extreme Catholic

Belmont Club has a good analysis of the war on the ground in Iraq up to moment

Faced with a force increasingly familiar with Arabia, with deep combat experience, nearly unlimited technical resources and growing lethality, the enemy, like Yamashita in the Cordilleras and Ushijima in Okinawa, can only hope to be saved by the bell. Objectively, there is little chance of that. But as Lileks said: "hope is on the way".

"Hope" for the terrorists is the possibility of a Bush defeat on election day.

Belmont Club decodes the OBL video

Short version: OBL is not bragging about establishing a global caliphate, but reminding us that he's still capable of inflicting a lot of hurt on us, so we should just back off. He's asking for a ceasefire

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:21 PM Permalink

Post-Election To Do List

U.S. Armed Forces: clean out Fallujah and Sadr City.
Israel: bomb Iran's nuclear facilities
Chief Justice Rhenquist: resign. Justices: O'Connor, Ginsburg, Stevens: resign.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 7:44 PM Permalink

Why Bush Will Win. Dick Morris. New York Post.

HERE'S a two-part test to determine who will win on Tuesday:
a) Ask yourself: What is the issue we are talking about these days? Are we focused on terrorism and Iraq, or on health care and jobs? The answer is obvious: terrorism and Iraq.
b) Now look at the polls. Not the page that shows who they're voting for. That changes every hour. Look at the page that asks, "Which candidate do you think would do the best job of handling the war in Iraq?"
The answer is always President Bush, usually by 10 points. And right below that, on "Which candidate do you think would do the best job of handling the War on Terror?" Bush leads again, usually by 20 points.
If the issue is terrorism and Iraq, and Bush wins those issues by double digits, then the winner will be . . . voila, Bush!

I agree. It was Kerry's to lose and he lost. He placed his faith not in an message of hope from, to, and for Americans but in the words of Mohammed el Baradai of the IAEA/United Nations, CBS and the New York Times with total credulity.

Do you trust the institutions and people that Kerry trusts?

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:07 PM Permalink

Blogger Meetup: Hollywood's Church of the Masses meets New York's Extreme Catholic

I met Barbara today at that wonderful Catholic bookstore Daughters of St. Paul also in attendence were a writer from NewsMax a postulant from Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and a fellow speaker from The Catholic Evidence Guild

Let me introduce you to Barbara Nicolosi:

I don't have a transcript or a tape recorder going but I'm going to do my best to summarize our discussion:

Every parish, every Catholic organization needs to look outward as well as inward -- and live out the call of the Holy Father for a New Evangelization.
There's great hope in youth (Gen X'ers (born 1965-85) and the Millenials (born 1986-)) because they lived through the mess created by the sexual revolution and culture of narcissism.
We are both RCIA teachers and see people coming into the Church full of fire. It's from the new blood (converts) and refreshed blood (reverts) that we are now seeing Christians push back at the indifferent or hostile to the faith themes in the popular culture.
Expect a gradual change in the years to come as Hollywood realizes that there's money to be made and audiences to reach with quality films like The Passion and television like Joan of Arcadia as young people rise up through the ranks in the media companies.
I remarked that the only family we see the attends church with regularity and allows their faith to guide decisions they make in their lives are The Simpsons
Maybe my son or daughter will attend the Act One Writer's Workshop next summer in Hollywood.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:46 PM Permalink

UK releases “Suspect List” UK Telegraph

A full list of suspected wartime traitors, including the Duke of Bedford, Sir Oswald Mosley (photo, London, 1937) and many other members of the British upper classes who would have been arrested in the event of a German invasion has been released for the first time at the National Archives.
The "Suspect List", which fills hundreds of pages of dog-eared papers kept in thick files, was one of the most closely guarded of wartime secrets and even now, 60 years to the day after it was formally closed, is still shrouded in mystery.
In the list of more than 400 people drawn up by MI5 and Special Branch, coal miners and hairdressers rub shoulders with dukes and retired admirals, while bank managers are collected together with doctors, dentists and ladies of leisure.
Britain in early 1941 was terrified by the prospect of invasion, and the Suspect List was drawn up so that people who had not already been interned as Nazi sympathisers could be seized to prevent them acting as spies or saboteurs for the Germans.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:17 PM Permalink

We're All Responsible

Greg Sisk in Mirror of Justice has a thoughtful piece on why Catholics cannot vote for Kerry.

