“I encourage all eligible Catholics to vote and to be guided in your voting by an informed conscience,” writes Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney (Paterson Diocese, NJ). He cites the U.S. Bishops document on forming one’s conscience on topics such as Human Life, Promoting Peace, Marriage and Family Life, Religious Freedom, the Poor and Economic Justice, Health Care, Migration, Catholic Education, and Combating Unjust Discrimination. [Visit the USCCB website for the full document.] “There is a compelling argument that, if the value of Life itself is not respected and protected, then there is no ‘point’ in speaking about some of the other important issues.” Being against the killing of the unborn means caring for both babies and their mothers<\/strong>. Bishop Kevin states: “We are the Church, called by God, to untiringly advocate for the reverence of the gift of life at all stages.” [The Beacon,<\/em> 10\/28\/21]<\/p>\n USCCB Issues 2023\u00a0Theme for Respect Life\u00a0Sunday:<\/strong> \u201cRadical\u00a0Solidarity\u201d to be\u00a0courageously pro-woman,\u00a0promoting a choice that\u00a0truly protects,\u00a0accompanies, and supports\u00a0women and their children.<\/p>\n An interfaith group of Maryland parents has asked a federal appeals court to allow them to opt their children out of classroom instruction pertaining to books containing LGBTQ+ themes (such as gay romance) to which they object on religious grounds. Becket, a Washington-based religious liberty law firm, is representing the group of parents, including Muslims, Jews, Catholic and other Christians, as\u00a0<\/span>they sue the school board in federal court over the Montgomery County Public Schools policy. [<\/span>Our Sunday Visitor<\/span><\/i>, 9\/17\/23<\/span>]\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Parents have \u201cthe first responsibility for the education of their children\u201d according to The Catechism of the Catholic Church. \u201cMothers and fathers retain the right to both teach their children the morals imparted by the Church and to choose a school for them which corresponds to their own convictions.\u201d (\u00b62229)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [<\/span>Population Research Institute Review<\/span><\/i>, Sept.-Oct. 2023] <\/span>Editor\u2019s question: Why is the federal administration promoting these policies?<\/span><\/p>\n Addiction can take many forms. One of the most widely experienced addiction today is pornography. At first, it\u2019s curiosity and bad moral decision-making. Then, in short order, the dopamine high needs to have stronger, more outrageous, stimulus. And down the dark path one goes. Medical science says it is difficult to stop. Porn creates unrealistic expectations. <\/span>Porn degrades the opposite sex. <\/b>Porn eats away at one\u2019s family. Porn addiction uses up life\u2019s valuable time. Porn, like other addictions, shackles us and reduces our freedom as humans.<\/span><\/p>\n But addiction can be professionally helped. Therapy intervention is available. See <\/span>IntegrityRestored.com <\/b>for comprehensive assistance. \u201cCatholics in Recovery\u201d is a great online group, focused on men\u2019s recovery Also, <\/span>covenanteyes.com <\/b>(use \u201cintegrity30″ for 30 free days) helps monitor your online use. \u201cFight the new drug\u201d is a secular group that also provides sound advice. These can help those addicted to pornography get back their life, get back their family, and achieve freedom again. <\/span>[For more details, listen to the podcast of <\/span>Trending with Timmerie <\/span><\/i>using the Relevant Radio app, 9\/19\/23] <\/span><\/p>\n for 2022 estimated at least 5 million were children. Overall, human trafficking rakes in a monstrous $150 billion annually, with child trafficking accounting for $35 billion, now surpassing the arms trade & on pace to sur pass the drug trade as the world\u2019s fastest growing illegal enterprise (International Organization of Migration, 2022 report). Sadly, <\/span>the U.S. <\/b>ranks #1 in both production and consumption of child pornography and sits among the top three as a <\/span>destination country <\/b>for sex trafficked children. For example, in 2010 Atlanta, Georgia recorded 7,000 online requests for sex with underage victims (children) in just one month (Shapiro Group, 2010).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the 1990s and 2000s, the rise of modern day slavery brought reports of India\u2019s red-light districts onto the world stage, because of ministry work overseas and the\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n award-winning movie <\/span>Slum Dog Millionaire<\/span><\/i>, which ex posed gruesome trafficking rings in India. The blockbuster hit <\/span>Taken <\/span><\/i>also opened people\u2019s eyes to trafficking, depict<\/span><\/p>\n ing young women being abducted from one country & sold to another. The film <\/span>Amazing Grace <\/span><\/i>partnered with the anti-slavery movement to expose the issue. The powerful line, \u201cGod\u2019s children are not for sale\u201d is at the heart of the movie taking the nation by storm, <\/span>Sound of Freedom<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Our border is an abundant source feeding the expanding business of selling children. In 2022, the U.S. Custom and Border Protection Agency reported that over 150,000 unaccompanied minors crossed the border. Approximately <\/span>85,000 children are unaccounted for<\/b>, not including those children coming with families that are indebted to cartels nor do they account for children being used by adults, mostly young males, who are NOT their relatives. None of the children will be able to pay the debt owed as the fee for bringing them across the border. They