5/21/2009
New Polls Show Pro-Lifers are NOT minority
Mainstream media and the Obama Administration would like to make us think we’re the only ones with these views, but according to Pew, Gallup, Fox News and Rasmussen Reports, it turns out we’re the majority.

What Americas say from the latest Rasmussen Report

Abortion is morally wrong most of the time.
58% of Americans agree
25% of Americans disagree

Abortion is morally wrong most of the time.
64% of women agree
51% of men agree

It’s too easy to get an abortion in America.
52% agree
13% say it’s too hard
21% just right

The new Rasmussen poll also asked Americans about the recent decision by the Obama administration to allow 17-year-old girls to purchase the morning after pill without consulting with a doctor or getting parental permission.

66% say 17 year-olds should be required to consult a physician before taking the pill
27% say no

What this might mean:
“New Poll May Reveal 'Obama Effect' on Americans' Abortion Views Says Fr. Pavone”


Read more about…

The Rasmussen Report
“Fourth Poll This Month Shows U.S. Public Opinion Trending Pro-Life on Abortion”

Gallup Poll
“More Americans ‘Pro-Life’ Than ‘Pro-Choice’ for First Time”

Pew Research
“New Pew Poll Shows Support for Legal Abortion Drops to Lowest Level in 15 Years”

Fox News Poll
“Poll: Majority of Americans Are Pro-Life for the First Time”
Notre Dame – The Aftermath: More footage from students’ Alternative Commencement
Fort Wayne-South Bend Bishop John D’Arcy speaks at Alternative Commencement Sunday while President Obama’s speaks inside the auditorium.
Funding for Adult Stem Cells Reaches Close Vote in Texas -- Call your Rep. to support!
Yesterday, the Texas Senate passed SB 73 by Sen. Jane Nelson (R-Lewisville) to create an Adult Stem Cell Research Consortium in Texas. The bill will advance and commercialize adult stem cell research and treatments already being performed at more than 30 locations in Texas, helping to create high-paying jobs and attract top researchers to the state.

With less than two weeks before the State Legislature session ends, the bill still has to be approved by the Texas House of Representatives in order to become a law.

"This bill puts patients first," says Joe Pojman, Ph.D., the executive director of Texas Alliance for Life. "We commend Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst, Senator Nelson, and the Texas Senate. They are moving the state beyond the ethical and practical problems of using embryonic stem cells into the promising world of adult stem cell treatments that have already saved thousands of lives."

(see previous blog entry on difference between embryonic and adult stem cells and the Church’s position)

"Because adult stem cells treatments are highly effective and do not harm the donor, we strongly support the state's continued investment in this promising medical technology. No treatments are available using embryonic stem cells," Pojman adds.

Texas Alliance for Life has produced a series of four videos in support of SB 73 that feature Texans successfully treated in Texas using adult stem cells. Their conditions include sickle cell anemia, heart disease, cancer, and debilitating joint injury.

UT Swimmer Competing in Record Time After Injury Thanks to Adult Stem Cells



Leukemia-Free for Ten Years Thanks to Adult Stem Cells!



Heart attack victim healed by Adult stem cells



Adult stem cells cure Dallas boy of sickle cell anemia




Do something!
Call your Texas State Representative and tell them that you want them to support SB 73. Don’t know your Rep? Use your zip code to look them up at http://www3.capwiz.com/afanet/dbq/officials/ .


Sample phone or email message:
My name is ________. I live at ________. I am a constituent, and I want Representative _________ to support SB 73.

Taking two minutes to make a phone call could help save the lives of hundreds of Texans!

5/19/2009
Notre Dame - The Aftermath: Breaking down the controversy
You have to give President Barack Obama credit for one thing. The man knows how to put on a show. That’s exactly what he did during his speech at the Notre Dame commencement Sunday.

My reaction to watching the footage of the most pro-abortion president our nation has ever had stand up at a Catholic institution, address a packed Catholic audience, and receive thunderous applause and a standing ovation, was, I’m sure, a lot like every faithful Catholic’s reaction. It was enough to make my stomach turn.

Why this is important:
A. Despite his good looks and good PR, most of President Obama’s ideology on life and family issues is in direct contrast to Catholic Church teaching.

B. Notre Dame is supposedly “the premier Catholic university of America.”

The Wrong Message: If the premier Catholic university of America is letting a pro-abortion president have the podium and giving him an honorary degree, this looks like the Catholic Church is saying “It’s okay. Our values on life are really not that important. You’re right. We should move along with the times and embrace what the culture is telling us about accepting abortion. We’ve been so foolish to hold on to our antiquated teachings. Thank you President Obama for coming and opening our eyes to the whole truth.”

It produces columns like this Editorial: Obama deftly calms culture war passions that get it completely wrong.

What the media doesn’t get:
The Catholic Church is NOT a popularity contest. Pope Benedict is not going to change the teachings of the Catholic Church just because people call him names and say they hate him. Jesus was hated, Jesus was persecuted. He told us that the Church and those who stand by her will also be persecuted. Most of the apostles were martyrs for sticking by Christ’s teachings. And 2,000 years later, as faithful Catholics and disciples, we are also called to continue to stand by those teachings, no matter what mainstream society says.

Protection for the dignity of life from conception to natural death is and will always be the teaching of the Church. People who stand up for these rights are not “radicals,” they’re faithful.

Why “fair-minded words” aren't working:
A president with a mind truly on uniting not dividing would not have taken this invitation to Notre Dame. President Obama ignored the protests of over 350,000 American citizens to not come to Notre Dame. He also ignored the almost 70 Catholic bishops who voiced their opposition. He even met with Chicago Cardinal Francis George for a 30-minute sit down, at the end of which Cardinal George said Obama was on the “wrong side of history,” and “not as hopeful now as I was when he was first elected” at finding common ground.

A similar situation went down when Pope Benedict XVI met with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in February this year after Pelosi, a self-proclaimed “Catholic” gave incorrect public statements about the teachings of the Catholic Church and abortion.

We should never give up hope on conversion and working to build positive conversations with our opponents, but it seems like it just goes in one ear and out the other with the Obama Administration.

Why this is just the beginning:
If a pro-abortion president can garner a standing ovation from a speech at a Catholic university’s graduation, there’s no telling where this could go.

What we do know is this is definitely a game-changer.
Notre Dame – The Aftermath: Looking at those who said ‘No’
As President Obama was descending from Air Force One, Norma McCorvy, the original “Roe” from Roe vs. Wade spoke out against Obama’s presence at the formally premier Catholic university of America.




Catholic talk radio host Laura Ingraham brings to light President Obama’s fierce pro-abortion record and talks about what it means to be a real Catholic on this issue.




Sue Syr, a Dallas/Fort Worth sidewalk counselor and mother, is interviewed by FOX News on Sunday before the President speaks at graduation commencement.


5/18/2009
Notre Dame – The Aftermath: The ‘Alternative’ to dissention
Here’s what you missed this weekend in case you couldn’t go to South Bend, Indiana for the peaceful protests against President Barack Obama speaking at Notre Dame University.

Notre Dame University seniors who decided not to attend their commencement ceremony in protest of the university's decision to grant President Barack Obama an honorary law degree instead held a meditation in the university's grotto to coincide with the official commencement.

ND Response, the student-led coalition who planed the meditation, said Notre Dame should not be honoring a political figure who supports abortion and stem cell research. Watch the video.


The meditation was led by Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, as part of a two-day rally officially sanctioned by the university.

Read Fr. Frank Pavone’s “My Day at Notre Dame”

Fort Wayne-South Bend bishop Rev. John D'Arcy, led a candlelight prayer vigil for graduating seniors and their families to pray for an end to abortion and embryo research.

And at least one Catholic priest was arrested.

5/14/2009
Report of Spanish Marriage Congress
From the CPLC Director of Spanish Ministry, Aurora Tinajero.

I wanted to give you a report regarding this weekend's Marriage Congress that was co-sponsored by Spanish Ministry and Nuestra Señora del Pilar Parish. It was a historic event that covered the essential elements to truly transform the culture of death to a culture of life and to promote and defend the family as God intended it to be. There were couples from many different parishes in attendance.

Father Wilmer Daza and I, along with a team of volunteers from both his parish and Spanish Ministry, planned this event not really knowing what the response would be in light of the fact that within the Spanish-speaking community, there are two extremes, those who hold on to the traditional style of marriage and family, and those who have adopted living together and contracepting as a way of life. Our invitation was aimed at the latter, since they were the ones who needed to hear our message. We understood that we were taking a risk because they are also the ones who don't want to hear it.

We registered the limit of 100 couples, but by the afternoon session, we had couples show up who had been invited by the morning couples to come to hear what was being presented. We decided to not turn anyone away. So our morning session was full and our afternoon session was even fuller.

Couples stood in the back and in the aisles taking in every word that was shared by the speakers. I was the MC of the event and the speakers were Father Wilmer (our 2006 Pro-life Pastor of the Year), Martha Garza (an NFP-only OB-GYN from San Antonio and nationally known speaker), and Adolfo Castaneda (who is the "Defend Life" radio show host on EWTN Global Radio and studied the Theology of the Body at the Angelicum in Rome).

Adolfo covered two very important topics to set the tone of the event, "The Mystery of the Creation of Man and Woman," and, "The Spousal Nature of the Human Body."

Father Wilmer covered "Marriage: A Sacrament or a Free Union," and Martha covered, "The Physical and Spiritual Effects of Contraception" and "NFP - The Effective and Prudent Methods." She explained the risks of each artificial method with a powerful powerpoint presentation and she gave a basic understanding of how each of the NFP methods work. It was an extraordinary presentation. The couples asked that we please waive the breaks and instead just continue with the presentations - they didn't want the speakers to stop!

During the lunch break, we videotaped different couples talking about their relationships and we were truly impressed with their openness and transparency.The last hour before our closing Mass, we had a panel discussion and one of the questions was whether or not they wanted to continue having these types of events and how often, once or twice a year. They yelled "three or more!" Dr. Martha and Adolfo said it was one of their favorite congresses (Martha said it made her want to move to Dallas!) and Father Wilmer was very moved by the end hearing the couples express their gratitude for the congress.

This event showed me that through these types of formational teachings, we can help eliminate many of the evils that are threatening life and family in these difficult times. It was very, very hard work but I want to thank Edith and Sam, Laura, Omar and his parents, and the rest of SM volunteers, for faithfully serving in so many ways. You guys truly saved the day! I think we all agree it was more than worth being so tired you can't take another step to see what God can do when we obey Him!

We plan to take the event to other parishes - Father Eduardo from the Cathedral already asked to host the next one.
Awesome: Fr. Pavone tells Notre Dame grads: "Don't Show up!"
"Hundreds of thousands of Catholics, hundreds of priests, and dozens of bishops have called upon Notre Dame to end this scandal by withdrawing its invitation to President Obama. The result of that demand is not in our control. But one final response to this scandal is fully in the control of each graduating senior: don’t show up."

" . . . the fact that many don't have a problem with Barack Obama sitting in a place of honor at a Catholic Commencement is simply a corollary of the underlying problem that so many don't have a problem with Barack Obama sitting in the White House."

Read the whole thing here.

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5/13/2009
'Repeating the big lie often enough convinces the public' says former abortionist
Hillary Clinton May Have Misled Congress on Brazil Botched Abortion Claims

Read the full story from Lifenews.com


In a statement sent to LifeNews.com, Smith said he wasn't surprised that Clinton may have exaggerated what she saw.

“This is part of a longstanding problem of abortion advocates making unverifiable and/or bogus statements about abortion data and then using the information to try and craft bad policy," he said. "Pro-abortion activists have a long history of making these type of unsubstantiated claims. That’s how they drive policy—with gross exaggeration of numbers, hyperbole and junk science."

Smith says he is reminded of the comments of Dr. Bernard Nathanson, a former abortion practitioner and director of NARAL, who is now pro-life.

While Nathanson "told the media that 10,000 women were dying from illegal abortions in the U.S. every year, he later admitted this was all lies. Nathanson said the actual figure of women dying from illegal abortions was around 200-250 annually."

Nathanson was quoted as saying: “Repeating the big lie often enough convinces the public."
5/08/2009
Video: Fr. Corapi speaks out against Obama at Notre Dame
Fr. Corapi, a powerful speaker known for his radical conversion, posted this video to Youtube yesterday.


In addition to thanking those who signed the petition against Obama coming to Notre Dame, Fr. Corapi thanks the almost 70 Bishops who have already taken a stand, commending them for their leadership and giving Catholics hope. Here's some of what he said.

“No president in history has been so damaging for the cause for respect for life as this one [President Barack Obama], and it’s only just begun…This man, the University of Notre Dame invites in to receive an honorary doctorate degree and deliver the commencement address?

Whether intended or not, this sends a terrible message to the Catholic world and to the world at large. A picture is worth a thousand words. Which thousand words will be articulated to an already morally relativistic culture by the picture of Mr. Obama receiving such honors from a Catholic university? Metaphorically and morally, it’s like shooting yourself in the foot.

So, Notre Dame limps on.

Many of you did what you could to prevent this travesty from actually happening. I want to sincerely thank the more than 350,000 that signed the petition of protest making a singular public statement against Notre Dame’s obvious lack of good judgment that not only dilutes the university’s Catholic credibility and identity but undermines the authentically Catholic identity and credibility of the Church in this county. ..

If indeed we choose prestige over principle and popularity over morality, then we become part of the problem not part of the solution…

Pray for the university of Notre Dame, pray for our Bishops for in the end, the burden will rest on their shoulders to decide if Catholic universities like Notre Dame are Catholic or not.

Fight the good fight… Truth will triumph over lies.”

Amen Father. Preach on.

40 Days for Life: 433 lives saved and counting
One of my first experiences with the pro-life movement was holding a pro-life sign on a sidewalk near HWY 635 and Macarthur Blvd. with about 15 other people as part of the Dallas 40 Days for Life “Life Chain.” Standing there on a Sunday afternoon in 2007, I felt so strong in unity with the people doing the same thing as me in small towns and big cities all over the country in solidarity for life.

A couple of people shouted rude comments at us as they drove by, but for the most part, people honked approvingly, gave thumbs up and some even stopped to ask what we were doing and how they could be involved.

I was just holding a sign for an hour, but for the first time in a while, I felt like I was actually doing something instead of just wishing I could do something.

It was my favorite ministry work that I did that year. I couldn’t wait to do it again in 2008. So, I did. And this time, there were about 30 of us, and we took up both sides of the street. And more people shouted rudely, and more people gave thumbs up and asked how they could get involved. The positive reaction was something only the Holy Spirit could inspire.

40 Days for Life started here in Texas at Texas A&M in 2004 and had its first national campaign in 2007. David Bereit, 40 Days for Life National Director, put this video out after their spring 2009 campaign ended recently. It takes a couple of seconds to start up, but stay with it. It's a great reminder of how a lot of change can come from just a little bit of effort from all of us.



Visit the 40 Days for Life website to see how you can get involved.

5/06/2009
New video: Heart attack victim healed by Adult stem cells

The Texas Alliance for Life has been doing yoeman's work raising awareness about the cures that adult stem cells have been effecting and the need for more research in Texas. Bills have been introduced in the Texas Legislature that would create an adult stem cell research consortium, making Texas the leader in the nation on this issue.

Below is the second in a series of videos that highlight the miraculous work that these stem cells have done, in this case a Austin business owner and his complete recovery from a heart attack.

More information is available here.

"Many people are not aware that there are two types of stem cells -- adult and embryonic.

Research and treatments using adult stem cells do not harm the donors. Furthermore, adult stem cells have already been used to successfully treat and often cure more than 70 diseases, including heart disease, cancer, sickle cell anemia, diabetes, and many more.

We oppose research using embryonic stem cells because these can only be obtained by destroying human embryos -- innocent human beings at the very earliest stages of life. Some supporters of embryonic stem cell research also advocate for the creation of human embryos for research through cloning. Embryonic stem cell research has demonstrated no cures whatsoever after years of expensive research, draining sparse funding dollars away from the far more promising adult stem cell research.

We urge the Texas Legislature to PUT PATIENTS FIRST by funding adult, not embryonic, stem cell research.

SB 73/HB 2379 will create a Texas Adult Stem Cell Research Consortium that will put patients first by attracting top researchers to the state and helping to commercialize successful adult stem cell treatments. Adult stem cells have already successfully treated more than 70 diseases."





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5/01/2009
‘100 Days of Death’ for Obama Administration
My friend Matt Warner has some good truth to share on his blog, Fallible Blogma, today. Here are some exerts. Click here to read the whole article.

“Obama has been a busy guy over his first 100 days of his presidency. And he’s definitely had a lot of tough challenges thrown on his plate. Amazingly, on top of being able to spend the most money in the history of the world during one of our worst economies, he hasn’t forgotten at all about his promises to the abortion industry…

…The abortion industry gave Obama 15 demands when he got elected. His administration has already accomplished or is already progressing on 10 out of these 15.”
Read the List

Here are a couple demands I find most disturbing.

Demand: Choose pro-abortion Federal appointees
Achieved: Nominated Kathleen Sebelius, Janet Napolitano, David Ogden, Elena Kagan, Ellen Moran, Dawn Johnsen, and more

Why this is scary: Before their appointments to these positions, they were fighting hard to make sure the abortion (Sebelius, Napolitano, Kagan, Moran, Johnsen) and pornography industries (Ogden) stayed strong and same-sex “marriage” became legalized. Now, these people are head of our country’s health care system and national security, and they speak for the President in the courts and in the media.

At least one of them (see previous blog post on DHS Report and Napolitano) is already putting out the word that those who support life and our country should be looked at as possible terrorist threats.

Demand: Reverse the pro-life Mexico City Policy, which said that if the U.S. gave money to non-governmental organizations in other countries, they had to agree not to use the money for abortions as a method of family planning
Achieved: Obama signed an Executive Order on January 23, 2009 reversing the policy

Why this is scary: Only three days after he is sworn in as President, Obama makes this one of his first orders. That’s how serious the man is about giving OUR tax dollars to other countries to make sure they have enough money to kill their children.

Remember these are only two of 15 pro-abortion measures he’s taken.

If after only his first three and a half months in office, President Obama thinks this is the best way to go about “working together to find our common ground,” then things are definitely going to get a lot worse before they get better. And better happens when more people start waking up, looking at the truth of the situation and getting involved.

Until then, more ‘enchanted’ press conferences and not getting a straight answer to questions that affect the American people.