Blogger Credit: Aganist the Grain.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:18 AM Permalink

Charles IX, King of France.

What Reformation character would you go as?

Cities set Saturday as night for children to trick-or-treat
Knollwood Presbyterian Church in Sylacauga is celebrating Oct. 31 as the anniversary of Martin Luther nailing the 95 theses on the wall in Wittenberg, Germany.
Luther's posting of the theses in 1517 was a significant break from the Catholic Church and the beginning of Protestantism.
“We're having a Reformation Party with games, a bonfire and a drama about Martin Luther,“ said the Rev. Dan Seale of Knollwood. “We've asked children to either dress up as a child from the Reformation or a Bible character.
“We're leaving (trick-or-treating) up to the consciences of the parents. What we're doing is focusing on (Martin Luther); we're not dealing with the whole Halloween thing.”

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:25 PM Permalink

To the "pro-life but voting for Kerry" people

I think there's a lot of pathetic rationalization going on with these "pro-life but..." Kerry voters. Are the any "pro-choice but..." Bush voters? No, Kerry is getting every pro-aborts vote.

The reality is that abortion is murder and whoever is president from 2005 to 2008 is going to have as many as 4 seats on the Supreme Court to fill and that's only the start of ending this one horror.

I guarantee Kerry will promote abortions, euthanasia, destruction of human embyos, and human cloning. How will you answer to God for your vote?

If Bush is re-elected, work harder on getting your pro-life candidate elected in 2008. I don't want to have this conversation again where you will be rationalizing your vote for Hillary Clinton.

Responding over in Amy Welborn's blog

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:14 PM Permalink

New York City social services contractors are required to give benefits to domestic partners. There is no religious exemption. WINS.

The law, scheduled to take effect Oct. 27, would require companies with city contracts worth at least $100,000 to provide health, family and bereavement benefits to domestic partners, gay or straight.
After the City Council passed the legislation in May, Bloomberg vetoed it. The City Council overrode the veto, which prompted the Bloomberg administration to sue.
Bloomberg has said he opposes the legislation because the procurement policy should not be used to promote social issues. He also has said the city might be faced with higher prices for goods and services if the law goes into effect.
The law, known as Local Law 27, is opposed by several groups that do business with the city, including the Salvation Army and Catholic Charities.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:00 AM Permalink

Monsignor Woolsey Update

Manhattan monsignor says he's keeping the money 88-year-old parishioner gave him. AP.

NEW YORK -- A Catholic priest who was accused of bilking an 88-year-old parishioner out of nearly $500,000 says the woman gave him money, gifts and securities freely and he has no intention of giving them back.
Monsignor John Woolsey, suspended pastor of St. John the Martyr Church, on Manhattan's Upper East Side, stated his position in court papers filed in reply to a lawsuit alleging he used undue influence to get Rose Cale to sign over at least $490,000 in cash and stock to him. Cale died on Jan. 12, 2003.
Woolsey, 66, says in court papers that the executor of Cale's estate, Janet Naegele, "requested that defendant (Woolsey) return all gifts of cash and stock made by Miss Cale to the defendant and that the defendant refused such request."
The priest's papers say he "is the rightful owner of all gifts of cash and stock knowingly, freely and voluntarily made by Miss Cale to (Woolsey)."

Diocesan priests do not take vows of poverty.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:51 PM Permalink

The surprise of Election 2004 - Keyes was a lousy candidate.

Democrat Barack Obama, left, and Republican Alan Keyes debate in the race for the open U.S. Senate seat. AP.

I thought he might lose -- but by 50 points?

