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Don't buy what the mainstream media is selling. This is not about birth control or "those crazy Catholics."





UPDATE: "Senate votes, 51-48, to table the Blunt Amendment, which would have allowed employers and insurers to opt out of parts of the Obama health care law -- in particular, birth control -- on moral or religious grounds."


Click HERE to read the USCCB News Release


How did Catholic Senators vote? Read about it at the National Catholic Register.

The Copyrighted Catholic

Michael Voris.  You've seen him on +Ponderings+ and elsewhere on the internet.  He's the energetic guy with a whole lot of zeal for the Church and a double blessing of hair on his head.  Never afraid to speak his mind, and always doing so out of his undying love for Christ and His Church, Mr. Voris sometimes ends up in the spotlight himself.  Having been on the receiving end of poor catechesis in his youth, Mr. Voris has apparently made it his life mission to expose cafeteria Catholicism for the evil that it is and to lead the stray sheep back to the fold.  He unapologetically has exposed many issues which he backs with evidence gained by lengthy research and shares the information and sources for others to use in discernment.

On December 15, 2011, the Archdiocese of Detroit released the following statement:

The Church encourages the Christian faithful to promote or sustain a variety of apostolic undertakings but, nevertheless, prohibits any such undertaking from claiming the name Catholic without the consent of the competent ecclesiastical authority (see canon 216 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law). For some time, the Archdiocese of Detroit has been in communication with Mr. Michael Voris and his media partner at Real Catholic TV regarding their prominent use of the word "Catholic" in identifying and promoting their public activities disseminated from the enterprise's production facility in Ferndale, Michigan. The Archdiocese has informed Mr. Voris and Real Catholic TV, RealCatholicTV.com, that it does not regard them as being authorized to use the word "Catholic" to identify or promote their public activities. Questions about this matter may be directed to the Archdiocese of Detroit, Department of Communications. Source

Following the release of the statement, there have been heated comments directed toward the Archdiocese and many questions raised.  Canon lawyers have weighed in on both sides and a lot of people have pointed out that some entities use Catholic in their name within the Archdiocese of Detroit, and they are clearly operating in ways contrary to the Catholic faith.  Is the word 'Catholic' copyrighted and just who does and does not have the right to use 'Catholic' in a name?  If some can use Catholic and others cannot, why does it appear that Michael Voris from RealCatholicTV is being called out and others not?  There have been no allegations of wrong-doing made against RealCatholicTV, yet they are being told that they cannot use the word 'Catholic' in their name.  On January 3, 2012 the Archdiocese of Detroit released a follow-up statement:

Subsequent to the release in mid-December, 2011, of a "Statement regarding Real Catholic TV and its name," inquiries have come to the Archdiocesan Department of Communications regarding the timing and need for this particular declaration. The Director of Communications presents this response:

"The Archdiocese of Detroit has been consistent in its statements to and about Real Catholic TV since the fall of 2008. (Regarding RealCatholicTV.com) Due to continued requests made to the Detroit archdiocese for clarification concerning the use of the title Catholic by Real Catholic TV, and to avoid any confusion among the faithful, it was determined a public statement should make clear what has been told to Real Catholic TV, namely, that it does not have the authorization required under Church law to identify or promote itself as Catholic."

Canon Law Commentary In the Light of the Law: blog entries from Dr. Edward Peters, a widely-known lay canon lawyer on the graduate faculty at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.

• Canon law and the statement on Real Catholic TV

• Questions and answers on Real Catholic TV statement       Source

Here is the video response to the story from Michael Voris himself:



Lifesitenews.com has interviewed Fr. Mark Gurtner, Judicial Vicar of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend in Indiana in regard to the matter.  They report on their site:

Speaking as a canon lawyer and not an official of the diocese, Gurtner also said he believes the jurisdiction of the case resides with the Indiana diocese. “It certainly seems to me that canonically Michael Voris would not be the one that this would be imposed on,” he said. “Even though he is the one that regularly appears on (the show) he, in a sense, is really just an employee of (RealCatholicTV.com).” 

“It seems like if the Archdiocese of Detroit is trying to go after (Voris), that’s the wrong person to address this with, that would have to be with the owner of the website or blog,” he added.
“I suppose if this Marc Brammer [owner of RealCatholicTV and Indiana resident] is paying for and running, constructing his blog from our diocese in his home I suppose you could make the argument that we have jurisdiction canonically.” 

When asked by LifeSiteNews what concerns the Detroit Archdiocese had about Voris and RealCatholicTV.com, Detroit Archdiocesan Director of Communications McGrath would not specify any concern other than the use of the word ‘Catholic’. 

Asked if the archdiocese has asked any other group or individual in the archdiocese not to use the name Catholic, McGrath said he couldn’t remember any other cases during his 20 years with the diocese.  “I don’t know. I’ve been here 20 years I can’t say that we’ve never done that in the history of the Archdiocese,” he said. 

Pressed on the point, he said, “I wouldn’t want to say that definitively. But not any that I can recall recently, no.”

