There are few and scattered pockets of people of faith who shine the light of Jesus Christ in our societies today. Looking at the bigger picture it’s pretty hard to convince others that Latinos are the good examples of faith when more than half of Latino babies in America are born outside of marriage and that the majority population supports ‘neutralizing’ the unborn babies when it’s convenient. We all try our best to love all sinners and hate the sins. One of the ways to love the sinners’ souls is to teach them to live right with God. Faith without action is dead.James 2:17.

Latino Catholics overwhelmingly ignored their faith and voted for Obama.  I think the rest of the American Church has already learned to do the same.

What’s strange is that here, a Latino/Hispanic Catholic is about as rare as a hen’s tooth.  Plenty of Latinos but just about all are Pentecostals. 

“They bring a strong sense of family, a great love of the Catholic faith, of the sacraments and of the blessed Virgin Mary,” said Bishop Conley.
Is this another naive Bishop? [they were naive in handling pedophilia within the Church]  The Hispanics voted Obama in….remember the abortion president? Why? because he promised a memorial to them in California, food stamps and anything else they could get free, plus citizenship.
If they have such a strong Catholic Faith, they would not have voted for Obama. If they have love of this country they would not be arrogant and burn our U.S. Flag. If they had love of this country the Pres. of the Hispanic Ministry in my previous parish would not arrogantly say “we were here before, we are here now and we are here to stay”. Granted there are some good Hispanics here but not all. This Bishop sounds religiously political in his statement, the reason being, the Church is losing parishioners.
All the CC has to hear is “social justice” and they are for it. Well “social justice” did not work for them this time. Remember, the CC has suits against the Obama Healthcare.  So, they handled the pedophilia cases by sending them to a different parish and now how are they handling the fact that the Hispanics [on the whole] & other Democrat Catholics, voted for Obama….this time their excuse is “parish priests don’t tell their parishioners how to vote”. “They stay out of politics”. Not once did our priest speak of abortions or contraception during the presidential elections, which went on for almost whole year. All they said the week before the election was “be careful how you vote”.  Everyone seemed to forget the Commandment of God: Thou Shalt Not Kill. 
@Hannah:  “Faith without action is dead.James 2:17.” I guess it is when our priests are afraid of losing parishioners by not speaking on abortion at a crucial time in our country. There certainly was no action from them. They did not have to get political about it, only ‘religiously’ on what the CC believes.

I second Hannah’s observations. Unfortunately, many Hispanics who come to America bring their Catholic faith with them, then lose it to the errors in our culture after they arrive. Another sad trend is the high proportion of Hispanic conversion to Protestantism. True practice of Catholic faith demands that we evangelize and convert sinners. Any group of persons that arrive in the USA through criminal trespass do not serve as models of Catholic faith either.

I don’t know where he gets his information but may be he needs to talk to some priests here in the US.  Most and I mean at least 75% of the latinos in our parish are living without the Sacraments because they are shaking up. And producing American babies that are only being taught the superstitions associated with horrible catechism and the protestations of our faith in the sub-American continent.  What is the point EWTN in publishing these lies?

Too many Catholics think “living their faith” is BEING a Democrat.  I bet over half of the priest registered to vote are registered in the pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage, pro-coveting party. (Check out your own diocese how your priests are registered to vote.  Get a diocesan Directory and visit the Registrar of Voters where they have computers for people to do just that.  Being registered to vote is public information.)  I did, and that is what I found out, even bishops give their name identification to the pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage, pro-coveting party.  55,000,000 murdered babies, and now thousands of men “marrying” men, and women “marrying women,” and millions of Catholics that promote and support envy and coveting “thy neighbor’s goods.”  Yep, those Catholics are sure living their faith, aren’t they bishops?  BTW, is there any program in the U.S. Catholic Church that is dedicated to instructing the Hispanics not to sneak into our country and go on welfare?

The big story is the Register’s lengthy article (in the future) responding to the above comments and criticisms. Frankly, I was deeply disappointed that 75% of Hispanics voted for Obama, who has declared war on the Church and on unborn children.

Register!! Please favor us with a response. Thank you.

Conversation with my Democrat friend after I told her she voted for abortion:
“I go to my Church, I have read the whole Bible twice, I say prayers every day and what other people do is between them and God, they will have to suffer for it”  That is the mindset of the Catholic Democrat!

I even copied the letter a Bishop wrote on NCR about the Dem. Platform being evil, and it did not faze her.  I even suggested she get the NCR on the internet and learn something. No, she would rather read her romantic novels which she finds pleasure in and at her age of 80.  You figure!

The “Faithful Catholics” in Lincoln NE., were influenced by the wonderful Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz.  Bishop Bruskewitz was not afraid to excommunicate when necessary to teach and stop scandal.
Most Latino’s in the USA supported abortion and gay-marriage by their voting for Obama and other members of the ‘Party of Death’.  By supporting them, they also insured that the US Supreme Court will have more members of the same mind.  These voters didn’t care about freedom of religion.
Although there are good and bad people in every nationality - it is not right to single out one group as being good when the facts do not support it.
In fact - never show favoritism/partiality - which violates UNITY. - James 2:1.

Wow!! Again I find so many devout Catholics on these boards.  Too bad you are all such horrible Christians. No love here for your neighbor. You’re all nothing but a bunch of hypocrites!!  :(

Ceci - the “horrible Christians” are those who endorse with their names and votes the despicable pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage, and pro-covet thy neighbors’ goods - Democrat Party.  You wouldn’t be one of those Catholics, would you?