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:05 PM Permalink

Read what this is in reply to at Jimmy Akin's Blog

Once again, you've accepted the claims of Frs. DiNoia and Cole where they contradict Mr. Balestrieri, and not addressed the conflicts between the statements of Fr. DiNoia and Fr. Cole regarding the delegation to reply to Mr. Balestrieri, nor the harm done to the reputation of Mr. Balestrieri by unnamed sources within in the Vatican according to CNS, nor how the CDF decided to help this American student with his homework with a carefully crafted letter in less than 10 days of his visit there.

The "application" of the letter as you put it to the case of not a libelous leap by Mr. Balestrieri as you suggest here. Rather, the substance of letter itself makes it clear it applies to the case of John Kerry and any Catholic politician who advocates an abortion right in defiance of Church teaching. The letter speaks for itself without any "spin".

"Well by all means use it, no restrictions whatsoever." Permission was given to make Fr. Cole's 9/11 letter public. The "confusion" as you put it in your mock apology commenced with the CNS interview of Fr. DiNoia.

Finally, Jimmy, where do you stand? Do you dispute the Fr. Cole's letter communicates the teaching of the Church? Do you dispute that "if I obstinately deny by teaching and preaching, or doubt that abortion is not intrinsically evil, I commit the mortal sin of heresy"?

I don't think Mr. Balestrieri was "unfair" to Frs. DiNoia or Cole. I think somewhere Frances Kissling must be delighted that Catholics see fit to mock Marc Balestrieri in this week before the election.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:00 PM Permalink

The funniest anti-Kerry commercial

is at The Club For Growth.

Blogger Credit: Domenico Bettinielli

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:27 PM Permalink

Nobody Knows. Dick Morris. New York Post.

So now the Zogby poll, which had seen more Kerry strength than most, is picking up a Bush surge � while the Rasmussen poll, which trended for Bush, is seeing a Kerry bump.
I'm glad that I am out of the business of polling U.S. elections...
As Election Day approaches, two trends will dominate, neither good for Bush. Downscale voters will begin to pay attention and be included in surveys of likely voters. Since they largely vote Democratic, this is good for Kerry. Also damaging to Bush's prospects is the fact that undecided voters tend to break in favor of the challenger at the very end.
But, again, all that holds in a normal year. We won't know if it's still true until next Tuesday night (if then). It's a tough year to poll.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:30 AM Permalink

Polls: the gift to the MSM that keeps on giving

Among people who claim to be able to vote, Rasumussen and ABC there's a one point lead for Kerry. When you add "If you were able to vote in the 2000 presidential election, did you?" the numbers tip back to Bush.

I think some of these polls push Kerry by asking questions that are Kerry talking points: "is the country on the right track?", "is the country losing jobs through outsourcing?", etc.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 8:45 AM Permalink

French ad campaign features Jesus and Mary as "dirty Jews". AP.

A new advertising campaign in the fight against anti-Semitism in France aims to shock.
The campaign, to be launched Tuesday, features serene images of Jesus and Mary with the slur "Dirty Jew" scrawled across them as if in graffiti.
Underneath the picture appears the slogan: "Anti-Semitism: And if it were everyone's problem?"
The advertisements, which will run in French newspapers over a period of about 10 days, were created by the Union of Jewish Students of France, or UEJF.
The UEJF said it recognizes the startling nature of the images but says the goal is to grab people's attention.
"It's a way to wake people up and make them aware," said Yonathan Arfi, the group's president, in a telephone interview. "That's what is important. Today, it is difficult to wake people up without running the risk of shocking them a bit."
He stressed that no disrespect for Catholic images or Catholicism was intended.
"On the contrary, we are, more or less, paying homage to Jesus and Mary as the first to protest racism, the first who took it upon themselves to defend others," Arfi said.
The Conference of Bishops of France declined Friday to comment on the campaign.
The UEJF cited rising anti-Semitism in France as the impetus behind the campaign.
The French Interior Ministry said this week that the number of anti-Semitic acts appears to be rebounding, with 166 counted in the first nine months of 2004, compared to 127 for all of last year. In 2002, the Interior Ministry counted 195 such acts.
France has the largest populations of Jews and Muslims in western Europe and has suffered a rising tide of anti-Semitic crime since 2000, when tensions between Israelis and Palestinians worsened in the Middle East.
President Jacques Chirac addressed the topic Friday during a reception for the 20th anniversary of the "Judaism and Liberty" association at the presidential Elysee Palace.
"There is no question about allowing a climate of tension, rivalry and antagonism develop in France," he said, adding that France's policy of secularism is the "strongest support of liberty for all and of the respect for the convictions and beliefs of every person."

