy has a limit:

"Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies." - Rom. 1:24 (NAB)

GOOD NIGHT JIMMY BUFFET

By Tim Rohr

So, a bit ago, via FB, I learned of the death of Jimmy “Margaritaville” Buffet. 

I wasn’t necessarily a fan when he was big, mostly because I was living in the same Caribbean he was singing about at the time, and there was little access to any media other than what local stations were playing which was mostly reggae, soca, and calypso (and not Jimmy Buffet). 

Buffet’s music played to a mostly imprisoned, citified youth who could only fantasize about the Margaritaville I was living in during the early 1980’s. And it was a real Margaritaville…except of course that in the Caribbean islands I lived in, very few drank Margaritas…or even knew what they were. 

The drink of choice was “rum and coke,” or “rum and orange,” or “rum and anything,” or sometimes just rum, since at 99cents a fifth (in those days) the rum was cheaper than anything you could add to it. 

So economics prevailed and margaritas never competed with Cruzan Rum (made in St. Croix, Virgin Islands only a bike ride away from my home in those days). 

Someday (I promise) I will write a book - or at least an extended blog post - about those heady, youthful days in St. Croix when rum was cheaper than water or cheese.

But, for the purposes of this short post, I want to recall the night I spent “in Margaritaville.” 

It was many years after I had lived and left St. Croix, moved to Guam, married, and raised a family of 11 children.

It was August, 2018. 

I had spent nearly 48 hours flying to the other side of this planet to “visit” my two youngest children who had been functionally abducted from Guam a year earlier and relocated to St. Croix, Virgin Islands. It wasn’t a court-ordered visit, but it was close to it. Attorneys were involved and I was permitted two 90 minute SUPERVISED visits over the course of a couple days. 

It was a really terrible time. (The police were called on me three times - another story.)

To get to St. Croix, I flew from Guam to Japan to Newark to Puerto Rico, where I arrived about 9pm where I would have to overnight in the PR airport until 11am the next morning to catch the 20 minute puddle-jumper to St. Croix. 

It was a familiar route to me, even though the last time I had taken such a route was nearly 40 years earlier when I first relocated to St. Croix in 1981 to teach at a local high school. 

The PR airport, at 9pm, or at least the terminal I was in, was deserted, hard, and cold. There was not a piece of carpet to lie on; and the hard, cold, ancient linoleum-tiled floor was freezing. I was in terminal B. And at the entrance to terminal B was a restaurant with the emblazoned name “Margaritaville.” 

It was closed. 

I lay on the cold linoleum floor with my head on one bag and my feet on another. I had the presence of mind to wear a suit jacket on this trip, not because I wanted to wear a suit jacket, but because it had lots of pockets for things like passports and such. 

I thrust the suit jacket over me and thought of my beloved youngest children who I hadn’t seen in over a year as I stared at the word “Margaritaville” and watched the biggest rats I had seen since I last lived in the Caribbean scurrying about Margaritaville helping themselves to whatever last night’s patrons had left on the floor. 

It was a long cold night. A very long cold night. I made it to St. Croix the next day and saw my children.

But it would be 5 more years of many more cold nights before at least one of them could be mine again. 

Good night Jimmy Buffet. Thanks for keeping me company in Puerto Rico. If for only that one good deed, I pray you make it to heaven and aren’t “wasting away” somewhere else. 

Thanks,

Your Friend, Tim

As a P.S., the following is from a story on Breitbart:

The song (Margaritaville) soon inspired restaurants and resorts, turning Buffett’s alleged desire for the simplicity of island life into a multimillion brand. He landed at No. 13 in Forbes’ America’s Richest Celebrities in 2016 with a net worth of $550 million.

Of course, those of us who live the "island life," really, know that there is nothing "simple" about it at all and that it is in fact notoriously complicated. Yet...those of us who live here...choose it...for reasons that don't make sense...even to us sometimes. And that's just fine.