Al Kresta's Blog, page 341

Today on Kresta - March 14, 2011

Talking about the "things that matter most" on March 14

4:00 – Unplanned: The Dramatic True Story of a Former Planned Parenthood Leader's Eye-Opening Journey across the Life Line
Abby Johnson quit her job in October 2009. That simple act became a national news story because Abby was the director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas who, after participating in her first actual abortion procedure, walked across the road to join the Coalition for Life. Unplanned is a heart stopping personal drama of life-and-death encounters, a courtroom battle, and spiritual transformation that speaks hope and compassion into the political controversy that surrounds this issue. Telling Abby's story from both sides of the abortion clinic property line, hew book is a must-read for anyone who cares about the life versus rights debate and helping women who face crisis pregnancies.

4:20 – Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper
In recent years, Christians everywhere are rediscovering the Jewish roots of their faith. Every year at Easter time, many believers now celebrate Passover meals (known as Seders) seeking to understand exactly what happened at Jesus' final Passover, the night before he was crucified. Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist shines fresh light on the Last Supper by looking at it through Jewish eyes. Using his in-depth knowledge of the Bible and ancient Judaism, Dr. Brant Pitre answers questions such as: What was the Passover like at the time of Jesus? What were the Jewish hopes for the Messiah? What was Jesus' purpose in instituting the Eucharist during the feast of Passover? And, most important of all, what did Jesus mean when he said, "This is my body… This is my blood"? He is with us to answer those questions.

5:00 – Waging War to Make Peace: U.S. Intervention in Global Conflicts
The controversial principle of a "responsibility to protect" asserts that nations have an obligation to stop genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity beyond their borders, even by the use of force. With the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the current protests spreading all across the Middle East, we once more raise the age-old question of: under what conditions do countries intervene in other country's affairs? Susan Yoshihara , author of Waging War to Make Peace: U.S. Intervention in Global Conflicts, joins us.

5:20 – First Anglican Ordinariate Formally Established
Supremacy and Survival - How Catholics Endured the English Reformation
The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, under the patronage of Blessed John Henry Newman, has set up by decree of the Vatican. It is the first Ordinariate formally established to welcome former Anglicans into full union with the Catholic Church. Stephanie Mann has been following these developments closely and is here to tell the story of the Catholic Church's survival and restoration in England.

Amazing Secnes from the Japan Quake / Tsunami

Lord Jesus, Who went about doing good and healing all, we ask You to bless all of those who are injured and sick due to the earthquake / tsunami in Japan. O Jesus, You suffered and died for us; You understand suffering. Give them and all who come to their aid strength in body, courage in spirit, and patience in pain. Calm their fears; increase their trust. And bless all who hasten to their aid. Amen.

"Underground" Chinese bishop dead at 95

"Underground" Bishop Andrew Hao Jinli of Xiwanzi, northern Hebei province, died at Gonghui village church at the age of 95.
He died on March 9 shortly after receiving the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, Church sources said. The police soon sealed off all roads leading to the village and Catholics from outside cannot pay their last tribute.

Funeral arrangements are unknown yet as all information is blocked, the sources continued, adding that a few priests who have obtained government recognition may preside over the funeral.

Bishop Hao, who was not recognized by the Chinese government, had been in poor health and was confined to a wheelchair for years.

Church sources said his health worsened last month, but police did not allow laypeople to send him to a hospital. They even installed surveillance cameras at his residence and forbade anyone to visit him.

"Bishop Hao died on Ash Wednesday. He had suffered hardships with Jesus Christ throughout his life and will resurrect with Him too," one of the sources said.

Another described the prelate as "warm-hearted and loyal to his episcopate." He had brought up a batch of young priests, who could do pastoral work independently.

Thus the sources believed regular Church activities would not be affected, though personnel arrangements and decisions on Church affairs would become difficult due to the vacant see as Auxiliary Bishop Leo Yao Liang had also passed away in 2009.