@Cici Castillo: Who is calling whom a “hypocrite’? The Hispanics who voted for Obama did so for what he promised them regardless of the fact that he believed in abortions and abortifacients and contraception, also because many of them were here illegally, had children born here and wanted to automatically become citizens. They thought more of Obama than they did for their Church.  My parents were Ellis Island Italian immigrants. They worked hard, spoke English to us, honored our flag and loved our country, came here legally, became citizens after studying about our government., etc.  So, don’t tell this child of immigrants about what Christianity is about or call me a hypocrite. Yes, I love my neighbor and I love the illegal immigrants as humans but I dislike what they do to our flag and what they do to get here and what they do to get what they can for themselves. They are not good Catholics if they voted for Obama, the truth, swallow it. I am so proud of my parents and how they brought us up to be independent and proud and not expect everything to be given to us. They are the ones along with other Ellis Island immigrants from other countries who made this country, not the immigrant of today. This Bishop does not know what he is talking about. He lives in his own little world or else he is trying to fill up the pews again.

Bishop Conley is a good and loving Bishop. He is correct that we need to bring Spanish-speaking immigrants into the full embrace of the Church, especially those who have emigrated from countries in which the Church is still true to the Magesterium and has a strong influence on the daily lives of the faithful. Unfortunately, instead of assimilating these new members of our community into the parishes of their new dioceses, we have set up a parallel system of churches, and allowed the secular government to provide the transitional safety net that immigrants have needed in all times. We were wrong in our approach to immigrants in the last 40 years or more, and need to adjust our method in order to better serve these new members of our communities, and our Church.

A good bishop is a good shepherd looking after the spiritual needs of his sheep. Also he will be interested in their material needs He is a great teacher and guide on whom all the faithful can rely HE WILL BE AN EXAMPLE OF HUMILITY AS SHOWN BY OUR LORD ( BY WASHING THE FEET OF HIS DISCIPLES. )

Sue (old).  For your information I’m 18th generation Mexican/Native American. Many of my ancestors lived here in the Western Hemisphere for thousands of years until you whites came to these shores and almost annihilated a whole race by your greed for our land. You almost destroyed our beautiful culture.  I don’t give a damn about you foreigners and Ellis Island.

@ Sue (old) I’m going to be very nice in my response to your post Sue.  First of all, the Hispanic immigrants that you put down in your blog are NOT immigrants. Their families have been on this continent thousands of years just like many of the members of my family who have been on this continet thousands of years.  Your family are the forigners not them.  My culture was almost annihilated by you white foreigners from Europe because of your greed for our land.  Luckily, many of the Catholic missionaries who came to bring the Word of God to us loved us as their brothers and sisters in Christ.  Also let me remind you that both Hispanics and Native Americans have fought and died honorably in every major conflict the United States has been involved.  We love the RED, WHITE and BLUE and our Catholic Faith just as much if not more than you do. Please Google the Defense Departments’ War casualty list and see how many Hispanic and Native American names are on that list compared to how many Italians are on there.

@Cici: Also to be polite, let me say that in the United States (not continent) when a person comes from another country (not continent) they are called immigrants. Also, if a Canadian comes to this country and becomes a citizen, that Canadian also is an immigrant. My son-in-law from England is an immigrant who became a citizen of the U.S. Yes, my family were foreigners from Europe, and they came to the U.S. of America in 1885 and 1910, & became citizens. Also I did not “put down” the Hispanic immigrant I said “I love my neighbor and I love the illegal immigrants as humans but I dislike what they do to our flag and what they do to get here and what they do to get what they can for themselves.” [my quote]
I was talking about the the Mexicans, in recent years, who have come over the border without passport walking or climbing fences as in California, Texas, Arizona, that is illegal. When I visited England I had to have a passport and when I visited Canada, I had to have a passport & they want to know how long you are staying. I am assuming also that you were able to find your ancestors from centuries back. My recent ancestors, my parents and grandparents came from Italy.  Where their ancestors came from, I do not know…it could have been from any country or continent. You are fortunate if you can find your ancestors from centuries back.  [Actually Ceci, we had a family in my home town by the name of Castillo and they were Italian.] I think you ought to live in the world of today and not in the world when the Indians were here on the Continent of America. We are the United States of America and many of the countries in South American use “of America” also in their title, for instance Nicaragua.  Also, my ‘white foreigner’ parents from Italy were not greedy people who wanted land. They were the ones who came here, ran into the Great Depression, had it very hard financially and these immigrants “MADE THIS COUNTRY WHAT IT IS” without getting anything from the Government and that is why the Mexicans want to come here {for the same reason my parents did—to make a living for themselves, because Mexico is of no help to them} only my parents came legally just as some Mexicans did.  Again I was speaking of the illegal immigrants who crossed the border of the United States of American, the ones who burned the U.S. Flag, etc.  I was not speaking of the hard working ones like my parents.  Get off your ancestral high horse.  You have that Hispanic attitude that some Hispanic Ministries have “we were here before, we are here now and we are here to stay” That attitude is a very bad one.  This is the United States of America and I love it and if you truly loved it, you would take the blinders off and see things as they really are.  By the way, my husband fought in 5 battles in WWII and died young because of it at age 62. I have been a widow for 27 yrs. and I never asked anyone or the government for anything…as I am a very independent person. Also, yes I know some Hispanics love the Red, White and Blue and if you had accepted that fully, you would not have taken offense.  Also, again if the Hispanics love their Catholic Faith so much, why did 51% of them vote for Obama.
P.S. How do you know that your family have been on this Continent thousands of year, maybe they came from another continent, I cannot accept that as a fact, impossible, even Jesus came from another Continent.