This is blasphemy (of course). It's power to shock is precisely because it is an outrage.

The lack of spine of the bishops in not speaking out against it speaks for itself.

If this is designed to obtain sympathy from Christians for the anti-semitism perpetrated by Muslims and secularists, this is like bringing a bucket of gasoline to put out a fire.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:05 AM Permalink

Charge of the Light Brigade. AP Photo.

Riders participate in a re-enactment of the Crimean War's 'Charge of the Light Brigade' as they ride through what is known in British history as the 'Valley of Death' in the Crimea, Ukraine, Sunday Oct. 24, 2004. The Charge of the Light Brigade was an unmitigated disaster for the British Army. Badly-phrased orders led about 670 cavalry into a hail of Russian bullets and cannon, killing the majority of them. Monday is the 150th anniversary of the infamous Charge.

You will probably want to double-check this story because it's so amazing, but it an Extreme Catholic historical footnote.

French secularism is the remote cause of the famous Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava.

As a legacy of the Crusades, the French operated missions in the Holy Land which from the 15th century onward was part of the Ottoman Empire. During that very brief period known as the Reign of Terror and the First Empire -- France withdrew its support of its missions. Into this religious vacuum, the Russian Orthodox moved in and occupied the abandoned missions.

Over time, the French sought to reclaim its 1792 standing, restoring the anciene regime if not in France, in the Holy Land. Diplomacy was attempted. The Russians resisted.

An alliance of the anti-Russians emerged France, Great Britain, and the Ottoman Empire to mount a punitive expedition against Russia. The target was Sevastopol, and Balaclava was on the approach.

At the end of the battle, the Russians held the ground and the British withdrew. Consequently it is the only battle for which there is a military decoration which was a British defeat.

That was only a battle, the war was a defeat for Russia. In gratitude, the French were, for the most part, restored in Jerusalem and elsewhere and the British were granted a special status of protector of the Jews and many regard this event as the planting of the seed of Zionism that would bloom into a state of Israel.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:17 PM Permalink

What's going on in the polls.

The truth is that Kerry never had the lead. Polls were skewed to make it seem as if it Bush and Kerry were even.

Now the credibility of the polling organizations is at stake. They have to become as accurate as they can be so that when their performance of these polling organizations is scrutinized after the election.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 4:13 PM Permalink

Rosary is not just a fashion item, explains Church. UK Telegraph

The soaring popularity of rosary beads among the fashion conscious has provoked the Roman Catholic Church to issue a leaflet stressing their religious significance.
Christian bookshops and other suppliers have been overwhelmed by demand from teenagers since celebrities such as David Beckham and Britney Spears began wearing the beads as necklaces and bracelets.
Catholic authorities have expressed "regret" about the way the beads are being trivialised and the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales has now produced guidance on their use as prayer aids.
Fr. Allen Morris, the secretary of the Department for Christian Life and Worship, said jewellery shops were reporting record sales of rosaries and the leaflet was a response to concern that they were seen as mere secular fashion items.
Shirley Nicholls, manager of the Revelations Christian Bookshop in Ipswich, said: "We have sold more than 100 rosary beads in the past six weeks. We normally sell about three dozen in April and May, when people have them for their first communion, and then the odd one during the rest of the year.
"But during the summer, they have been selling like hot cakes and the children keep asking me to order more."
Traditional rosaries consist of five sets of beads, each set comprising one large bead representing the Lord's Prayer, and 10 smaller ones representing the Hail Mary. They were originally used by people who could not read or write to help them meditate on the life of Jesus.
Mrs Nicholls, who runs the shop on behalf of the St Edmundsbury and Ipswich diocese, has now started handing out booklets with the rosaries, explaining how to use the beads for prayer.
"I think it's a rather strange fashion accessory," she said. "I couldn't handle the idea at first, but now I hand out a leaflet with every purchase, so that youngsters have a chance to see what the beads are for."
Kristina Cooper, editor of the national Good News Magazine for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, has also been handing out rosaries to children on her estate in south-west London.
"I think it's a bid sad if people wear rosary beads and don't understand what they mean," she said. "But it's an opportunity for Christians to explain to people what they are all about.
"I make the youngsters earn their rosaries by learning Our Father and I tell them they are prayer beads and not fashion items."
Beckham, the England football captain, epitomised the trend when he appeared on the front cover of Vanity Fair sporting a Dolce & Gabbana "rosary necklace" worth �550.
The singer Britney Spears was pictured in Dublin wearing white beads, and Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, the television personality, has also been photographed with a rosary.

