Friday, June 30, 2023

Pope Francis special prayer intention for July 2023

July

For a Eucharistic life

We pray that Catholics may place the celebration of the Eucharist at the heart of their lives, transforming human relationships in a very deep way and opening to the encounter with God and all their brothers and sisters.

July's First Saint of the Day

St. Junipero Serra

Feastday: July 1
Patron: of Vocations
Birth: 1713
Death: 1784
Beatified: Pope John Paul II
Canonized: September 23, 2015, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C., by Pope Francis

Junípero Serra, originally named Miguel José, was born on November 24, 1713, in Petra, Majorca, Spain. His parents, Antonio Nadal Serra and Margarita Rosa Ferrer, were farmers. Baptized at St. Peter's Church in Petra on the same day, Junípero would go on to become a renowned figure in the history of California.

In his early years, Serra attended the primary school run by the Franciscans in Petra. At the age of 15, his parents entrusted him to a cathedral canon in Palma, where he began attending philosophy classes at the Franciscan monastery of San Francisco.

Serra took his first step toward religious life when he became a novice at the Convento de Jesús near Palma on September 14, 1730. A year later, on September 15, he made his profession and chose the name Junípero in honor of St. Francis' companion. Serra pursued his studies in philosophy and theology at the Convento de San Francisco. The exact date of his ordination to the priesthood remains unknown, but it is believed to have occurred in December 1738. In 1742, he earned his doctorate in theology from the Lullian University in Palma. Shortly after, in January 1749, he was appointed the primary professor of theology at the university and was called to serve as an Indian missionary in America.

We ask you, humbly, t

Accompanied by Francisco Palóu, Serra set sail for America on April 13, 1749. They arrived in Vera Cruz, Mexico, on December 7, 1749. Instead of using the provided horses, Serra chose to walk the 250 miles from Vera Cruz to Mexico City. On January 1, 1750, they reached San Fernando College, having spent the previous night at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Within six months, Serra responded to an urgent call for volunteers for the Sierra Gorda missions. He joined the mission and spent his time between 1750 and 1758 overseeing the construction of a church, promoting religious and economic development, and learning the Otomí language to effectively teach the Pame Indians. Serra's leadership led to the building of mission churches in the other four towns as well.

Afterward, Serra was assigned to the college of San Fernando, where he held various positions, including choir director, master of novices, college counselor, and confessor. He also preached missions as a home missionary in different cities in Mexico. In 1767, he was appointed the president of the ex-Jesuit missions of Baja California.

Serra's enthusiasm and dedication to spreading the faith led him to volunteer for expeditions to Upper California in 1768. He embarked on the journey and reached Loreto on April 1, where he oversaw the establishment of 15 missions, from San José del Cabo to Santa María. Serra's efforts continued as he founded nine missions in Upper California, including San Diego, San Carlos, San Antonio, San Gabriel, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Clara, and San Buenaventura. He also participated in the founding of Presidio Santa Barbara.

Throughout his missionary work, Serra faced health challenges, including leg and foot issues, which required him to be carried on a stretcher during certain parts of his journey. Despite his physical afflictions, he dedicated the next 15 years of his life to evangelizing in Upper California.

Serra passed away on August 28, 1784, at Mission San Carlos, where he was buried in the church he had constructed. By the end of 1784, the number of baptized Indians at the first nine missions had reached 6,736, with 4,646 Christianized Indians residing in them.

Junípero Serra was known for his zeal, optimism, and devotion to his converts. He fought for the freedom of the Church against royal interference and played a significant role in the establishment and expansion of missions in California. His beatification process began in 1934 and concluded in 1949. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 25, 1988, and later canonized by Pope Francis on September 23, 2015. Junípero Serra is widely recognized as the Apostle of California, with numerous monuments and memorials commemorating his legacy along the Camino Real.

Special Angelus Address for today's Solemnity 06.30. 2023 with Pope Francis

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Pope at Angelus: Peter shows how God works in our weakness

At the Angelus prayer on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Pope Francis reflects on the example of the Apostle Peter, saying he points a path to Christ in his generosity and weakness.