become indebted to their captors for life. Nothing is deterring these criminal\/ terror organizations from growing their illegal businesses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Americans have crossed the Rubicon and we cannot go back. It is time to rescue our children! [Trayce Bradford, Children Are Not For Sale, Eagle Forum Report <\/i>9\/23]<\/span><\/p>\n Public schools continue to be ground zero to eliminate knowledge of God-derived rights and obligations from our children:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ACTIVITIES: <\/b>for Respect Life Month many events and activities are held in support of life. The <\/span>Life Chain <\/b>project is planned for the afternoon of October 1<\/span>st<\/span>, Respect Life Sunday. Each year, Life Chains form in hundreds of cities nationwide for a public, prayerful, peaceful stand for Life. Also, <\/span>40DaysforLife <\/b>prayer vigils worldwide began on Sept. 27<\/span>th<\/span>and end on November 6<\/span>th<\/span>. For a local vigil, visit <\/span>https:\/\/www.40daysforlife.com\/\u00a0<\/span><\/a>Also, check church & right to life groups in your area for other activities such as guest <\/span>speakers and conferences, processions and masses for life.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Just over a year ago, 30-year-old mother Tasha Kann was diagnosed with a rare and malignant brain tumor called Anaplastic Astrosytoma Grade lll. She was approximately 20 weeks pregnant with a healthy baby\u00a0<\/span>girl. Doctors said that her best chance of survival & more time was to abort the child & immediately begin chemotherapy and radiation. However, Tasha didn\u2019t want to end her baby\u2019s life, even if it meant her own life would come to an end sooner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n According to Tasha\u2019s GoFundMe, \u201cAfter much research & many prayers, Tasha decided her best out come from this disease would be to continue her pregnancy and fight it as naturally as\u00a0<\/span>possible, refusing chemo and\u00a0<\/span>radiation.\u201d Gracey Joyce Kann\u00a0<\/span>was born last October, healthy\u00a0<\/span>and lovely. Tasha\u2019s cancer had\u00a0<\/span>been growing from her central\u00a0<\/span>nervous system. The prognosis\u00a0<\/span>lessened from years to 12 months,\u00a0<\/span>yet Tasha is now at 14 months.\u00a0<\/span>When making the decision about\u00a0<\/span>her care, Kann said her faith was\u00a0<\/span>the biggest factor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEvery single day, I look at my beautiful baby and think about how easy it was for them to tell me to abort \u2013 like she was nothing,\u201d Kann told Fox News Digital. She\u00a0<\/span>is now getting expensive immunotherapy that will cost over $100,000 per year. Her community and family have always been & always will be there to support her. She is not giving up. <\/span>[Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com, 9\/12\/23]<\/span><\/p>\n Earlier this month, Princeton Univ. professor Robert P. George was slated to give a talk at Washington College in Chestertown, MD, including \u201ca discussion of the importance of free and open discourse during college of the great questions of human life.\u201d College President Mike Sosulski emailed students: \u201cIt is incumbent upon us as a community to create & maintain an environment where everyone feels safe to <\/span>share their ideas<\/b>, even those that may be controversial or offensive.\u201d Sosulski himself attended George\u2019s talk.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But \u201cProtesters at Washington College were successful in silencing the speaker,\u201d reported <\/span>The Star Democrat<\/span><\/i>, a local Maryland paper. Students were outraged about his long history of bravely defending & articulating conservative principles about traditional sexual morality & abortion. \u201cAs faculty tried to attempt to help continue the lecture, it proved futile. Fast-tempo music began blaring, whistles constantly blew, and there was even a little dancing in between the tables.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Washington College protesters aren\u2019t some crazed outliers. A new survey of college students reveal horrifying views about free speech. 31% of students say they believe that it\u2019s always or sometimes acceptable to\u00a0shout down a college speaker to prevent him from speaking, according to the survey by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and College Pulse. More than half (57%) agree that a speaker who thinks abortion should be completely illegal should definitely or probably be blocked from giving a campus speech. Shockingly, 11% of students say they think it\u2019s always or sometimes acceptable to use \u201cviolence to stop a campus speech.\u201d [Katrina Trinko, DailySignal.com, 9\/16\/23]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Another Election Coming “I encourage all eligible Catholics to vote and to be guided in your voting by an informed conscience,” writes Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney (Paterson Diocese, NJ). He cites the U.S. Bishops document on forming one’s conscience on topics such as Human Life, Promoting Peace, Marriage and Family Life, Religious Freedom, the Poor…<\/p>\nParents Sue to Opt Out of LGBTQ+<\/h4>\n
Fed. Govt. Continues to Push Abortion<\/h4>\n
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Addiction: Moral Failing at First, Medical Problem Thereafter<\/h4>\n
Global Report on Trafficking in Persons<\/h4>\n
In the Name of \u201cDiversity\u201d<\/h4>\n
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Pregnant Mom w\/Cancer: \u201cNo Abortion\u201d\u00a0<\/b><\/h4>\n
\u00a0Students Afraid of Princeton Professor<\/h4>\n