What a tangled web and I can't help feeling that I am caught up in it.  Afterall, this is +Catholic Ponderings+ and I cannot tell which, if any, canon law I may or may not be breaking.  I suppose I should just be thankful to not be under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Detroit.  In my opinion, Michael Voris has shined a light on something or someone somewhere and a certain Archbishop didn't like it.  He can tell Mr. Voris to put his lamp under the basket, but I will not.  I don't always agree with Mr. Voris but I love his tenacity.  I can think of a lot of "Catholic" people, universities, and leaders who bear the Catholic trademark, but a nagging inner voice tells me they have clearly ventured into the realm of small 'c' catholicism.

Time to Catch Up

After having scared off regular readers of +Ponderings+ following my long absence, I still feel the need to share what has been going on with me and what you may have missed in the news about our Church.

Me:  I am not one to share much information about myself, not so much out of concern for privacy, but it just goes against the hub of my personality.  On a celebratory note, our family is no longer under the yoke of pay television.  We had the satellite dish disconnected and don't even have an antenna for broadcast television.  We don't miss the junk that came into our home on a daily basis and have discovered some wonderful films and television programs on Netflix.  Out with the Viagra commercials, in with "The Bells of Saint Mary's" and "A Man for all Seasons".

There are two things that have occupied much of my mind and the first I wish to share is this:  Our son who is in 7th grade came home with a permission slip for us to sign last night.  It was for a seminar to be held at our local community college this month with the main theme of tackling bullying.  The program is only for junior high students from all of the local schools and seems quite benign.  He shared that they will have a speaker and then can choose different programs to attend.  Then I found at the bottom a list of sponsors of the 2011 conference - YMCA, our local drug and alcohol abuse council, the college, other similar community organizations and at the tail end of the list was  PLANNED PARENTHOOD.  My reaction was not very contained when I read it and thankfully our son looked at me knowingly and asked, "What?  You saw Planned Parenthood is on the form?"  This was just last night and for fear of losing your interest so soon, I'll cut the details and get to the bottom line.  By 8 a.m. I already had e-mailed the school principal with my concerns and sent Alex to school without the permission slip and written a letter to the editor of the local paper.  After dropping by the school this morning and speaking with the principal about the issue, I drove past our local PP office and stared at the beautiful brick-faced and tastefully trimmed old building, feeling entirely ineffective and helpless. It was almost as if the building was mocking me.

Second, the all-time most popular post on +Ponderings+ is about end of life care.  Find my December 2009 post about how our family is currently facing difficult decisions HERE.  I just updated the entry.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL +PONDERINGS ABOUT END OF LIFE CARE

'Religion of Peace' Attempts to Exterminate Catholicism in the Middle East

What of those Christians in Iraq? Are there any left?

Pope Benedict XVI announced in September 2009 that there will be a Synod of Bishops in the Middle East to address the current crisis in the region. The eastern 'lung' of the Church is on a ventilator and most people in the world are turning a blind eye. Under the guise of political correctness, many world leaders, including Mr. Obama, are more concerned about avoiding 'hurt feelings' among the Muslim world, than the bodies of Christian martyrs piling up.



Below, an appeal from the Bishops and Priests in Iraq:


(Click to enlarge)

What now? A new documentary has been produced by the Charity and Justice organization. Part one is available and here is a description of An Open Door:

The most important aspect of this documentary is to show Iraqi Catholics in their true light, conveying to the world that Catholics in the Middle East are neither terrorists nor refugees. They are people – individuals with a deep faith, rich heritage, and courage. Episode One covers health, with episodes on spirituality, education, contributions of Iraqi Catholics, and employment to follow.

For Catholics to to stay in Iraq, to thrive, and foster positive relations with their Muslim neighbors, and for those who have already migrated due to persecution or poverty to stay connected to their religion and roots, the global Catholic community must work together to provide the opportunities that will enable Iraqi Catholics to shed their refugee status, and become fully participating Iraqi citizens once again.

This will occur through the construction of Catholic schools and hospitals, and development of industry. This is something Iraqis long for and are ready to work for, and a gift for which Iraqi Catholics will be forever grateful to those who can help them.

View part one of An Open Door below:

Anglican 'Priest' is 'Swimming the Tiber' - Deo Gratias!

Please view the entire announcement on Jeffrey Steel's blog HERE.

"In my heart, I knew that I had grown to love and believe the Catholic faith as it was taught in the Catholic Catechism. On my final day in Rome on 17 April 2009 I went to the tomb of S. Peter and knelt and prayed for quite some time. I knew in my heart I was a Catholic and asked what it was that was keeping me from converting. All sorts of fears ran through my head and I felt very restless there and at times just knelt quietly asking S. Peter to pray for me because I didn’t know how or the way to go. At the end of this time I went over and knelt at JPII's tomb and asked him to please pray for me as I was scared to make a journey like this with a wife and six children not knowing how God would provide for us.

After praying with JPII, I got up and went to S. Peter’s tomb again and there with conviction of heart signed the Roman Catholic Catechism stating ‘This is the Faith of the Church and this is my Faith’, and signed my name with the day's date. Before leaving the Basilica I walked over to the statue of S. Peter with the key in his hand, rubbed his foot, and said, ‘I am going out to find the way, open the door and make this happen and pray for me as I make this journey.’"

Vatican on Youtube?!

There is now a Vatican channel on YouTube. There are no longer any excuses acceptable by any Catholic with computer access who says they are 'out of the loop' in regard to what is happening at the Vatican.

Other great news sources:

Catholic World News

Zenit

National Catholic Register

Please Read National Catholic Register