By Devin Watkins

As the Church celebrated the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Francis prayed the Angelus with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

Ahead of the traditional noon-day Marian prayer, he reflected on the example of the Apostle Peter, whom Jesus told: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church.”

The Pope focused on three meanings of the Greek word for “rock”, which can signify rock, stone, or pebble.

Courageous as a rock

First, he noted, Peter is a rock, shown in moments when he is “strong, steady, genuine, and generous.”

“He leaves everything to follow Jesus,” said the Pope. “He recognizes Christ, the Son of the living God; he dives into the sea to go quickly toward the Risen One. Then, he boldly and courageously proclaims Jesus in the Temple, before and after being arrested and flogged. Tradition tells us also about his steadfastness when facing martyrdom.”

Reliable as a stone

Secondly, Peter’s name can also be understood as “stone”, a man who offers support to others.

Pope Francis said Peter sustains his brothers and sisters in the work of building up the Church.

The Gospels depict him as responding generously to Jesus’ call, confirming others’ desire to follow Christ, and encouraging the community’s proclamation of the Gospel.

“He is ‘stone’,” said the Pope, “a reliable point of reference for the entire community.”

Weak as a pebble

At the same time, added the Holy Father, Peter’s littleness emerges, revealing him also to be a “pebble”.

“At times he does not understand what Jesus is doing,” he said. “When confronted with Jesus’s arrest, Peter allows fear to overtake him and denies Jesus, then repents and weeps bitterly, but he does not find the courage to stand under the cross.”

Peter, added the Pope, also seeks to flee Rome when initially faced with his own martyrdom, according to the Quo vadis tradition.

Real person with strong and weak points

Peter encompasses each of these three aspects, with which each Christian can identify.

“In Peter,” said Pope Francis, “we find the strength of the rock, the reliability of the stone, and the littleness of a simple pebble. He is not a superman – he is a man like us, who says ‘yes’ generously to Jesus in his imperfection.”

In the Apostle, God reveals that it is He who makes “Peter strong with His grace, unites us with His love, and forgives us with His mercy.”

Saints Peter and Paul, noted the Pope, were real people, with their own faults, strengths, and weaknesses.

Strength, generosity, humility

In conclusion, Pope Francis urged Christians to ask ourselves in what ways we identify with St. Peter, and prayed that the Blessed Virgin Mary might help us to imitate his strength, generosity, and humility.

“Are we aware of our littleness?” asked the Pope, in conclusion. “And above all, in our weakness, do we entrust ourselves to the Lord who accomplishes great things through those who are humble and sincere?”

Papal Mass for Solemnity of Peter and Paul

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Pope at Mass: Follow Jesus and proclaim His Word

At Mass to celebrate the feast of Sts Peter and Paul, Pope Francis blesses the pallia for new Metropolitan Archbishops, and reflects on how the people of God are called to follow Jesus and proclaim the Gospel.

By Linda Bordoni

Pope Francis blessed the pallia for the new Metropolitan Archbishops on the Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul, and presided at the Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.

In his homily, the Holy Father focused on the teachings of Peter and Paul who answered that essential question in life – “Who is Jesus for me?” – by following Him as His disciples and by proclaiming the Gospel.

Reflecting on how the Church is called to grow in the same way “by following the Lord, constantly and humbly seeking Him out,” and by “preaching the Gospel before the world and opening people’s hearts to the presence of God,” the Pope invited the faithful to bring Jesus everywhere, “especially in those places where poverty, decay and marginalization are deeply rooted.”

He began his homily recalling the lives and choices of Peter and Paul, “two apostles in love with the Lord, two pillars of the faith of the Church.”

Answering the question ‘Who is Jesus in my life?’, both of them provide witness and indications on how to grow as Church.

Peter walked in Jesus’ footsteps

Peter, the Pope explained, responded to Jesus’s question ‘Who do you say that I am?’ (Mt 16:16) with the words ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”. That answer, he said, was “the fruit of a journey” he experienced by following the Lord, walking with Him and behind Him for some time.