Bishop Hao was born into a Catholic family in 1916 – his two brothers were also priests – and ordained in 1943. He was sentenced to 10 years' jail because of his faith in 1958. Then he was sent to Gonghui for reform-through-labor. Upon his release in 1981, he returned to serve as a parish priest.

He was clandestinely ordained as a bishop in 1984 and succeeded Bishop Melchior Zhang Kexing as the ordinary of Xiwanzi four years later. Since then he had worked under government surveillance until hampered by serious diabetes and deafness in the last decade.

Catholicism was introduced to Xiwanzi more than 300 years ago. In the 19th century, the village became the center of Mongolia's apostolic vicariate and the missionary base of the Congregation of Immaculate Heart of Mary to the extensive region beyond the Great Wall.

The open Church merged Xiwanzi and neighboring Xuanhua diocese to form Zhangjiakou diocese in 1980, but the two underground communities continue to operate despite difficulties.

3,400 converts in Hong Kong

Bishop John Tong of Hong Kong, during the Annual Assembly of the Association of Lay Catholics in Hong Kong announced that "at Easter 3,400 catechumens will be baptised - a noteworthy increase from the 3,040 from last year". According to information on the Association's website, the 52nd Annual Assembly of the Central Council of the Association was held on 2 March at the Santa Croce Centre, with about a hundred participants from various parishes. Bishop John Tong addressed the Assembly, who heard his roundup of the results achieved over the last year and the works in progress for the coming year.

In recent times more than 2,000 are baptised each year in the Diocese of Hong Kong and for the first time, last year, the number rose above 3,000 thanks to the impressive commitment by the diocese and the mobilisation of the laity. Currently the diocese's faithful counts 356,000 members, equivalent to 5% of the Island's population

Fiery Revenge

By Angela Lu
World News Service

At least one Christian is confirmed dead and several others are wounded in attacks in Ethiopia blamed on a large, well-organized group of Muslims, church leaders told Jonathan Racho, International Christian Concern's regional manager for Africa. More than 4,000 Christians in the Jimma area of western Ethiopia have been displaced because of the violence this month. The group also set ablaze 59 buildings and at least 30 homes belonging to Christians over the past week.

The attacks began March 2 after Muslims accused a Christian of tearing up a copy of the Quran in the city of Asendabo. Church leaders claimed the torn Quran was planted as part of a planned attack by an Islamic extremist group that rallied thousands of Muslim to burn Christian buildings and homes starting in Asendabo, and then spreading to Chiltie, Gilgel Gibe, Nada, Dimtu, Uragay, Busa, and Koticha, according to Compass Direct News.

Most of the buildings burned were churches, but a Bible school, two offices for Christian leaders, and an orphanage also were torched.

The Christian killed is believed to have been a member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, according to Compass Direct. Several ministers were injured and many Christians have fled the area for fear of their safety, but the full extent of the attacks is still unknown.

Church leaders say the local police stood by and did nothing as the rampage went on, and it wasn't until military forces were sent to the area by the federal government that the attacks stopped. Authorities have arrested 130 people for instigating religious violence and hatred, according to Voice of America. Military forces are guarding churches and the local officials that had ignored the violence have been removed from their positions.

Church leaders are calling on the government for greater protection for Christians in the area, saying that it is likely such an attack could happen again.

According to the 2007 census, over 60 percent of Ethiopians are Christian and 40 percent are Muslim, but the area in which the attack happened was predominately Muslim.

Attacks on churches and harassment of Christians have been common in the area, a source told Compass Direct, including anti-Christian attacks in western Ethiopia in 2006 that killed 24 people.

Pro-life Legislation in Multiple States and US Congress

Pro-life legislation is on the move across the country, including in South Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas.

A groundbreaking bill in South Dakota would create a template for other states, said Allen Unruh, co-founder of the Alpha Center, a group of pregnancy centers in the state. He said: "It does three things: It stops all coerced abortions. Every woman has to sign an affidavit that she's not being coerced. Second, the abortionist must examine a woman at least 72 hours before an abortion. That's a huge deterrent. Third, it requires a woman to go to a pregnancy care center to get counseling before an abortion."

