Free Republic

...He could have had his substantial properties restored if he had just sworn that oath, others would say, in order to provide material safety for his beloved family. Instead, this man who loved life, loved his family, loved his career and properly loved the world and all of its goods, loved the Lord first and would not compromise the Truth. He was an ordinary Christian who shows us ordinary Christians the way to living a unity of life in the midst of the creeping darkness and distractions of our own age. He held in harmony his vocation as the father...

SPECIAL REPORT: Marriage Matters - Support the Federal Marriage Protection Amendment 6/6/2006 - 6:05 AM PST Deacon Keith A. Fournier © Third Millennium, LLC Catholic Online The news is filled with the oxymoron “gay marriage” as the United States Senate begins the debate the “Federal Marriage Protection Amendment”. Those who support marriage as a lifelong committed relationship between one man and one woman are being pilloried in the press. No matter where one stands on other issues, if you support marriage - as marriage – you are being brushed with all the disparaging terms thrown at people who insist that...

The New Abolitionism Deacon Keith Fournier © Third Millennium, LLC Introduction It had been a long day. I was driving home to Chesapeake from Richmond, Virginia, “dog tired” as they say. My day had begun in Washington D.C., completing my week’s coursework at Catholic University. The morning class was followed by an important luncheon meeting. That was followed by travel to Richmond for a Latin class. That was followed by the privilege of serving as the Deacon and homilist at Mass at St. Benedict’s, my favorite parish in the Diocese of Richmond. I had at least two hours left to...

Feticide, the Supreme Court and South Dakota Deacon Keith Fournier © Third Millennium, LLC Introduction Two events of great importance have taken center stage in the past week. We live in what Pope Benedict XVI called in his first encyclical letter an “anti-culture” of death. This is a slight - but important- nuanced variance in terminology from the past reference to a “culture of death” used by his predecessor of blessed memory, that great champion of life, John Paul II. Pope Benedict will not even call it a “culture” of death. He is correct. The acceptance of the notion that...

Time For a New Movement By Deacon Keith Fournier © Third Millennium, LLC David Broder recently wrote an interesting column entitled “Among Conservative Scholars, a necessary debate”. It is one of several efforts I have seen which assess the current “conservative” reaction to the changed political landscape in a post -Hurricane Katrina America. He refers within the piece to a larger article in the “Weekly Standard”, a predominantly “neo-conservative” periodical, which, for its tenth anniversary, invited its regular contributors to opine on “what issue” they had changed their mind on in the last ten years. According to Broder, this inquiry...

The War on the Womb There is a war on the womb...both children and women are its victims. By: Deacon Keith Fournier © Third Millennium, LLC On December 15, 2003 - ten days before the world paused to celebrate the birth of a homeless child whose life, death and Resurrection forever altered the course of human history - the “Food and Drug Administration” (FDA), an agency of the United States Government, held a public hearing to consider what was called the “Plan B” Pill. This agency is charged with ensuring that Americans are protected from harm caused by dangerous drugs...

EXCLUSIVE REVIEW: It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good: A Book Review Deacon Keith Fournier © Third Millennium, LLC Catholic Online __________________ “No discussion of moral capital and its effect on our moral ecology and the family is complete without addressing directly the great moral issue of our age. Abortion is a toxin, methodically polluting our fragile moral ecosystem. It poisons everyone it touches, from the mother and her ill-fated child, to the mother and father’s families, to the abortion provider, to each of us who stand as silent witness to this destruction and debasement of human life....

EXCLUSIVE REVIEW: It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good: A Book Review Deacon Keith Fournier © Third Millennium, LLC Catholic Online __________________ “No discussion of moral capital and its effect on our moral ecology and the family is complete without addressing directly the great moral issue of our age. Abortion is a toxin, methodically polluting our fragile moral ecosystem. It poisons everyone it touches, from the mother and her ill-fated child, to the mother and father’s families, to the abortion provider, to each of us who stand as silent witness to this destruction and debasement of human life....