Only then, he continued, “did Peter arrive at the spiritual maturity that brought him, by grace, to so clear a profession of faith.”

Peter, the Pope said, “was to learn everything day by day, as a disciple, a follower of Jesus, walking in his footsteps.”

“Peter tells us that it is not enough to respond to the question – “Who is Jesus for me” – with a faultless doctrinal formula or a set of preconceived notions. No. It is only by following the Lord that we come to know Him each day, only by becoming his disciples and listening to his words that we become his friends and experience his transforming love,” he added.

Thus, the Holy Father urged believers not to hesitate or come up with excuses.

“We need to be careful, too, because some excuses are disguised as spiritual, as for example when we say, ‘I am not worthy’, ‘I don’t have it in me’, ‘What can I do?’”

This, he said, “is one of the devil’s ploys: it robs us of trust in God’s grace by making us think that everything depends on our own abilities.”

A Church that follows

The charge Peter sets before us, the Holy Father said, is “to detach ourselves from all earthly forms of security, “immediately”, and to follow Jesus anew each day.”

“He invites us to be a “Church that follows.”

Only by striving to be “a disciple of the Lord, a lowly servant of the Gospel” will the Church “be capable of dialoguing with everyone and becoming a place of accompaniment, closeness and hope for the men and women of our time,” the Pope said.

Paul shared the embrace of God’s love

Turning to the Apostle of the Gentiles, the Pope recalled that if Peter’s answer to Jesus’ question was follow, for Paul it is proclaim, to preach the Gospel.

He said that after Paul met the risen Jesus and discovered the fulfilment of the mystery of salvation, he “devoted his life to traversing land and sea, cities and towns, heedless of privations and persecutions, for the sake of preaching Jesus Christ.”

“If we look at Paul’s life, it almost seems that the more he preached the Gospel, the more he grew in the knowledge of Jesus. By preaching the Word to others, he was able to peer more deeply into the depths of God’s mystery,” the Pope said.

The Apostle teaches us, Pope Francis said, “whenever we evangelize, we are ourselves evangelized.”

“Whenever we evangelize, we are ourselves evangelized.”

However much we give to others, we ourselves receive much more, the Pope said quoting the Gospel of Luke and noting “this is something necessary also for the Church in our day: to put preaching at the centre, to be a Church that never tires of repeating: ‘To me, life is Christ’ and ‘Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel’!”

“A Church that needs to preach, even as we need oxygen to breath.”

An outgoing Church

Reminding the faithful that we are celebrating Peter and Paul who invite us to follow Jesus and proclaim the Gospel, he said the Church must grow in the same way.

“It is good for us to become a Church that is also outgoing, finding joy not in the things of the world, but in preaching the Gospel before the world and opening people’s hearts to the presence of God.”

We must bring the Lord Jesus everywhere, the Pope said, with humility and joy: “in our city of Rome, in our families, in our relationships and our neighbourhoods, in civil society, in the Church, and political life, in the entire world, especially in those places where poverty, decay and marginalization are deeply rooted.”

The Pallium

The Holy Father concluded mentioning the fact that on this solemnity a number of Archbishops receive the Pallium, “a sign of communion with the Church of Rome.”

To them, he said: “Be apostles like Peter and Paul. Be disciples in following and apostles in preaching. Bring the beauty of the Gospel everywhere, together with all the People of God.”

Greetings to the Delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate

Before ending, the Pope greeted the Delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, sent here by His Holiness Bartholomew.

“Thank you for your presence! May we advance together, in following and in preaching the word, as we grow in fraternity. May Peter and Paul accompany us and intercede for us.”

Thursday, June 29, 2023

Friday Saints of the Day; killed for the early Church

First Martyrs of the See of RomeFriday Saints

The holy men and women are also called the "Protomartyrs of Rome." They were accused of burning Rome by Nero , who burned Rome to cover his own crimes. Some martyrs were burned as living torches at evening banquets, some crucified, others were fed to wild animals. These martyrs died before Sts. Peter and Paul, and are called "disciples of the Apostles. . . whom the Holy Roman church sent to their Lord before the Apostles' death."

The long awaited knee replacement

I am scheduled for total knee replacement surgery in a few hours today, on this Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. I am believing and praying for total success and, after a period of much needed physical therapy, an end to 7 years of pain and wobbling and sometimes worse.

Please join me in prayers and I'll be praying for many during the days and weeks ahead.

Asking for the intercession of Venerable Fulton Sheen and St. Roch.

See you on the other side of surgery.

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

The great Solemnity of the two great Apostles; Peter & Paul

Ordinary Time: June 29th

Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, apostles

Veneration of the two great Apostles, Peter and Paul, has its roots in the very foundations of the Church. They are the solid rock on which the Church is built. They are at the origin of her faith and will forever remain her protectors and her guides. To them Rome owes her true greatness, for it was under God's providential guidance that they were led to make the capital of the Empire, sanctified by their martyrdom, the center of the Christian world whence should radiate the preaching of the Gospel.

St. Peter suffered martyrdom under Nero, in A.D. 66 or 67. He was buried on the hill of the Vatican where recent excavations have revealed his tomb on the very site of the Basilica of St. Peter's. St. Paul was beheaded in the Via Ostia on the spot where now stands the basilica bearing his name. Down the centuries Christian people in their thousands have gone on pilgrimage to the tombs of these Apostles. In the second and third centuries the Roman Church already stood pre-eminent by reason of her apostolicity, the infallible truth of her teaching and her two great figures, Sts. Peter and Paul.

A partial indulgence may be gained today by anyone who makes devout use of a religious article blessed by any priest but "if the article of devotion has been blessed by the Sovereign Pontiff or by any Bishop, the faithful, using it, can also gain a plenary indulgence, provided they also make a profession of faith (e.g. the Apostles Creed), as long as the usual conditions are satisfied.

Catholic Culture prepared this special section during the Year of St. Paul which was June 29, 2008 - June 29, 2009.

St. Peter
Peter's original name was Simon. Christ Himself gave him the name Cephas or Peter when they first met and later confirmed it. This name change was meant to show both Peter's rank as leader of the apostles and the outstanding trait of his character — Peter (in Hebrew Kephas) the Rock. Peter was born in Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee. Like his younger brother Andrew, he was a fisherman and dwelt at Capernaum. Peter's house often became the scene of miracles, since the Master would stay there whenever He was teaching in that locality. Together with his brothers John and Andrew, Peter belonged to the first of Jesus' disciples (John 1:40-50).

After the miraculous draught of fish on the Sea of Galilee, Peter received his definitive call and left wife, family, and occupation to take his place as leader of the Twelve. Thereafter we find him continually at Jesus' side, whether it be as spokesman of the apostolic college (John 6:68; Matt. 16:16), or as one specially favored (e.g., at the restoration to life of Jairus' daughter, at the transfiguration, during the agony in the garden). His sanguine temperament often led him into hasty, unpremeditated words and actions; his denial of Jesus during the passion was a salutary lesson. It accentuated a weakness in his character and made him humble.

After the ascension, Peter always took the leading role, exercising the office of chief shepherd that Christ had entrusted to him. He delivered the first sermon on Pentecost and received the first Gentiles into the Church (Cornelius; Acts 10:1). Paul went to Jerusalem "to see Peter." After his miraculous deliverance from prison (Easter, 42 A.D.), Peter "went to a different place," most probably to Rome. Details now become scanty; we hear of his presence at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:1), and of his journey to Antioch (Gal. 2:11).

It is certain that Peter labored in Rome as an apostle, that he was the city's first bishop, and that he died there as a martyr, bound to a cross (67 A.D.). According to tradition he also was the first bishop of Antioch. He is the author of two letters, the first Christian encyclicals. His burial place is Christendom's most famous shrine, an edifice around whose dome are inscribed the words: Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam.
—Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patronage: Against frenzy; bakers; bridge builders; butchers; clock makers; cobblers; Exeter College Oxford; feet problems; fever; fishermen; harvesters; locksmiths; longevity; masons; net makers; papacy; Popes; ship builders; shipwrights; shoemakers; stone masons; Universal Church; watch makers; Poznan, Poland; Rome; Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi; Diocese of Las Vegas, Nevada; Diocese of Marquette, Michigan; Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island; Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania. See the full list at CatholicSaints.info.

St. Paul
Paul, known as Saul (his Roman name) before his conversion, was born at Tarsus in the Roman province of Silicia about two or three years after the advent of the Redeemer. He was the son of Jewish parents who belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, was reared according to the strict religious-nationalistic party of the Pharisees, and enjoyed the high distinction of Roman citizenship.

As a youth he went to Jerusalem to become immersed in the Law and had as a teacher the celebrated Gamaliel. He acquired skill as a tent-maker, a work he continued even as an apostle. At the time of Jesus' ministry he no longer was at Jerusalem; neither did he see the Lord during His earthly-life. Upon returning to the Holy City, Paul discovered a flourishing Christian community and at once became its bitter opponent. When Stephen impugned Law and temple, Paul was one of the first at his stoning; thereafter his fiery personality would lead the persecution. Breathing threats of slaughter against the disciples of Jesus, he was hurrying to Damascus when the grace of God effected his conversion (about the year 34 A.D.; see January 25, Conversion of St. Paul).

After receiving baptism and making some initial attempts at preaching, Paul withdrew into the Arabian desert (c. 34-37 A.D.), where he prepared himself for his future mission. During this retreat he was favored with special revelations, Christ appearing to him personally. Upon his return to Damascus he began to preach but was forced to leave when the Jews sought to kill him. Then he went to Jerusalem "to see Peter." Barnabas introduced him to the Christian community, but the hatred of the Jews again obliged him to take secret flight. The following years (38-42 A.D.) he spent at Tarsus until Barnabas brought him to the newly founded Christian community at Antioch, where both worked a year for the cause of Christ; in the year 44 he made another journey to Jerusalem with the money collected for that famine stricken community.

The first major missionary journey (45-48) began upon his return as he and Barnabas brought the Gospel to Cyprus and Asia Minor (Acts 13-14). The Council of Jerusalem occasioned Paul's reappearance in Jerusalem (50). Spurred on by the decisions of the Council, he began the second missionary journey (51-53), traveling through Asia Minor and then crossing over to Europe and founding churches at Philippi, Thessalonia (his favorite), Berea, Athens, Corinth. He remained almost two years at Corinth, establishing a very flourishing and important community. In 54 he returned to Jerusalem for the fourth time.

Paul's third missionary journey (54-58) took him to Ephesus, where he labored three years with good success; after visiting his European communities, he returned to Jerusalem for a fifth time (Pentecost, 58). There he was seized by the Jews and accused of condemning the Law. After being held as a prisoner for two years at Caesarea, he appealed to Caesar and was sent by sea to Rome (60 A.D.). Shipwrecked and delayed on the island of Malta, he arrived at Rome in the spring of 61 and passed the next two years in easy confinement before being released. The last years of the saint's life were devoted to missionary excursions, probably including Spain, and to revisiting his first foundations. In 66 he returned to Rome, was taken prisoner, and beheaded a year later. His fourteen letters are a precious legacy; they afford a deep insight into a great soul.
—Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patronage: Against snakes; authors; Cursillo movement; evangelists; hailstorms; hospital public relations; journalists; lay people; missionary bishops; musicians; poisonous snakes; public relations personnel; public relations work; publishers; reporters; rope braiders; rope makers; saddlemakers; saddlers; snake bites; tent makers; writers; Malta; Rome; Poznan, Poland; newspaper editorial staff, Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Diocese of Covington, Kentucky; Diocese of Birmingham, Alabama; Diocese of Las Vegas, Nevada; Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island; Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts. See the full list at CatholicSaints.info.

Symbols and Representation: Book and sword, three fountains; two swords; scourge; serpent and a fire; armour of God; twelve scrolls with names of his Epistles; Phoenix; palm tree; shield of faith; sword; book.

Pope Francis did have his General Audience today 06.28.2023

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Pope at Audience: St. Mary MacKillop brought Christ's love to rural Australia

At the Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis reflects on the apostolic zeal of St. Mary MacKillop, praising her desire to bring Christ and good education to the aboriginal peoples of rural Australia.

By Devin Watkins

Pope Francis returned to his catechesis series on apostolic zeal on Wednesday, as he held his final General Audience before a month-long summer break.

The Pope focused on the life and example of St. Mary MacKillop (1842-1909), who founded the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart.

Born near Melbourne to Scottish immigrants to Australia, Mary felt called from a young age to serve God in a special way.

Zeal for poor and marginalized

Pope Francis said Mary MacKillop believed she was sent “to spread the Good News and invite others to encounter the living Christ.”

She read the signs of her times, he said, and felt drawn to found several schools to spread the Gospel through Catholic education.

“One essential characteristic of her zeal for the Gospel,” he said, “was her desire to care for the poor and marginalized. This pushed her to go where others refused or were unable to go.”

On the Feast of St. Joseph, on 19 March 1866, Mary opened her first school in southern Australia, which was followed by others in rural communities in other parts of the country and in New Zealand.

Importance of Catholic education

The Pope highlighted her belief that education should promote “the integral development of the person both as an individual and as a member of the community, which requires wisdom, patience, and charity on the part of every teacher.”

“Education consists not in filling heads with ideas,” he said, “but is about accompanying and encouraging students along their path of human and spiritual growth, showing them how friendship with the Risen Jesus opens their hearts and makes their lives more human.”

Pope Francis praised this insight as relevant to our own times, as shown in his own calls for a Global Compact on Education to unite families, schools, and societies.

Trust in Providence

The apostolic zeal of Mary MacKillop also led her to open various houses of charity, starting with the “House of Providence” in Adelaide to welcome both young and elderly people who had been abandoned.

St. Mary nurtured a special trust in God’s Providence amid the myriad financial and organizational problems she had to confront each day.

“Despite the many problems,” said Pope Francis, “she kept her calm and carried her cross patiently as an essential part of her mission.”

Love for the Cross

In conclusion, Pope Francis noted that St. Mary MacKillop learned to love the Cross of Christ and found her own way to respond to the needs of her times.

“May her efforts to form young people inspire us today,” he prayed, “and may her intercession sustain the daily work of parents, teachers, catechists, and all educators, carried out for the good of young people and a future that is more humane and full of hope.”

Tuesday, June 27, 2023

30 "Catholic" lawmakers say being pro-abortion is in keeping with the Catholic faith; they are lying

THE LYING PRO-ABORTION CATHOLIC DEMOCRATS

Bill Donohue

More than 30 congressional Democrats who call themselves Catholic issued a robust defense of abortion-on-demand on June 24 claiming their position is entirely in keeping with the teachings of the Catholic Church. They know this is not true.

“The Statement of Principles,” led by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, was issued in response to the Supreme Court’s decision last year in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe v. Wade. The statement contains at least four egregious falsehoods.

First, the Democrats claim that in the Dobbs decision “the Justices stripped women of their right to abortion and escalated an ongoing reproductive healthcare crisis in this country.” That is a lie. The Supreme Court declared there was no federal right to abortion. It did not outlaw abortion in the United States; it left that decision up to the states.

Second, the Democrats are playing the typical pro-abortion game of interpreting survey data that validates their position. They claim that 68 percent of Catholics support “the legal protections for abortion access enshrined in Roe” and 63 percent “think abortion should be legal in most cases.”

A survey of Catholic voters taken a year ago by RealClear Opinion Research found that 82 percent support some restrictions on abortion. Roe effectively permitted abortion through term, and thus did not reflect the thinking of most Catholics, or, for that matter, most non-Catholics. In a Tarrance Group poll released a few weeks ago, 77 percent of all voters support at least some prohibitions on abortion.