Pro-abortion groups already have threatened to sue over the measure, which is awaiting Gov. Dennis Daugaard's signature. Life advocates are raising money to defend the bill in court.
The Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that would protect preborn babies after 20 weeks' gestation. The measure passed 94-2 without debate and now goes to the Senate.

In Texas, the House and Senate have approved legislation that would provide a woman with an ultrasound image and details of her preborn baby before an abortion. Once a unified version is approved, it will go to Gov. Rick Perry, who supports it.

On the national level a government shutdown is looming, as the U.S. House and Senate continue to debate spending cuts. The resolution that is funding the government expires March 18. Congress may approve another two-week fix or settle on a bill that would cover costs through the end of September.

Life advocates in the House have included four key pro-life provisions in their spending bill (H.R. 1) and are hoping the Senate will follow suit. The amendments would: defund Planned Parenthood; reinstate the Mexico City Policy, which prevents federal funds from going to international groups that promote or perform abortions; defund the U.N. Population Fund; and stop government-funded abortions in Washington, D.C.

"If we're talking about cutting programs, Planned Parenthood should be on the chopping block," said Ashley Horne, federal policy analyst at CitizenLink. "Its budget is about $1 billion, with one-third of that coming from government grants and contracts."

Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., who authored the amendment to defund Planned Parenthood, said life advocates must "seize this moment in history." "We have never been closer to defunding Planned Parenthood since 1973," he told supporters.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who chairs the Republican Study Committee's Budget & Spending Task Force, said life advocates are prepared for a fight. "We need to stop this crazy spending," he said Monday. "Taxpayers should not be used to take the life of unborn children. There is an opportunity to get to the end zone on this particular issue."

Two More Philadelphia-Area Abortion Clinics Shuttered Following Inspections

In early November, two Philadelphia-area abortion clinics closed and the abortionist retired after a state inspection revealed nightmarish conditions at the facilities. Then Pennsylvania officials waited more than three months to say anything about the case.

Only after a drug raid in February 2010 revealed horrific conditions at the Philadelphia abortion clinic of Kermit Gosnell did the state Health Department decide to inspect all of the state's 22 clinics — for the first time in more than 15 years.

In early November, the state discovered disgusting conditions at two separate clinics — including fetal remains in cabinets and outside. Abortionist Soleiman M. Soli, 73, decided to close both of his Abortion as an Alternative Inc. clinics and retire. The reports were provided recently to The Associated Press by the office of Gov. Tom Corbett.

Michael Geer, president of the Pennsylvania Family Institute, said he wasn't shocked by the news. "Are we surprised that inspections at two more Philadelphia-area abortion centers uncovered atrocious, unsanitary conditions? No. We expect more revelations. Are we surprised that 'pro-choice' politicians are still trying to protect the abortion industry? No. It's part and parcel of their practices, and pro-lifers must band together to say 'No more!'"

Gosnell is charged with eight counts of murder in the deaths of a woman and seven babies who were born alive and then killed. Investigators discovered the remains of babies strewn through the clinic.

Just miles away, the scenes were eerily similar.

At Soli's Bensalem clinic, inspectors found the remains of preborn babies left outside the building in unsecured containers, AP reported. Inspectors say drugs and equipment required to resuscitate patients were missing. And they say dozens of expired drugs were found, some dating back decades.

The AP reported that fetal tissue samples were found inside a cabinet at Soli's Philadelphia clinic. Investigators also reported nonworking or missing equipment and expired drugs. They found Soli's lunch was kept in the same refrigerator as the clinic's drugs, according to the AP. "Opened, uncapped needles were also observed lying directly on the floor under the cabinet with the identified medications," inspectors said.

Geer said it's going to take a while to uncover the details in these cases and, likely, others.
"We'll be digging deeper to find out more about what was really found," he said. "There's been more than 15 years of inaction and cover-ups in state government, and we need to make sure no cover-ups continue."

