Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary - Remembering the 1571 Battle of Lepanto

Today (October 7) is the great feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. We thank her in remembrance of saving Europe from the Ottoman Empire's Muslim forces commanded by Ali Pasha.

On the Muslim side, Ali Pasha commanded a force of 206 galleys and 45 galliots. This was the most powerful naval force in the world at the time. The battle was also the last battle at sea between oared fleets. Ali Pasha's fleet had between 12,000 and 15,000 Christian slaves among the 50,000 sailors and oarsmen. Ali Pasha also had 34,000 soldiers under his command. It is important to note that the Turks had not lost a major naval battle since the 15th Century.

The Christian forces were commanded by Don John of Austria.There were 28,000 soldiers and 40,000 sailors and oarsmen. Knowing that the Christian forces were at a disadvantage Saint Pope Pius V called for all of Europe to pray the Rosary for Victory.

During the battle the Turks lost 210 ships, their commander Ali Pasha was killed along with 25,000 others killed or wounded and 3,500 captured. Also, upwards of 10,000 Christian slaves were freed from the boats of the Turks. The Christians lost 50 galleys and around 13,000 men.

This victory prevented the Ottoman Empires expansion West. Saint Pope Pius V was in a meeting hundreds of miles away at the Vatican, but got up in the middle of a meeting, went over to a window and exclaimed with "supernatural radiance" that the Christian fleet was victorious, shedding tears of thanksgiving to God. This day was declared the Feast of the Holy Rosary.

 Thanks be to Our Mother for her intercession and keeping Europe safe from the Ottoman forces and expanding Muslim influence.

(sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lepanto; http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/navalbattles14011600/p/lepanto.htm; http://www.ewtn.com/library/mary/olislam.htm)

If you would like to show your Love for Our Lady and ask for her intercession (and are in London) why not join us for the 27th Annual National Rosary Crusade of Reparation. It starts at 1:45pm outside Westminster Cathedral and will process behind a statue of Our Lady of Fatima to Brompton Oratory. More details here: http://www.rosarycrusadeofreparation.blogspot.com/

Mensch amendment: Christians being forced from public life in Britain!

Not long after the Catholic adoption agencies were forced to close, we now have an amendment that wishes to prevent "faith based" counselling. There is a very good piece at Cranmer discussing this issue. It concludes as follows:

The Mensch amendment is not only ill-conceived and badly thought through; it is fundamentally un-conservative, intolerant, illiberal, and incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 9 of which provides a right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This includes the freedom to manifest a religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance, subject to certain restrictions that are ‘in accordance with law’ and ‘necessary in a democratic society’. 
Mrs Mensch is proposing that inter alia Christians may not counsel on the matter of abortion because this is ‘necessary in a democratic society’. She thereby disregards the Established Church and the constitutional position of the Monarch and her bishops. She sets aside that the majority of the country professes some adherence - however residual - to the Christian faith. And she appears to be oblivious to the fact that the whole fabric of society is constructed upon Christian precepts. 
The question of abortion is profoundly divisive: it is a moral issue. But there is no such thing as ‘neutrality’ in morality: human beings may not conveniently be detached from their gender, beliefs, lifestyle or culture. Counselling is not the mere impartation of information: we have computers for that. Counselling involves empathy and the outcome is clarity and guidance. Why should people of faith be specifically barred from providing enlightenment? Why, if it is deemed necessary and expedient for women to have ‘the right to choose’, may they not have the right to choose whence they receive the information by which they may arrive at that choice?

I recommend you have a look at the whole piece and start writing to your MP's as soon as possible so that Christians are not put into local exile in Britain.

The blogger uses the title "Archbishop Cranmer" out of respect for the long deceased Archbishop Thomas Cranmer of the Church of England who was executed during the reign of Mary 1. He was a leader of the English Reformation and assisted Henry VIII with the justification for his divorce. Under King Edward Cranmer pushed through many reforms to the Church of England. The blogger is "is one of the wittiest conservative thinkers out there, whether in the UK or the USA." (Rabbi Yehuda Hausman, The Musings of Rabbi Hausman (2011)). I must state that I personally do not agree with Archbishop Cranmer's points of view 500 years ago, but do sympathise with the blogger on some points.

Planned Parenthood's Weak Link, LIVE with Abby Johnson Tonight!

From http://plannedparenthoodsweaklink.com/:

Dear Pro-Life Friend,

This Tuesday night, August 23, Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood abortion center director turned pro-life advocate — and author of the Top 10 national bestselling book UnPlanned — will expose her former employer during a webcast event that will uncover the huge weakness she discovered inside the nation’s largest abortion operation … and that she frequently witnesses while traveling across America to speak out against Planned Parenthood.
YOU are invited to be there when Abby blows Planned Parenthood’s cover (but hurry, because there’s limited space available for the online event!)
Sign up below to register for the FREE webcast, where you’ll be among the first to discover:

• Why a Planned Parenthood clinic director and “employee of the year” changed sides to become an outspoken pro-life advocate
• The shocking truth about Planned Parenthood that was revealed through Abby’s high-stakes legal battle with the abortion giant
• The abortion industry’s #1 greatest fear — and how YOU can help make it come true
• Planned Parenthood’s secret “Achilles Heel” that could topple its abortion empire like a house of cards
• How to make abortion unavailable in your community … even while it’s still legal
• The most effective way to drive Planned Parenthood — or any other abortion operation — out of your community
• The brand-new tool you can use to change more hearts and minds about abortion, save more lives … and perhaps even impact eternal souls

You won’t want to miss this eye-opening LIVE webcast event where you’ll hear directly from Abby and other presenters including:

JEFF PARADOWSKI, Abby’s attorney who defeated Planned Parenthood’s legal team and PR spin machine in the high-stakes legal battle with the abortion buisness after Abby changed sides

DAVID BEREIT, national director of 40 Days for Life, the campaign of prayer and fasting, peaceful vigils outside abortion facilities, and grassroots outreach that played a major role in Abby’s conversion

SHAWN CARNEY, campaign director of 40 Days for Life, and the first person that Abby went to for help when she was ready to get out of Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry

25 June 2011 Abortion Prayer in Ealing, London, UK

Please join with the prayer procession tomorrow led by the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and Helpers of God's precious infants. The day will begin with Mass at Ealing Abbey (post code W5 2DY) at 9:15, followed by a procession to the Marie Stopes abortion clinic in Ealing (post code W5 5BJ). While the procession takes place there will be prayer supporters in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.

Please join us. I pray often outside this abortion centre and it is quite busy on Saturday mornings. Your presence is more valuable than you can imagine. And remember, we are there to convert hearts, whether the mother proceeds with the abortion or not. We love these mothers and need them to know we love and care for them.

You can see the printable poster here.

Attention London: Pro-life Superman Msgr Reilly is in town

from Maria Stops abortion:

Monsignor Philip J Reilly, the founder of the Helpers of God's Precious Infants will be in London on Wednesday. He will be giving a talk at St James' Church, Spanish Place, 22 George Street, London, W1U 3QY, on Wednesday 18th May 2011 at 7.30pm.
The number of babies, as well as Mothers & Fathers saved from the horrors of abortion by God's Grace, through this Priest is amazing.Should we go to the abortuary and pray? What should we do when we are there? Do Bishops and Priests need to go? Will me going really make a dfference? Over years I've heard Monsingor answer all of this and much more besides.

Act to defund Planned Parenthood NOW

Senate vote on Planned Parenthood, health law funding, set for Thursday | LifeSiteNews.com

Now is the time. This is the opportunity for Pro-Lifers to make the world a safer place.
Click here to find information to contact your U.S. Senator.

Truth and UK Declaration of Christian Conscience

I would like to share two things today. One is the weekly reflection from the Jesuit Institute of South Africa, the other is an appeal for us all to stand up and be counted in our belief of an objective and revealed Truth. The modern world is lost in a state of relativism, where no objective Truth is accepted. When there is this lack of recourse to objective Truth people begin to hold subjective truth to be the rule of life. This subjective truth tends to suffer from the three sicknesses of modern man: Individualism, Hedonism and Minimalism. Matthew Kelly explains this beautifully in his book "Rediscovering Catholicism". Briefly, this entails asking three questions before engaging in any activity: 1) Will I get something out of it?; 2) Will it feel good?; 3) What is the least I can do to get it?
These are obviously not questions that lead to human progress or any type of development and enrichment of cultures and societies. These questions lead to the Culture of Death, where each man puts himself above all others, and uses all others to further his own desires.
But when we flip the questions around we discover our true selves: 1) Does it benefit everyone?; 2) Does my pleasure make a difference?; 3) What is the most I can give of myself? Are you starting to smell what I am. There is one man who reveals what it is to be fully human, and invites us in this way to experience divinity. That man gave salvation to all (with no benefit to himself), this did not bring him pleasure (indeed it involved a great deal of pain), and he gave his all. Jesus did this. And it is Jesus alone who has revealed to us what it is to be fully human. 


QUOTATION : And you shall know the truth,                                 

 And the truth shall make you free.

 John 8.32

                    

 Truth, said Pilate, what is truth?                                      

 John 18.38                  

REFLECTION: We live in tension between the call to seek the truth and real doubt as to whether such a thing exists. It is significant that Pontius Pilate, Roman governor of Judea at the time of Jesus’ death, a symbol of power, questions the value of truth. For the powerful often think they can control or manage the truth to their own ends. They are ultimately mistaken, as the resurrection of Jesus illustrates within the Christian faith story.

PRAYER: God the source of truth,                               

Strengthen all who seek the truth in our world, Particularly those whose search confronts the ruthlessly powerful. Inspire all to prize this search and to defend the right of all to know.

AMEN.  

Please go to http://www.westminster2010.org.uk/declaration/ to sign the "Declaration of Christian Conscience" so we can unite in support of values and morals and be heard.

Westminster 2010 is a declaration aimed to appeal to UK Christians of all denominations who subscribe to the historic Christian faith and who hold orthodox Christian beliefs about life, marriage and conscience.

It is not intended to be a comprehensive Christian manifesto but focuses on those areas of belief and practice where Christians are experiencing most pressure from an increasingly secular society.

It was initially inspired by the 'Manhattan Declaration', which was launched in November 2009 and has now been signed by over 400,000 US Christians. Westminster 2010, however, is a completely independent initiative by UK Christians focused on UK issues.

We launched it on Easter Sunday 2010 in the lead up to the general election on 6 May inviting individual Christians to sign and calling upon all parliamentary candidates to pledge that they would ‘respect, uphold and protect the right of Christians to hold and express Christian beliefs and act according to Christian conscience’.

Now that the election is over we continue to call upon all those in UK positions of leadership, responsibility and influence to pledge 'to respect, uphold and protect the right of Christians to hold and express the beliefs outlined in the declaration and to act according to Christian conscience'

You can see some more information on these type of movements at the website of our friends at CFAM (Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute).

DFID Malaria Consultation - 'Breaking the cycle of malaria'

There is a great opportunity to direct the fight against malaria. Please see below and complete the survey.

The Department for International Development's malaria consultation is closing on Tuesday 26 October 2010 and we are keen to get as many opinions as possible on how best to tackle malaria. Your comments and expertise will help us to understand different viewpoints, how these issues vary in different countries, and how DFID could work better with partners.

To have your say visit: 

http://www.dfid.gov.uk/malaria-2010

>> Take our short ten minute survey

>> Post your comments in the online discussion forum

>> Download our response template document and 

email your feedback to malaria@dfid.gov.uk.

What was promised at the UN MDG Summit?

The Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell,  announced that the UK will help halve the number of deaths caused by malaria in at least ten African countries by 2015. As part of this  boost, UKaid will save 5,500 children's lives in Zambia by increasing access to malaria prevention, diagnostics and treatment and in Ghana the UK will supply 2.4 million new insecticide-treated bednets, enough to save 13,000 lives a year.

Situation in South Sudan, Is Separation after the Referendum a Possibility?

With less than 100 days to go to the referendum on Southern separation from the Khartoum government, the Bishops of South Sudan are crying out to raise awareness of the situation in the South of Sudan. It seems like the world has forgotten the plight of Southerners in Sudan. But the suffering, humiliation and persecution at the hands of the Khartoum government continues.

Yesterday (Saturday 16 October 2010) I was fortunate to attend a Mass at Westminster Cathedral presided over by Bishop of Tambura-Yambio in Southern Sudan, Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala. The Bishop also gave a talk and answered questions as part of the Aid to the Church in Need’s presentation “Hope without Fear.” This is part of his European tour to raise awareness of the situation in the South of Sudan ahead of the South Sudanese independence referendum to take place in January 2011.

Bishop Eduardo became bishop at the age of 39, after failing to convince the Pope that he was too young to take such a job. The Pope allayed his fears by assuring him that “God will take care.” Bishop Eduardo’s lost his mother when he was only 2 months old. She was killed in a military raid. Bp Eduardo has now made a lifetime commitment to doing his best to make sure that no more babies will be left without their mother’s in this way. He was raised by his catholic grandmother who made him pray often, always saying “Let us pray now, we don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”

Britain left Sudan in 1956, and since then there has not been peace. This is due to the hurried way in which the independence of Sudan was granted, forcing the very different Muslim North into a union with the Christian South. Since that time 3.8 million have died and many more left displaced and lives destroyed.

Finally in 2005 the Comprehensive Peace agreement was signed, giving the South some self-determination, and promising a referendum to decide independence. That promised referendum is due to take place in January 2011. However, the Khartoum government are making public statements that they “will not accept separation” says Bp Eduardo. The southerners are also referred to as cockroaches. This is creating tremendous unease as the same government that killed almost four million are now continuing to treat their Southern brothers and sisters with contempt.

The bishops are calling for international observers for the referendum. But in addition to this, there is also a need for a peace force that would be able to intervene in the case of the (probable) conflict. The Bishop told us of how both sides are already massing armed forces on the border between North and South Sudan.

What is the Church in Sudan suggesting to the people from the pulpit? The good bishop assures us that the Church is calling for the people to “Choose Life- Vote for that option that will give life. Vote for what will end your humiliation and bring equality.”

To put the severity of the situation in perspective we need to remember that Sudan suffered a civil war from the time the British left in 1956 until 2005 when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed. This new peace is now threatened as the South wish to claim their rights. When I was living in Khartoum with the Salesians in 2008 I was also fortunate enough to travel around South Sudan. In my visits to Tonj, Wau, Juba and their surrounding areas my eyes were opened to the poverty of the people. The lack of infrastructure is astounding. The only tarred road I came across in Southern Sudan was in Juba, and then it was only 80km worth in total! So why is the North hell bent on retaining this area? The simple answer is: Oil. The south is oil rich with the Khartoum government administering the sale of this oil. If the South were to separate then Khartoum would lose much of its wealth. Additionally, allowing autonomy to Southerners means that similar call from Darfur in the West and slowly the domination of the Islamist government of this large country (covering a surface area as vast as the entirety of Western Europe) begins to disintegrate. The likelihood of Khartoum (supported by the Arab League) allowing this to occur is close to zero. Omar-al-Bashir, president of Sudan (president since the military coup of 1989) is already making excuses as to why the government will renege on the agreement under the Comprehensive Peace agreement.

In such a seemingly hopeless situation what can we do? Bishop Eduardo has 3 recommendations:

1) Pray for Sudan and join the 101 Days of Prayer for Peace in Sudan.

2) Do your best to influence your government to get involved now. It will be cheaper for everyone to step in and prevent the impending return of civil war.

3) Support Aid to the Church in Need. “When a country goes to war, the Church is the only one remaining to provide humanitarian services.”

Children getting water from the "donkey" at Gumbo. There is no running water so people travel either to the River Nile or the scattered hand pumps to obtain water.