Third, the Democrats falsely argue that their pro-abortion stance is consistent with the Catholic Catechism’s teaching on conscience rights. It is not. The statement quotes the Catechism as saying, “A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were deliberately to act against it, he would condemn himself.”

That is a selective reading of paragraph 1790. The statement never mentions the next sentence: “Yet it can happen that moral conscience remains in ignorance and makes erroneous judgments about acts to be performed or already committed.” Shortly thereafter (1792), it explains that among the expressions of ignorance is an “assertion of a mistaken notion of autonomy” and a “rejection of the Church’s authority.”

And, of course, the pro-abortion Democrats did not quote what the Catechism says about abortion (2271). “Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable.”

Fourth, the Democrats invoke “separation of church and state” by claiming that Catholics cannot “impose our religious beliefs and customs on others who may not share them.” That’s true, but it has nothing to do with abortion. Opposition to abortion is grounded in science, as well as in the teachings of the Catholic Church.

It is science that tells us that human life begins at conception—at the very moment when the DNA that makes us unique individuals is present. Therefore, it is preposterous to assert that the teachings of the Catholic Church, which are identical to the scientific evidence, somehow violate the First Amendment.

It cannot go without saying that abortion is regarded by the Catholic Church as “intrinsically evil.” Now if self-described Catholics want to defend it, they should cease claiming that their position is authentically Catholic. It manifestly is not.

This Pope is another Wednesday Saint of the Day

St. Paul I, Pope

Pope from 757-767. The brother of Pope Stephen 11 and a Roman, he was educated in the Lateran Palace, became a deacon under Pope Zachary, and wielded considerable influence in his brother's administration. Elected to succeed Stephen, he took as his primary concern the threat posed to Rome and the Papal States by the Lombards. Paul secured an alliance with the Frankish king Pepin the Short, thereby cementing the relationship between the Holy See and the Frankish Empire which culminated with the historically significant alliance between Pope Leo III and Charlemagne. Paul also opposed the Iconoclast policies of the Byzantine emperor Constantine V, thereby exacerbating further the deteriorating relationship between the papacy and the Byzantine Empire. He died on June 28 at St. Paul's Outside the Walls, in Rome.

One of the giants among the early Church fathers

St. Irenaeus

The writings of St. Irenaeus entitle him to a high place among the fathers of the Church, for they not only laid the foundations of Christian theology but, by exposing and refuting the errors of the gnostics, they delivered the Catholic Faith from the real danger of the doctrines of those heretics.

He was probably born about the year 125, in one of those maritime provinces of Asia Minor where the memory of the apostles was still cherished and where Christians were numerous. He was most influenced by St. Polycarp who had known the apostles or their immediate disciples

Many Asian priests and missionaries brought the gospel to the pagan Gauls and founded a local church. To this church of Lyon, Irenaeus came to serve as a priest under its first bishop, St. Pothinus, an oriental like himself. In the year 177, Irenaeus was sent to Rome. This mission explains how it was that he was not called upon to share in the martyrdom of St Pothinus during the terrible persecution in Lyons. When he returned to Lyons it was to occupy the vacant bishopric. By this time, the persecution was over. It was the spread of gnosticism in Gaul, and the ravages it was making among the Christians of his diocese, that inspired him to undertake the task of exposing its errors. He produced a treatise in five books in which he sets forth fully the inner doctrines of the various sects, and afterwards contrasts them with the teaching of the Apostles and the text of the Holy Scripture. His work, written in Greek but quickly translated to Latin, was widely circulated and succeeded in dealing a death-blow to gnosticism. At any rate, from that time onwards, it ceased to offer a serious menace to the Catholic faith.

The date of death of St. Irenaeus is not known, but it is believed to be in the year 202. The bodily remains of St. Irenaeus were buried in a crypt under the altar of what was then called the church of St. John, but was later known by the name of St. Irenaeus himself. This tomb or shrine was destroyed by the Calvinists in 1562, and all trace of his relics seems to have perished.