Today on Kresta - Hidden cameras

Today on Kresta - March 11, 2011

Talking about the "things that matter most" on March 11

The Best of Kresta in the Afternoon

4:00 – Kresta Comments: End of the World Set for May 21, 2011?
If there had been time, Marie Exley would have liked to start a family. Instead, the 32-year-old Army veteran says she has less than six months left, which she'll spend spreading a stark warning: Judgment Day is almost here. Exley is part of a movement of Christians loosely organized by radio broadcasts and websites, independent of churches and convinced by their reading of the Bible that the end of the world will begin May 21, 2011. To get the word out, they're using billboards and bus stop benches, traveling caravans of RVs and volunteers passing out pamphlets on street corners. Al has some comments.

4:20 – Green Bay bishop becomes first in US to approve Marian apparitions
Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay has approved the Marian apparitions seen by Adele Brise in 1859, making the apparitions of Mary that occurred some 18 miles northeast of Green Bay the first in the United States to receive approval of a diocesan bishop. Bishop Ricken made the announcement during Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. More than 250 invited guests filled the shrine chapel to hear Bishop Ricken read the official decree on the authenticity of the apparitions. He also issued a second decree, formally approving the shrine as a diocesan shrine. We talk about this apparition with Jimmy Akin of Catholic Answers.

4:40 – Father John Harvey, founder of Courage, dead at 92
Father John Harvey , the founder of the Courage apostolate, died on December 27 in Maryland at the age of 92. Born in Philadelphia, John Harvey made his first vows as an Oblate of St. Frances de Sales in 1938, and was ordained in 1944. In 1980, with encouragement from Cardinal Terence Cooke of New York, Father Harvey founded Courage, a group dedicated to helping loyal Catholics cope with a same-sex attraction, living chastely in accordance with Church teachings. Under his leadership Courage grew to include more than 100 chapters around the world. Father Harvey is the author of The Homosexual Person. He remained active as director of Courage until 2008, when at the age of 90 he handed over leadership responsibilities to Father Paul Check. He appeared many times on Kresta in the Afternoon and we take this opportunity to pay him tribute.

5:00 – Catholic Hospitals vs. the Bishops
The severing of ties two weeks ago between the Catholic Church and St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix, Ariz., is the latest example of the fraying relationship between the bishops and Catholic hospital administrators. In recent years, some Catholic hospitals have taken greater liberties, authorizing abortions and sterilization procedures that the church strictly prohibits. Earlier this year, for instance, Bishop Robert Vasa, bishop of the Diocese of Baker, Ore., ended the church's sponsorship of St. Charles Medical Center in Bend over the hospital's performance of tubal ligations. But the Phoenix case breaks new ground. In explaining his decision, Bishop Thomas Olmsted, bishop of the Phoenix Diocese, was the first to explicitly point to the role played by Catholic theologians in providing theological cover for "a litany of practices in direct conflict with Catholic teachings." Anne Hendershott is here to look at how administrators are shopping for theologians to support practices that conflict with Church teachings.

5:20 – Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child
Play dates, "helicopter parenting," No Child Left Behind, video games, political correctness: these and other insidious trends in child rearing and education are now the hallmarks of childhood. As author Anthony Esolen demonstrates in his elegantly written, often wickedly funny new book, almost everything we are doing to children now constricts their imaginations, usually to serve the ulterior motives of the constrictors. Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child takes square aim at these accelerating trends, while offering parents—and children—hopeful alternatives. Esolen shows how imagination is snuffed out at practically every turn: in the rearing of children almost exclusively indoors; in the flattening of love to sex education; in the loss of traditional childhood games; in the refusal to allow children to organize themselves into teams; in the dismissal of the power of memory, which creates the worst of all possible worlds in school—drudgery without even the merit of imparting facts; in the strict separation of the child's world from the adult's; and in the denial of the transcendent, which places a low ceiling on the child's developing spirit and mind. Anthony joins us.

Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection