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Any combat training and tactical planning begins with a process of intelligence collection, analysis, and dissemination. Recon (reconnaissance) is a military term used to determine the enemy force’s disposition and intention, gathering information (or intelligence) about an enemy’s composition and capabilities. Dr. Peter Kreeft wrote: “You cannot win a war if you are unwilling to admit we are even at war or you don’t know who your enemy is or you don’t know what strategy your enemy is using.”We have all witnessed how the arid wind of the enemy’s militant secular propaganda campaign has hardened the hearts of so...

Earlier this year I warned that New York City’s centuries-old St. Patrick’s Day parade up 5th Avenue could soon be shut down for violating the human rights of gay groups. It never occurred to me that the parade’s organizers would unilaterally surrender the issue.A political and public relations battle has raged for decades between the parade’s organizers—with historic ties to the Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Irish-Catholic fraternal organization—and groups which sought to march in the parade under banners proclaiming their sexual preferences. I thought the city’s progressive politicians would work to scuttle the parade’s legal basis by revoking...

A fun article in the Washington Post. It always amazes me that there are people 'out there' who want to believe "conservative" is the proper term for loving God so intimately you always strive never be unfaithful to Him. I often wonder if they think cheating on their spouse is just 'liberal'. In any event, it would seem Bill Donohue's credibility has finally imploded. The poor man's ministry has been suffering from the effects of needing the seat at the Bishop's swanky events for quite some time. He had to keep lowering the bar to defend the indefensible. Watching him...

The University of Notre Dame will provide for contraceptives and abortifacient drugs in its student health-care program, the National Catholic Register reports. Notre Dame had joined other Catholic institutions in filing suit against the contraceptive mandate in the federal health-care program. In that lawsuit, Notre Dame said that the mandate would "require Notre Dame to commit scandal." But after preliminary court rulings against the university-- which Notre Dame is now appealing-- the university administration has chosen to cover contraceptive costs.

Although Abdul Hamid has largely been forgotten, he is the young man sitting in the pew next to you at Mass. Abdul was the renowned American boy John Walker Lindh who turned Taliban fighter in Afghanistan shortly after September 11, 2001. The argument can be made that he is an icon for many American Catholic youth of our current day. John Walker Lindh was “raised Catholic” in his suburban California home. By the age of 16, he left his spiritual heritage in search of “his own spiritual path.” That eventually led him to Islam and to his senseless death...

[...] Satanic ritual? Yes. Rituals abound in “Christian” America. Whenever spectators watch singers like Beyonce, JayZ, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and especially Nicki Minaj, they are indoctrinated and involved with blatantly satanic rituals that stem from the deep abyss of the occult. Some of these very same artists have taken the ALS IBC. Gaga doesn’t utter a word as she baptizes herself, arrayed in a sexy black leotard, sporting black lips, perched in an ornate black chair. Gaga doesn’t use a bucket; she instead uses a large silver bowl associated with pagan worship. Do you think she would take the IBC...

INDIANAPOLIS — A lawsuit by a former Roman Catholic schoolteacher who says she was fired by a northern Indiana diocese for trying to get pregnant through in vitro fertilization can proceed to trial, a federal judge has ruled.In a mixed ruling this week, US District Judge Robert L. Miller Jr. in Fort Wayne said Emily Herx deserves a chance to prove her claim that her termination by the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend was based on sex discrimination.Herx, of Hoagland, Ind., sued the diocese in April 2012, alleging that her firing violated the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with...

Washington, D.C., September 05, 2014 (Zenit.org) | 3257 hits Below is a statement released Thursday by the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, regarding the next legal battles facing the diocese regarding the state supreme court's attempt to mandate breaking the seal of confession. The diocese reports that now the "Louisiana Supreme Court has directed the trial court to hold an evidentiary hearing and then to take the unprecedented step of deciding whether or not a sacrament actually took place."It notes that "civil courts are entirely without jurisdiction to decide what constitutes a sacrament in the Catholic Church."A statement on the case from July...

I warmly recommend to the readership a column by Francis Card. George, Archbishop of Chicago. His Eminence knocks this one over the fence.We enter in medias res. You can find the whole thing HERE: [...]In recent years, society has brought social and legislative approval to all types of sexual relationships that used to be considered “sinful.” Since the biblical vision of what it means to be human tells us that not every friendship or love can be expressed in sexual relations, the church’s teaching on these issues is now evidence of intolerance for what the civil law upholds and even...

NEW YORK — Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s positive reaction to this week’s decision by organizers of New York’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade to allow gay groups to march under their own banners initially drew charitable responses in many Catholic Church circles. But it didn’t take long for conservative church critics to turn. After initially signaling his grudging acceptance, William Donohue of the Catholic League came back with a revised view when he realized that more than one gay group could be allowed to march in the future.