The Rain in Spain By Deacon Keith Fournier © Third Millennium, LLC I awakened to the news of the unraveling of one of the final vestiges of Christian influence in the public order of Spain, the decision to end the recognition of marriage through a legislative redefinition of the word. This was not accomplished by the will of the people but by an act of a legislature that has lost its way. The number of Nations falling to this delusion continues to increase. It seems that more and more governmental officials throughout the western world have begun to see themselves...

The Ten Possibilities Deacon Keith Fournier © Third Millennium, LLC Catholic Online The U.S. Supreme Court handed down its two opinions in the long awaited “Ten Commandment cases” this day, June 27, 2005. In 5-4 decisions, the Court sent another uncertain and convoluted message in its ping pong game of establishment clause jurisprudence. It also positioned itself as the arbiter of what is “acceptable” in a Nation that is reeling under a growing judicial oligarchy. The Justices (at least five of them) upheld a display of the Ten Commandments on public land (I use the phrase instead of so called...

Beyond Roe: Building a Civilization of Love Deacon Keith Fournier © Third Millennium, LLC Introduction This past weekend I had the honor of serving as a Deacon at St. Benedicts’ Catholic Church in the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia. This parish is becoming a center for authentic Catholic renewal. Under the faithful leadership of Father James Kauffman, it is undergoing a time of true growth on every front; in the beauty of the liturgy, the faith of the members and the influence of their example. The parish feeds my growing hope that what many commentators on Catholic faith and life are...

The Pope Calls for “Rapid Development” of the “Marvelous Things” By Deacon Keith Fournier © Third Millennium, LLC _____________________ “Do not be afraid of new technologies! These rank "among the marvelous things" -- "inter mirifica" -- which God has placed at our disposal to discover, to use and to make known the truth, also the truth about our dignity and about our destiny as his children, heirs of his eternal Kingdom.” Pope John Paul II _____________________ Today, February 22, 2005, the Feast of the Chair of Peter in the Western Church, the current Prophet occupying that Chair, Pope John Paul...

Security Moms and Faithful Catholics: Deciding The Election of 2004 By: Deacon Keith A. Fournier © Third Millennium, LLC First, let me give my readers all the careful qualifiers. I am writing as a private citizen, not as a representative of any group that I founded or whom I represent. Let me be also clear. I opposed the “pre-emptive” war in Iraq. I do not believe there can ever be justification for a “pre-emptive” war under the clear teaching of the so-called “Just War” analysis. Preemption is never self-defense. I still maintain, as a faithful Catholic Christian, there was no...

The Rise of True Marriage: A New Missionary Moment Has Come By: Deacon Keith A Fournier © Third Millennium, LLC On May 17, 2004, in my home State of Massachusetts the power of an unbridled Judiciary and the thorough lack of authentic Christian influence on the culture of contemporary America converged in the first volley of the Cultural Revolution. Seven “couples” of the same sex were “married” in an act of “legal alchemy”. The alchemists of old maintained they could change one metal into another. Their claim was a lie. So too, those who under the authority of the State...

John F. Kerry’s Catholic Problem By: Keith A Fournier © Third Millennium, LLC Maybe you read the same article I did this past week? It was entitled “Abortion Issue has little effect on Catholic Vote” and it was written by Andrew Greeley, a Catholic priest, sociologist and author of borderline (you know the type, not quite pornographic but close) popular books. It first appeared in the Los Angeles Times and was picked up in syndication across the country. I read it in my local newspaper, The Virginian Pilot. Father Greeley is on the staff of the National Opinion Research Center...

Timmy's Song 2003-06-23 4:00 PM PST Deacon Keith A Fournier (c) Third Millennium, LLC It was a steamy day in the Nations Capitol. I was rushing to one final meeting in the Dirksen Building after attending Mass at noon. The morning had been packed and I was tired. This was a “stop by” visit, graciously accommodated at my request, in order to allow me to introduce a colleague of mine to one of the great Christian public servants of our age, the Honorable Rick Santorum. I have long admired Senator Santorum as one of the clear and consistent Catholic voices...