@Cici again: For your information also, I know some Mexicans and an Argentinian friend of mine who are all legal citizens of the United States and are upset over the ones who come illegally, because it makes it harder for them as citizens. They don’t understand either, why these people don’t do it the right way. Yes, it is hard and takes time, but it has always been that way. Yes, Hispanics, Indians and also Black people have fought for this country. I am very, very aware of that since I was a teenager during WWII. [I guess you can see that your attitude really aggravated me.]
The Bishop stated “They bring a strong sense of family, a great love of the Catholic faith, of the sacraments and of the blessed Virgin Mary,” “Those are all positives, and I think we Anglos can benefit from that because it’s almost instinctual for Hispanics”.  Woe Bishop Connelly, don’t estrange your Anglos now. If you knew anything about the Ellis Island immigrants, Italians, Polish, Czechoslovakians were estranged by the Irish Priests. They did not complain and they all made something of themselves. They had the right attitude. As my mother used to say “when in Rome, do as the Romans do”. We were all brought up to be true Americans.

Lisa Spear is acknowleging the fact that the Church in the past [much, much longer than 40 yrs]  did not treat immigrants very well and as usual the Church is always “late” in acknowledging its sins, just as with the pedophilia: I understand that human-beings run the Church along with their human inadequacies. It is too bad that Ceci Castillo cannot forget the past and as with other Mexicans, still holds the Mexican/American War {1846-48] against us, when actually in a war there are always two sides to a story. [As my husband said after fighting in WWII “no one wins a war, everyone loses”.] Ceci truly believes that the “whites” stole their territories and my European parents who came here long after the war {1895] are also to blame, just as some Blacks will blame me for slavery. They cannot separate what happened in the past to others [of their ethnicity or race] and what happens now, in the present to them, which is very unfortunate as it does become a matter of attitude. Charles Swindoll speaks of Attitude….my parents had the right attitude….they did not play the “blame game”....they moved to this country for a reason [economic] and accepted this country as it is and loved it. They lived in the Present and not the Past. SOME Mexicans cannot do this. They cannot see that it is their own country who did them harm by not offering them a better standard of living, so they come over the border, legally or illegally and adapt the attitude that they belonged here before and were driven away by the bad “whites”. To quote Swindoll: “We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way….we cannot change the inevitable…the only thing we can do is play on the one string we have and that is ATTITUDE..life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.” My parents had the right attitude, though they never owned property and never were rich in material things, they were the best parents one could have, who taught us to be independent and love our country, they never dwelt on the past.
Because I mentioned my immigrant parents Ceci got upset over that because if she had re-read this blog, everyone said the same as myself, except they never mentioned that they had “immigrant” parents, so she responded to me by saying “I don’t give a damn about you foreigners and Ellis Island”. That is the “attitude” I was talking about.

OK Old Sue. I was not talking about the Spanish who came to this continent in 1519 and yes I’m also one of their descendents. I was talking about the Native American INDIANS!! My ancestors on my mother’s side were Native American and Spanish.  The American Indian has lived here in the Western Hemisphere for thousands of years and, unfortunately, the white European immigrants you so vociferously defend almost destroyed a whole race of people.  Take a trip to an Indian reservation and you will see what’s left of a once proud and mighty people. Many of them have risen above the poverty, alcohol and drug abuse which is prevalent Indian reservations. and have become well educated and are fighting for a better living for their people. Yes what happened in the past cannot be changed.  People of race have risen above the prejudices of the past because we wanted to prove to ourselves that we can be just as good if not better than our white counterparts and as you can see we now have an African American President.  We have many African American, Latino and American Indian Politicians in Congress.  Do you honestly think that we just skated through grade school, high school and college because our families were wealthy??  No we had to study twice as hard and we had to work twice as hard than our white counterparts.  And no our parents did not pay for our education, but they sure as hell sacrificed to see to it that we could have a better life. They didn’t pay for our college education we earned it by getting scholarships working our way through high school and college. You European immigrants aren’t the only ones who sacrificed to have a better life so get over yourselves.

@C2ci: You know Ceci, you are repeating much of what I said of my own family. The trouble with you, is you live in the past….and you think only your ancestors have suffered, you are not thinking of people from other countries who have suffered (WWII)
I could care less of the past…I am living now….I never knew my grandparents because one set lived and died in Italy and the other set, who lived in NYC, died before I was born.  I could care less about Italy and all those descendants that I do not know. I have a very good friend, born in Spain, another born in Argentina and three Mexican friends and some black neighbors who are friends. I am not a prejudice person.
I repeat, you have a “thing” about me because I mentioned ancestors. You also have a problem about your Indian ancestors from centuries back. Read what “Hannah, Mark, bill, The hat Lady, Jon, Still believe and Anne” have said, whose ancestors probably came from Europe or other places.  They said exactly what I have. We were all talking about people coming into our country illegally, how many of them [Catholic]voted Democrat which was the same as voting for abortion and how many of them became Protestant.
Ceci, one cannot run a country that has open borders. [and I am not talking just about Mexicans] It just causes chaos and it has been proven. If your parents or just you, came here legally, as my parents did, then why is this a problem with you.  Also I am very well aware that some Mexicans were taken advantage of. [just as my parents]. Also how many Native American Indians get money from the government every month to compensate them for their lands. [my son works with one in N.C.] See, even this does not bother me because I live in the present. What do all of us on this blog have to do, go back to our ancestral homes and find out who took our property away. I assure you, someone did. As the Bible states, “there will wars and rumors of wars” and aren’t all wars fought for property and control.
There is not a single person on this blog who insulted you personally, even me. We spoke of the Hispanics who voted for the abortion president and also about people coming across the border without permit. It was you who was insulting by saying you did not give a damn about my European ancestors, without thinking that everyone on this blog can go back to European or Asian,etc. ancestors. I assure you that all these “white” people worked just as hard to get through college, as did my children and my grandchildren with scholarships and loans, but nothing free.  I never said that Hispanics did not work for what they have….this is how you interpreted it.  You still have an ATTITUDE.  You cannot live on what happened to your “ancestors”. Live a good life of your own and do what Christ said on the Cross “Father Forgive Them, For They Know Not What They Do”
When I was in grade school, I came home and asked my mother why the Germans are bad. She asked what I meant and I said “I heard people talking and they said that”. Her answer to me was, No Sue, the German people are good people, it was their government that did bad”.  A great lesson she taught me.