Many of you have expressed concern about a blog post I wrote on the St. Patrick’s Day Parade which was removed. I am grateful for your concern about this and all the issues we discuss here. I removed the post upon further reflection due to the strong nature of the language I had used in parts of it. I apologize if the language I used caused offense. I remain concerned about the central point of the article, namely, how we as Catholics can effectively engage a culture that increasingly requires us to affirm what we cannot reasonably affirm. There are...

Cardinal Raymond Burke, head of the Vatican’s highest court – the Apostolic Signatura – has given a lengthy televised interview in which he decisively rectifies the false notions about Pope Francis’ “Who am I to judge” quote that has been used frequently to suggest a change in Church teaching on the matter of homosexuality. Host Thomas McKenna of Catholic Action Insight questioned Cardinal Burke about instances where people must make judgments in light of Pope Francis’ “Who am I to judge” phrase.  “We have to judge acts, we have to,” Cardinal Burke replied. “All day long we make judgments with...

New York City, N.Y., Sep 5, 2014 / 11:48 am (CNA).- A spokesman for the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade said the inclusion of an LGBT activist group in the traditionally Catholic parade was a “gesture of goodwill,” though concerns have been raised that some outside groups aim to remove the event’s Catholic character. Bill Donohue of the Catholic League, a longtime supporter of the parade’s previous policy against political signs and advocacy, said that organizers initially formally assured him that both homosexual groups and pro-life groups prohibited under the old policy could now apply to march...

How did Cardinal Dolan ever acquire a reputation for seeming orthodoxy? He’s about as orthodox a Catholic as Katherine Jefferts Schori. And it seems if there is any crowd to be played to, any group to be appeased (save, of course, for faithful Catholics), Dolan is ever ready to surrender to the demands of the world, no matter how craven he appears, no matter how great the scandal he gives, in so doing. Of course, his short little Archie Bunker clone attack dog will always be there yipping at his heels a chorus of unwavering if incoherent support. Pathetic: The...

Painting the Catholic Church as "out of touch" is like shooting fish in a barrel, what with the funny hats and gilded churches. And nothing makes it easier than the Church's stance against contraception. Many people, (including our editor) are wondering why the Catholic Church doesn't just ditch this requirement. They note that most Catholics ignore it, and that most everyone else finds it divisive, or "out-dated." C'mon! It's the 21st century, they say! Don't they SEE that it's STUPID, they scream. Here's the thing, though: the Catholic Church is the world's biggest and oldest organization. It has buried all...

If reports are to be believed, a compromise is in the works that will amount to nothing less than an endorsement of the gay identity in the 2015 NYC St. Patrick's Day parade. The Irish Times reports that under pressure from NBC, not only will a group be allowed to march in the parade with a gay identity banner (something previously banned) but that none other than Timothy Cardinal Dolan will be Grand Marshal.A gay group of employees from NBC will march in next year’s New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade behind their own banner, a source with knowledge...

Why do Catholics who are aligned with Democrats on social welfare and Republicans on abortion usually vote Democrat? Recent political science research suggests an answer. Some Catholics who vote for Democratic candidates incorrectly assume those candidates are pro-life. Catholics are often used as an example of "cross-pressured voters" due to the political party positions on abortion and welfare. Laura Hussey, associate professor of American public policy and administration at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and Geoffrey Layman, professor of political science at University of Notre Dame, however, found that a minority of Catholics were both pro-life and pro-welfare, and those...

NEW YORK (RNS) After years of strong resistance, organizers of New York’s St. Patrick’s Day parade on Wednesday (Sept. 3) said that gays and lesbians will be allowed to march under their own banner for the first time, and Cardinal Timothy Dolan — the parade’s grand marshal next March — has welcomed the move. The decision is another sign of how quickly changing public attitudes toward gay people have pushed changes in state laws, government policies and the practices of private entities. Dolan’s positive response may also point to a shifting dynamic within the Catholic Church on gays and lesbians...

If reports are to be believed, a compromise is in the works that will amount to nothing less than an endorsement of the gay identity in the 2015 NYC St. Patrick's Day parade. The Irish Times reports that under pressure from NBC, not only will a group be allowed to march in the parade with a gay identity banner (something previously banned) but that none other than Timothy Cardinal Dolan will be Grand Marshal. Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/pat-archbold/cardinal-dolan-and-the-nyc-st.-patricks-gay-parade#ixzz3CGn0Y6ia

This contradiction was laid bare recently when the Holy See, acting in secret, threw the protective cloak of diplomatic immunity over Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski — the papal nuncio in the Dominican Republic and an alleged serial abuser of minors. In a show of toughness, church officials defrocked Wesolowski and promised to try him according to the laws of Vatican City. In effect, though, church officials once again shielded a predator priest from civil jurisdiction.