Many people still live in huts like these. One Sudanese religious once told me that "people are still in the bronze age in Southern Sudan"

Despite all the hardships, there is still reason to smile

Even in a small village outside of Juba people have Jesus on their minds. Where there is Christ, there is Hope

40 Days for Life London

This morning we joined the prayer vigil being held outside “Marie Stopes House” close to Warren Street station in London. This has been based here since 1925. Of interest is that nowhere do they mention abortion on the site. I had a peak at there most recent available financial report (for the financial year ending 31 December 2008) and the first item mentioned under significant activities is: “significantly expanding delivery of family planning services including prevention of unsafe abortions (providing the
equivalent of 592,715 safe abortions in 2008, an increase of 29% over 2007)”
There is no mention of how many abortions where provided in the UK, but as the cost of the procedure during the first 12 weeks of the baby’s life is around £510, you can be assured that this is a major portion of there income. This is typical of the abortion industries advertising techniques. They present themselves as offering a variety of services, but the cash cow is the abortion.
This is so sad. Marie Stopes was a racist eugenicist who saw birth control and abortion as a way of preventing “inferior races” from pro-creating, and she is celebrated! This is just wrong.

In her Radiant Motherhood (1920) she called for the "sterilisation of those totally unfit for parenthood [to] be made an immediate possibility, indeed made compulsory."
She contributed a chapter manifesto to The Control of Parenthood (1920), comprising a sort of manifesto for her circle of Eugenicists, arguing for a "utopia" to be achieved through "racial purification":
Those who are grown up in the present active generations, the matured and hardened, with all their weaknesses and flaws, cannot do very much, though they may do something with themselves. They can, however, study the conditions under which they came into being, discover where lie the chief sources of defect, and eliminate those sources of defect from the coming generation so as to remove from those who are still to be born the needless burdens the race has carried.” (Marie C. Stopes, "Racial and Imperial Aspects, (section) II", p. 207 et seq. (this quotation, see p. 208-09), in The Control of Parenthood, various authors, James Marchant, ed., 1920.)

Please join us in the 40 Days for life campaign. We need to pray for healing and pray that mothers will value the beauty of their vocation. Let’s make sure that the door to Mary Stopes and other providers stays closed (as in the picture below, taken today) and not open like in their logo.

Campaign to stop mother to child transmission of HIV

Let's steer the UN to start doing things that are positive and life affirming. Help now!

Stats on child abuse within the Church and UK Petition: Support the Pope's visit

Please visit http://www.petitiononline.com/PopeinUK/petition.html to add your name to the 30 000 who welcome the Pope's visit to the UK.

Also, a brief extract regarding the sexual abuse of minors by priests (thanks to www.proecclesia.com):

"Recent coverage in the media gives everyone the impression that the sexual abuse of children is a particularly Catholic problem. Even the three party leaders discussing the Pope's visit in their televised debate spoke as if this should be taken into account, although they could have been expected to know better.

The figures show a different story. An American study, published on line by Sam Miller, who is not a Catholic but a prominent Jewish businessman from Cleveland, reveals that while a disgraceful 1.7% of Catholic Clergy have been found guilty of sexual abuse, 10% of Protestant Ministers have been found guilty. It also showed child abuse to be far more prevalent in schools, youth organisation and sports training with Catholic clergy at the bottom of the list below doctors, teachers and farmers. Mr Miller ends his article with these words " Walk with your shoulders high and your head higher . . . Be proud to speak up for your Church. Be proud that you are a Catholic ."

The official figures in England and Wales are lower. Only 0.4 % of Catholic priests have been accused of child abuse in England and Wales since 1970 less have been found guilty.

That it happens at all is a terrible scandal but the truth is that only a very small number of Catholic priests ever abuse children sexually and it is dishonest of the media not to make this clear. When a Muslim terrorist plants a bomb which kills a large number of people we are always told, every time it is mentioned, that this movement concerns only a very small number of Muslims who are not representative of the vast majority. Where is a similar disclaimer for Catholic priests? Why are the British people being given only half the story?

The truth is that a young child is now safer in the Catholic Church than in any other institution including nursery or school. Since the Nolan Report, as soon as a priest is reported to have abused a child, the police are informed and the priest is removed from his parish that day and kept in a Convent or Monastery away from children while the accusation is thoroughly investigated. Even after the police have dropped the case, satisfied that there is no truth in the allegation, the Church continues to complete Her own investigation until satisfied.

It is encouraging that some non-Catholic journalists have pointed out these facts online and in personal articles out of an interest in seeing fair play. Sadly Church Officials in this country have been very slow to join in and help redress the balance."