There was absolutely no spam in my last message.  Let me know what you think it was.

Ceci: There is a volcano in Italy called Mount Vesuvius. It actually grew out of another volcano called Mount Somma, a prehistoric volcano. There is still one wall of Mount Somma intact. My maiden name is Somma. Now I wonder if that is my ancestor of long ago. Well, that does not concern me as I live here in the USA and not there. I have/had relatives there but do not know them. The world has changed and it is still changing. There have always been wars for property and control. The Bible states that there will always be wars and rumors of wars. When Jesus died on the cross he forgave his enemies. Your enemies are the white Europeans who stole your ancestors properties hundreds of yrs. ago and you still have not forgiven them. You state that you love your Faith and the Red, White and blue.  You still have to forgive the enemies in your heart. My Argentinian friend hates the Catholic Faith and the Pope. She has her reasons, going back to the “Dirty War”. She is an avid Baptist but she still has hate in her heart. Please go to your priest and talk to him about it. It will do you a lot of good.

Sue (old), my only wish is that all America women were like you.

And Ceci, I don’t think you addressed the question I ask of you several comments back.

Thank you “still believe”: As a human being, being born of my parents through Jesus Christ, I refuse to be blamed for what happened to the Indians or to the Blacks by some other humans, just because I am “white”.  I am my own person and take responsibility for what I do and what I do is follow the teachings of Jesus to the best of my human ability. I am also very aware of the help Jesus has given me the past 27 yrs of widowhood…from a special lawyer in my Parish, from Hospice, from my children….I am very blessed!  I cannot stress more, that ATTITUDE has a great deal to do toward our mental and physical health. I hope Ceci finds peace.

Stillbelieve/Sue (old) In answer to your response I’m a Catholic who attended Catholic school from K-12th grade and graduated. I have worked since I was 14 years old I was able to go to college and receive a degree in nursing. I am Pro Life,I abhor abortion. I have been a life long Democrat, voted straight Democrat this past election year. I have on occasion voted for a Republican. I have always voted my conscience. So if you want to bash me for voting Democrat, go for it. If you think our country is in dire straits now, electing Mitt Romney would have been a disaster. I was raised in Utah and I’m quite familiar with the LDS Faith. You and Sue accuse me of living in the past.  On the contrary I do live very much in the present and am intelligent enough to realize that what happened in the past is history and cannot be changed. What I do see on many of these blogs is a hatred for Latinos especially the “ILLEGAL"immigrants. How many of you or your kids were/are willing to work out in the fields picking produce from dawn til dusk making less than minmun wage? The ILLEGAL immigrant does. How many of you or your kids bussed/bus dishes in restaurants or clean hotel rooms?  The ILLEGAL immigrant does. You call yourselves devout Catholics on this board but do you ever pay attention to the the words of Christ?  “When you do it for the least of my brethren, you do it for me.“You are all so wrapped up in the abortion/contraceptive issues that I honestly don’t think you ever look around to see who is your sister/brother.  Everyone has the right to a decent job so that they can provide a decent life for their families. The ILLEGAL immigrant is willing to work 2-3 menial jobs, jobs that none of you or your children look down on, here in America just so their families can have a piece of the American Pie.  Please don’t tell me that they don’t pay taxes because they do pay taxes and contribute to the US economy because since they can’t file income tax, that money stays in the US Coffers. Please don’t tell me that Mexicans are on food stamps and welfare. Mexicans are too proud to ask for a handout which is why they are willing to work at anything just so they don’t have to ask for that handout. Please remember that the next time you turn your noses down at the ILLEGAL Immigrant.

No one is turning their noses down at anybody but you.  But that is beside the point; i.e., a deliberate distraction defenders of your party are experts at.

Now that it is known you are Catholic educated and presumably attend Mass regularly, I have a question.  Do you believe what you profess to believe and pray for in Mass on Sundays?  In other words - is your “word” good?

Stillbelieve In answer to your last question, a resounding YES!!!

Ceci: My husband pick tomatoes when he was 10 yrs old. He trapped skunks and sold the fur for 25 cents per pelt. He hunted rabbit, which they ate. At age 18 he was inducted into the service and fought in WWII for our country as a paratrooper. He never had to ask his parents for money…he was independent.  My son worked fast food places even cleaning the bathrooms and earned some money for college, minimum wage. He even took 15 credits and worked at the same time all year long, so that he could graduate in 4 yrs. He helped us pay for it. My daughter also worked while in college.  I have done volunteer work many years for the Church, School, Hospice and the local hospital. You seem to think that only Latino’s have it hard and all European “whites” were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. [old expression] Everyone has a personal battle to contend with, whether it is money or health or work, etc. How would you know what the people on this blog do for the poor…you think they will advertise it. There is not a person on this blog who insulted you, but you have insulted all of us. As a college graduate you must realize that a country cannot operate with open borders. I mentioned that before….it would be chaos….some of which we already have. We think coming into this country should be done legally.  I am sure that everyone on this blog feels sorry for poor people who have to go over the border to find work.  That is the fault of the government of Mexico. Again, Mexico is not a poor country. The Catholic Church is against abortion and yet you feel proud of voting Democrat and think we are obsessed with it.  You also stated you loved your Church, if you do, then follow its teachings.  You should be proud of your heritage and instead you belittle it by your inane remarks.  No heritage is perfect and you will not see that voting for Obama was voting for evil…the evil of abortion.

Ceci: An undocumented immigrant cannot receive food stamps. [they are undocumented because they come here illegally.] They can get food stamps for their children if they are born in the U.S. Also Ceci, you assume that all “white” people are born to rich “white” people. I know you were in the field of medicine and I know you approve of birth control. You had your reasons, but the fact is, the Church disapproves of it. You blogged that in the article about Gov. Jindal.  My husband worked from the time he was 12 yrs. old, pick tomatoes, etc., until he was drafted at age 18 for WWII. He always had spending money of his own. Our son and daughter worked while they were in college and helped with the expenses. My son took 15 credits so he would have time to work and went to college full years [thru the summer] so that he could graduate in 4 yrs. They were not “handed” anything. You are playing the “poor me” role. You are the one making yourself different from anyone else because of your ancestry. You look at this problem too personally instead of seeing it as a problem within a country that has to be straightened out by the government. I remember when Vincente Foxe [sp?} said “what’s the difference whether they live here or there, it is the same world” [something to that effect} Well, it does make a difference in many ways. To tell you the truth, to me, the Mexicans are the least of my worries for my country. We have bigger worries. Keep reading the Catholic Register and you will see what I am talking about.

Catholic Register: Again, there is no spam in my comment

To those who have commented:  Sue (old) is not losing it. If I have repeated myself, it is because NCR has said they were going to check my message for Spam. If you noticed I sent a message back to them saying “there is no spam in my comment”.  Eventually after about a day, they sent it.

Sue (old), I never for a second thought you were losing it; I just thought you were worming up.  Thanks a million for who you are and for contributing to the teaching of these younger ones.

Ceci

“Stillbelieve In answer to your last question, a resounding YES!!!”

Do you believe God is the creator and giver of life?  Do you believe what you pray for in the Lord’s Prayer when you pray for God’s “will be done on earth?”

Stillbelieve: I’m a cradle Catholic and love my faith perhaps more than you do because all you and many people on this blogs only give lip service to their faith and don’t practice the Two Great Commandments that Christ gave us which are, just in case you don’t know them: 1) YOU WILL LOVE THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, ALL YOUR SOUL. 2) YOU WILL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF and my favorite is:  IF YOU DID IT FOR THE LEAST OF MY BRETHREN YOU DID IT FOR ME.  You folks might be extremely devout Catholics but I don’t see any Christian Charity in your hearts.  And that my friends, is all I have to say on the matter.

Ceci: I know you have been an OB/GYN nurse for over 20 yrs and you have seen and experienced a lot. (i.e.) child abuse of their babies, etc. If teenagers will have sex regardless of what they are taught or regardless of what they do not know…that is no excuse for anyone who is a Practicing Catholic to vote for Obama who is an advocate of abortion. [does not make any difference what Party you belong to] The 6th Commandment of God, “Thou Shalt Not Kill”. I am not saying that the teaching of contraceptives to these unfortunate kids is completely wrong. There is always “the benefit of the doubt”, and “an exception to the rule” and hopefully you have spoken to your Pastor about it.  I am sure some of these kids are not Catholic and they could go to Planned Parenthood, though unfortunately Planned Parenthood is for abortion also.  The Catholic Church is not dictating to other Denominations or Religions as to what they should do, only Members of the Catholic Church.  Actually the CC is doing a lot about helping these girls through unwanted pregnancies today.  They have a place for them [regardless of their religion or beliefs] right near me and will help them through their pregnancy, in keeping their babies or giving them up for adoption.  Again, I feel that speaking with your Pastor will help you a lot. I am being very sincere about this. Remember, people on this blog were not being unchristian, but stating the Catholic Christian Faith.

Sue: I deal with the teenagers who are in foster care and 98% of these kids have had horrible childhoods. Most of them can’t even take care of themselves much less a brand new baby. In an ideal world these kids would have received a decent version of the facts of life and taught that pre-marital sex is extremely high risk for STDS from their parents. Unfortunately, most of these kids have been sexually abused by their own parents/relatives and don’t know any other kind of life. I personally do not believe in handing out contraception to teens and yes I am pro-life. Education is the best. However, I live in a state that is very much pro-life but refuse to teach sex education and the dangers of high risk sexual behavior and I realize that there are a lot of Catholics who don’t believe in this either.  I’m not the one who recommends contraception for these teenagers as I have no authority to do that. Since foster children are a wards of the state, the case workers reluctantly request that they be given contraception and they are referred to the primary care provider or Planned Parenthood.  If they get pregnant they are encouraged by their foster parents and case workers to give their babies up for adoption. They seldom ever choose abortion.  A lot of them prefer to keep their babies because they feel that the baby will give them the love that they have not received from their parents.  I will admit that all is not bleak because I have seen some of these pregnant teens step up to the plate, finish high school with baby in tow, go on to college, sometimes marry the father of the baby and have a good life. We have Teen Mom Programs here and Catholic Charities at one time was helping these kids out but now they are mostly focusing on helping refugees.  I tried to speak to my pastor regarding all of this and he didn’t have the time.  I even tried to make an appt to see him and he still didn’t have the time.  So now I pray for these kids. If you ever get a chance Google Foster Care or check out your state Foster Care Foundation.  Even if you don’t become a foster parent but you know someone who would be a good foster parent encourage them to do so and please include these kids in your prayers. God Bless You.

Ceci -

“I’m a cradle Catholic and love my faith perhaps more than you do because all you and many people on this blogs only give lip service to their faith and don’t practice the Two Great Commandments that Christ gave us which are, just in case you don’t know them”

I will ask my question again.  Do you believe God is the creator and giver of life?  Do you believe what you pray for in the Lord’s Prayer when you pray for God’s “will be done on earth?”

Ceci: I remember years ago a young lady, who used to live in our Parish, told my Pastor that she wanted to marry a non-Catholic and her Pastor would not marry her.  My Pastor told her to go to another priest in her area. Some Priests have their own ideas on certain rules within the Church. So possibly if you can speak to another Priest, that someone else knows, it will help. Within my son’s in-law family there is a couple who took on a Foster baby. They totally loved that baby & wanted to adopt him. Somehow the father showed up and proved to the authorities that he would be a good father. The mother of this child had three babies with three different men. My son’s in-law relatives were devastated and they stated they would not do it again. Too heart rending.  So, even being a Foster Parent can prove to be devastating to some parents as well as the children.  Dealing with these situations, as you have had to deal with, is very difficult. I don’t know the answer to the morals of the world today, except that the Churches are going to have to work harder. The problem with Obama and his Healthcare is that Catholic Organizations would be forced to have contraceptives, abortions, etc. in their insurance and for that reason some of their adoption agencies have closed, possibly even Catholic Hospitals. I hope the Cath. Church wins and that it is dropped. Lets face it, no one like that Miss Fluke at the DNC, the student from that college needs free contraceptives, abortifacients [sp]  etc. I don’t feel I should have to pay for it.  That is what this whole blog was about.  The Catholic Church, in the past,  mainly favored the Democrat Party for its Social Justice. Well they found out differently with Obamacare. Little by little we are finding out how bad it is. The fact is you get what you pay for and his idea of healthcare being what you can afford is ridiculous.  Anyway, I am sure when the others on this blog read what you stated, they will understand where you were coming from. The Republican Party is not as bad as most people think, everything is political. Also, I am not putting down Foster Care. A good friend years ago got an unwanted baby to care for and ended up adopting him. Worked out great!  He is now a married man with a child. A few ladies in my church took unwanted babies in their home as infants until they were adopted.  You have to be a very special person to be able to do this and then give these babies up when someone adopts them. 
God Bless you too and hopefully you will be able to talk with a good priest “who is not too busy”.
That was sad to hear.

Sue (old) I’ve misjudged you and want apologize for that. Thank you for your kind words and will definitely seek out a priest who is willing to listen. I’m a life long Democrat and have on occasion voted Republican. Dwight Eisenhower was a very good, honorable man. Ike was great general but a lousy president. I liked Jerry Ford and the only reason why I didn’t vote for him is because he pardoned Nixon. Both President Bush 1 and 2 are very good men and I love both Barbara and Laura.  I live in Utah and I voted for Gov. Jon Huntsman because he truly cares for people, was a wonderful guv, was sorry to see him leave when he was appointed Ambassador to China so I know that all Republicans not evil. All of the men mentioned above are true role models except for Nixon.  However, I voted for Obama because the alternative would have been disasterous,and if you think Obama has ruined our country, do you really honestly think that Mitt Romney would have been a better choice? Granted Obama is pro-choice but at least he admits it. Romney was pro-life and then pro-choice, depending on how the wind shifted. At any rate Sue, I thank you for your kind words. After blogging with you a few times, I think you are a very nice lady.  God bless you.

Ceci, why are you, a devote Catholic, ignoring the question I asked you twice?  I am curious of your answer, especially now that you felt the compulsion to say in your last posting, you are “a cradle Catholic and love my faith perhaps more than you do because all you and many people on this blogs only give lip service to their faith….”

My question is a reasonable and simple one for any Catholic who calls herself a “cradle Catholic” who loves” her “faith.”  Please simply answer whether you believe our lives are given to us by God and that you truly believe that when you pray the Lord’s Prayer, you really do mean you want God’s “will be done on earth.” 

Stillbelieve: I’m 66 years old,  was born a Catholic and will die a Catholic and I have prayed the Lord’s Prayer every day of my life since I was 3 years old and I believe that our lives are given to us by God and I believe that “Gods will be done on earth.”

Ceci, thank you for answering.  Here are some things to think about.  If you believe God is the giver of life, and you pray for His will to be done on earth, how can you continue to be a member of an organization that is diabolically opposed to what you say you believe and pray for?  The Lord’s Prayer is the only prayer Jesus ever taught the disciples so they would know how to talk to God the Father. The first 24 words are directed towards honoring and acknowledging His deity and praying for His will to be followed on earth.  The next 30 words are about us and what we want from Him - our daily bread; forgiveness as we forgive others; free of temptation; and delivered from evil.  Do you believe God creates life for it to be aborted?  Is not abortion - evil?  Is not feeling one is superior to someone else succumbing to the temptation of pridefulness and prejudice? 

The Church teaches that religious and racial prejudice is a sin against the 5th Commandment (You shall not murder) and “This is particularly true in the case of joining an organization which promotes racial, ethnic or religious hatred.” (Life in Christ - A Catholic Catechism for Adults, published 1995 with Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur).  The book gave two examples of organizations that it is a sin to join - “such as the Nazi Party or the Ku Klux Klan.”  The 1958 published version of this book said, “This is particularly true in the case of joining an organization which promotes segregation OR ANY OTHER DENIAL OF HUMAN RIGHTS.” (my emphasis)

While the 1995 version does not contain the 1958 wording (“or any other denial of human rights”), doesn’t it seem logical that if it is a sin to join such organizations that merely promote prejudice views, that joining an organization that supports and promotes the murder of unborn babies, now numbering 55,000,000, is even more of a sin against the 5th Commandment?

Stillbelieve are you male, or married and a parent?

Ceci - yes, and married and a parent of 5.

Good Stillbelieve, congratulations. Let’s just agree to disagree.

@Stillbelieve: Now I shall take Ceci’s part. I worked in a State Mental Hospital, Social Service Dept. for a number of yrs. when I was first married. I typed the histories of the pts. who were seeing the Social Workers. You have no idea how messed up families can be, with or without the mental illness.  I also worked in the office of a hospital and a hospice. I do understand where Ceci,[an GYN,RN]is coming from, having worked with girls who have children out of wedlock and young people who abuse their children. It is heart rendering to be a part of this day in and day out. The whole problem is the dysfunctional family. I cannot judge someone who has seen so much sadness and abuse as Ceci has. I also know as a fact from another RN who taught contraception to very poor people. The one woman would come into the clinic, pregnant again and when exasperated with her, she would say that her husband likes it to be natural. So you see any GYN,RN has seen a lot and because of that has a different opinion on contraception. [There is a big difference between contraception and the day after pill and abortion.  Another blogger on another subject stated this “that Catholic Family Planning is a form of contraception”. When you really give thought to this, it is true. You are not ‘doing it’ with the idea of having a child, which I was taught by the Church. I am sure that Bishops did the best they could with the pedophilia priests, yet it went on and on.  All I know is that God is a very forgiving God and it is up to Him to judge these Bishops or an GYN,RN who has seen the worse.  This also goes for doctors and all people who deal with humans every day. My Argentinian friend is a Baptist because of what she experienced from a dictator and where the CC was complicit.  You have to know just where a person is coming from before making a judgment.

Ceci -

“Let’s just agree to disagree.”

But what’s there to disagree with?

Sue (the older : )

“You have to know just where a person is coming from before making a judgment.”

Sue, I am not “making a judgment.”  I am sharing an understanding I have come to realize and accept as a former Catholic Democrat from South Chicago who has learned a whole greater life exist after leaving what has become the pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, pro-covet thy neighbors’ goods party - the despicable Democrat Party, aka DDP.  Catholics who remain a slave to their self imposed superior feelings in the Democrat Party are blind to what they are doing to their relationship with God.  Jesus gave up his life so that we could be saved and be given the opportunity to live the hereafter with Our Father in heaven.  (Want a little bit of what Catholics will be missing out on if they don’t make the call to heaven?  Read Proof of Heaven – A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife, by Eben Alexander, M. D.).  Catholic Democrats can’t give up their love for the DDP to live a life they profess to believe and pray for?  A couple weeks ago, 1/10/13, the first reading for Mass was an eye opener for me that is a warning to those Catholics who are willing to re-exam their thinking and belief system.  “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Oh, that today you would hear his voice, “Harden not your hearts as at the rebellion in the day of testing in the desert, where your ancestors tested and tried me and saw my works for forty years.  Because of this I was provoked with that generation and I said, “They have always been of erring heart, and they do not know my ways.”  As I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter into my rest.” ’ ”  (Heb 3:7-11)

“Take care, brothers, that none of you may have an evil and unfaithful heart, so as to forsake the living God.  Encourage yourselves daily while it is still ‘today,’ so that none of you may grow hardened by the deceit of sin.  We have become partners of Christ if only we hold the beginning of the reality firm until the end, for it is said: “Oh, that today you would hear his voice: “Harden not your hearts as at the rebellion.” ’ ” (Heb 3:12-14,15)

“Who were those who rebelled when they heard?  Was it not all those who came out of Egypt under Moses?  With whom was he ‘provoked for forty years?’  Was it not those who had sinned, whose corpses fell in the desert?  And to whom did he ‘swear that they should not enter into his rest,’ if not to those who were disobedient?  And we see that they could not enter for lack of faith.”  (Heb 3:16-19 I extended the reading with the last 4 verses 15-19 to complete the warning)

I do not conclude one has to be a member of the other major party.  I only urge that if they believe their own words in what they profess to believe in Sunday Mass, and believe what they pray for in the Our Father, that they remove their names from that party and not support with their votes that party until they end their support for abortion and replace it with support for a HLA.  For it is only because of Catholic Democrats the DDP has received its power to deny the unborn, created by God, their lives.  55,000,000 babies have had to be murdered because of Catholic Democrats - and Forty Yeas have passed since it started.  Do you think God is going to be more forgiving to Catholics who are responsible for the murder of life He creates than he was to the Jews who wondered in the desert for 40 years? 

Stillbelieve your diatribe is unbelievable and that is all I have to say on the matter.

Ceci, please think about what you are saying.  You are saying you are perfectly happy giving your name and support to the pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, pro-coveting your neighbors goods party. How can that be if you also claim you believe God is the giver of life, and you truly do want God’s will to be done on earth.  That doesn’t make sense.  How are you going to explain it to Him on Judgment Day?  Seriously, this isn’t about politics, it’s about the spiritual issues you claim to support and believe.
My “diatribe is unbelievable” for a Catholic who worships being a Democrat.  If I am in error, please point it out to me instead of just cutting and running.

@Stillbelieve: Okay, I admit that in re-reading the above messages that you were teaching, rather than judging {because I believe, as you do,  that only God can judge what anyone does in his/her life. I also will say that you sound like the teachings I received in Catholic school, and that is what the Bible says and I do believe it. As an adult I went to a great Bible study class, taught by our Pastor. I will admit I am not a student of the Bible, still have to look things up, but I do have the basics instilled in me.  When someone in Ceci’s position, saw so much harm done to babies and children their thinking is different.  She did admit that she does not approve of abortion or the pill after & was not involved in that. I give her credit for that. As to voting for the DDP, I agree with you there and I know that when I spoke to my new friend, it just does not budge her & she does not have the “reasons for doing so” as Ceci does. Also my sister who has 5 children, two gay sons amongst them; she and her husband are practicing Catholics [?] yet they are die-hard Democrats. [they have their reasons, you can guess]  I, personally,  would not vote for the DDP for all the reasons you stated, but I have never belonged to that Party either. I did vote for JFK because my Protestant friend’s minister said “don’t vote for him, if you do the Pope will run this country”. I had to prove him wrong.
This morning I watched for a short time, Hilary Clinton’s hearing, went shopping, came home and turned it on again. To me it was a fiasco. Each one stating how great she is first & then, the Dems. being easy on her and the Reps. being harder on her.  She had to have known ahead of time, each question going to asked and by whom,  because she had papers in front of her and each time a person asked a question, she turned to the right page.  She also had weeks to prepare.  [She will run for President in 4 yrs, I have no doubt.]
The few Catholics, whom I know, who voted Democrat, do not watch what is going on in the world, especially politics.  From what I have seen lately in Church, I blame the priests. They are afraid of hurting feelings because they do not want to lose more parishioners. [I am sure they were instructed by the higher ups]  I have seen with my own eyes, the priest giving Communion to someone he knows is living with a man out of wedlock. The same thing that goes on with the politicians. I do not know the inner circles of the Church, but someone must have said “go easy on them”. Most of the young people I know from your generation have left the Church and go elsewhere, therefore, I presume they are trying to get them back into the fold.  You know, my generation went through a lot beginning with the Great Depression and then WWII [which was my hi-school yrs]  We were very mature in some ways [because we had to learn to sacrifice] as compared to the kids today, but it is a different world and they have in their world: much more material things, also drugs, sex, indecent movies, indecency on the internet, etc. so much that goes against building good character, and thus they think differently about things.  Parents really have a harder job today. The Churches have a hard time ahead of them, in keeping them in the Church. These “big theater type religions are prospering, with their loud music, etc.”  All I do is pray for the world and especially for our Country. I still miss my husband after being a widow for 27 yrs, but if he were living he would say “I didn’t fight in a war for this”.....so, God works in mysterious ways and for that reason I am glad he is with God.
You are right in saying that they either vote for their Party or for the beliefs of the Church, yet, when I told my friend this, it did not phase her.

@Stillbelieve: Okay, I admit that in re-reading the above messages that you were teaching, rather than judging {because I believe, as you do,  that only God can judge what anyone does in his/her life. I also will say that you sound like the teachings I received in Catholic school, and that is what the Bible says and I do believe it. As an adult I went to a great Bible study class, taught by our Pastor. I will admit I am not a student of the Bible, still have to look things up, but I do have the basics instilled in me.  When someone in Ceci’s position, saw so much harm done to babies and children their thinking is different.  She did admit that she does not approve of abortion or the pill after & was not involved in that. I give her credit for that. As to voting for the DDP, I agree with you there and I know that when I spoke to my new friend, it just does not budge her & she does not have the “reasons for doing so” as Ceci does. Also my sister who has 5 children, two gay sons amongst them; she and her husband are practicing Catholics [?] yet they are die-hard Democrats. [they have their reasons, you can guess]  I, personally,  would not vote for the DDP for all the reasons you stated, but I have never belonged to that Party either. I did vote for JFK because my Protestant friend’s minister said “don’t vote for him, if you do the Pope will run this country”. I had to prove him wrong.
This morning I watched for a short time, Hilary Clinton’s hearing, went shopping, came home and turned it on again. To me it was a fiasco. Each one stating how great she is first & then, the Dems. being easy on her and the Reps. being harder on her.  She had to have known ahead of time, each question going to asked and by whom,  because she had papers in front of her and each time a person asked a question, she turned to the right page.  She also had weeks to prepare.  [She will run for President in 4 yrs, I have no doubt.]
The few Catholics, whom I know, who voted Democrat, do not watch what is going on in the world, especially politics.  From what I have seen lately in Church, I blame the priests. They are afraid of hurting feelings because they do not want to lose more parishioners. [I am sure they were instructed by the higher ups]  I have seen with my own eyes, the priest giving Communion to someone he knows is living with a man out of wedlock. The same thing that goes on with the politicians. I do not know the inner circles of the Church, but someone must have said “go easy on them”. Most of the young people I know from your generation have left the Church and go elsewhere, therefore, I presume they are trying to get them back into the fold.  You know, my generation went through a lot beginning with the Great Depression and then WWII [which was my hi-school yrs]  We were very mature in some ways [because we had to learn to sacrifice] as compared to the kids today, but it is a different world and they have in their world: much more material things, also drugs, sex, indecent movies, indecency on the internet, etc. so much that goes against building good character, and thus they think differently about things.  Parents really have a harder job today. The Churches have a hard time ahead of them, in keeping them in the Church. These “big theater type religions are prospering, with their loud music, etc.”  All I do is pray for the world and especially for our Country. I still miss my husband after being a widow for 27 yrs, but if he were living he would say “I didn’t fight in a war for this”.....so, God works in mysterious ways and for that reason I am glad he is with God.
P.S. You must know a lot about Chicago politics.

Sue the older -

“P.S. You must know a lot about Chicago politics.”

Enough to say I believe Obama’s re-election “victory” was rigged.  I don’t believe the American people can be that stupid; Catholic Democrats excluded.  Welcome to the new United States - of Chicago; Chicago the heart and soul of political corruption.

@still believe:I know abt. Chicago….check 1981 Nanuet,NY Brinks Robbery—-Weather Underground, or Bill Ayers. We left the area in 1955 but I still have relatives there.

Getting back to the subject, the CC has always leaned Democrat because of their love of Social Justice. We did get SS, Medicare, Medicaid, through them. Wait until they learn what Obamacare is really like. Many will be disappointed. I don’t know your age but some of the young think we are “lucky” having medicare, when we all need insurance to supplement it.  My Mother, the most wise woman I knew, said when I asked her the difference between both parties “The Democrats “gives” to you, and keeps you down, the Republicans gives you a job and raises you up”. True to this day. Today, too many of the young would like the government to take care of them and if you watch many T.V. shows you will see how celebrities are helping Obama to do this.

You Know, when my husband at the age of 60+ had metastatic cancer, he was offered Supplemental SS and he said to them “no, I don’t want it,  I can work if I want”. He was a proud man and I always had much respect for him & the type of person he was.  Maybe that is why they are called the “Great Generation”.....who knows.