The Most Reverend Robert F. Vasa Bishop of Baker, Oregon is the man of the hour. He has taken a stand and insisted upon orthodoxy among Church clergy and lay ministers. Here are three paragraphs from his Pastoral Letter, "Giving Testimony to the Truth", publised in April 2004:

As I have reflected and prayed about these matters for the past year I have become increasing convinced that there may be another much more subtle form of episcopal negligence which also has the potential to harm children, not only emotionally and physically, but primarily spiritually. When our Lord warned about causing His little ones to stumble He certainly would have known, with great sorrow, of the present circumstances. I am convinced that causing the little ones to stumble could also apply when those commissioned by the Church to be witnesses to and examples for them give witness to values or beliefs incompatible with the authentic teachings of the Church. Even if these persons accurately teach the truths of the Church in their words, the witness of their lives and their expression of ‘personal opinions’ contrary to Church teaching speak much more loudly and children are led, if not completely astray, at least into confusion.

...I am convinced that I, as Bishop, have a moral responsibility before God to assure, to the best of my ability, that those who occupy positions of respect and esteem in the Church actually believe and live what the Church teaches.

...The Affirmation of Personal Faith asks candidates for ministry to state unequivocally: “I believe and profess all that the Holy Catholic Church teaches, believes and proclaims to be revealed by God.” This carries with it the affirmation of specific teachings of the Catholic Church. A non-exhaustive list of these is provided in the form of individual affirmations. They include statements on the inviolability of human life, the sinfulness of contraception, the evil of extra-marital sexual relationships, the unacceptability of homosexual relationships, the wrongness of cohabitation before marriage, the significance of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the legitimacy of Marian devotions, the existence of hell and purgatory, the uniqueness of the Catholic Church, the legitimacy of the Holy Father’s claim to infallibility and the moral teaching authority of the Catholic Church.   >>>>>read the entire Pastoral Letter

We Praise God for you Bishop. Thank you for being a true Bishop and shepherd to your flock.


- Reported by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM, Correspondent-at-Large @ 2:49 PM

I could not sleep, and was perusing the web tonight and found this from a favorite website of mine. As we know, when there is a molestation issue by a minister, if it is a catholic priest it is Front Page News, but if it is by a minister of a protestant minister, it is buried in the news paper, or never mentioned on the TV/Radio news.

Let me quote from the page,

"We would be naïve and dishonest were we to say this is a Roman Catholic problem and has nothing to do with us because we have married and female priests in our church. Sin and abusive behavior know no ecclesial or other boundaries." Rt. Rev. William Persell, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, Good Friday Sermon, 2002.

- Reported by Bro. Francis Patrick Mary, OLSM(s), Correspondent-at-Large @ 4:40 AM

Woman in China Killed for Distributing Bibles

BEIJING, JULY 5, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Vatican Radio reported the "brutal killing" in prison of a 34-year-old woman arrested in China for distributing Bibles.

Jiang Zingxiu was imprisoned June 18 for distributing the Bibles to people on the streets of Guizhu province, in southwest China.

The woman died from the blows she received while in prison, Vatican Radio reported today. Read the full story

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Education Should Emphasize "Being" Over "Having," Says Pope

ROME, JULY 5, 2004 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II says the challenge of education today is to teach men and women the importance of "being," not of "having."

This objective is a task for all Christian communities and all their members, the Pope said Saturday when he received in the Vatican the participants in a European symposium of an episcopal commission for Catholic education.

Wherever students live, "education should enable them to become ever more men and women of 'being' and not simply of 'having' more," the Holy Father said in his address to those responsible for education and catechesis in the 34 European bishops' conferences.
Read the full story

- Reported by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM, Correspondent-at-Large @ 10:33 AM

I was surfing the news today, and an email came in from a UK newspaper that I subscribe to. OPened the email and the first thing that came to my eyes was the article about 14 year old girls wanting to get pregnant. This called to mind a statement I heard many years ago, "...At least I will have someone that loves me..." Something is wrong.....

Girls as young as 14 demand NHS fertility treatment

US bishops rejected Ratzinger's advice

Is there an afterlife for pets?


Something Good In This Picture
General Assembly agrees to upgrade status of the Holy See at the UN

Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Archives

- Reported by Bro. Francis Patrick Mary, OLSM(s), Correspondent-at-Large @ 12:41 AM