One way we have discovered to prevent the boys from wearing them is to only give out pink rosaries, they prefer to wear black or white.

There was a murder a few years back where a boy choked another boy to death in a thrill killing with a rosary.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 3:04 PM Permalink

Quite Simply, Kerry must be stopped; and Bush must win. Paul Johnson. National Review.

The great issue in the 2004 election � it seems to me as an Englishman � is, How seriously does the United States take its role as a world leader, and how far will it make sacrifices, and risk unpopularity, to discharge this duty with success and honor? In short, this is an election of the greatest significance, for Americans and all the rest of us. It will redefine what kind of a country the United States is, and how far the rest of the world can rely upon her to preserve the general safety and protect our civilization.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:41 PM Permalink

Myth of the Catholic Voter. Joseph Bottum. Weekly Standard.

The fact that Catholic voters are invisible feels wrong to me, somehow--a theological error, a philosophical mistake. The uniqueness of the Catholic vote wants to be true, if only because American history and intellectual consistency alike seem to demand that being Catholic make a difference in how one behaves in the public square.
But accurate political analysis, like well-directed pastoral teaching, needs to begin with the truth: The Catholic voter is, alas, a myth.

Blogger credit: Amy Welborn

From a book review of George Marlin's The American Catholic Voter

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:14 AM Permalink

Holy See-Saw. Duncan Maxwell Anderson. New York Post.

After first denying he'd been in touch with Balestreri at all, Fr. Di Noia admitted to Reuters: "I thought I was advising a student who was working on a project. I referred him to a reliable theologian on the matter. I had no idea his aim was actually to build a heresy case against John Kerry or against anyone else."
So if he'd known Balestrieri was trying to shoot down Sen. Kerry, he'd have gotten him a different answer? Does the truth change depending on who is asking the question? Does moral law only apply to children's school papers, not in the real world?

No, I didn't speak to Duncan Maxell Anderson on this topic. He's a friend of mine though. We met at one of the Catholics For Bush events during the RNC.

He's sometimes in Heart, Mind, Strength

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:35 PM Permalink

St. John of Capistrano

A bright, successful young man - a yuppie of the 15th century. After time in jail, he became a Franciscan friar. He was a lawyer, intellectual, and intensely Catholic so naturally he became an inquisitor. His first target were the Hussites, Hus himself having been burned at the stake. From any of his online biographies, you can see that this was a man who knew how to use violence in the name of Christ, when reason and grace wouldn't do the job.

With the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, the little Christian dominoes were going to fall and we might all be speaking Arabic now, were not John of Capistano and John Hunyadi in Belgrade and turn the jihad around, giving independence to Hungary and leaving Christendom somewhat intact to fight another day.

Free Dictionary

Wikipedia

Catholic Encyclopedia

You might look at this picture like I did and say "Where's John?" -- so I photoshopped the second image to shine the light on this saint.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:50 PM Permalink

Extreme Islam

Americans trying to make sense of recent national tragedies continue to seek knowledge about the cultural, political, and religious beliefs of America�s self-declared enemies.

This book documents the first stirrings of Muslim extremism and follows its violent evolution to today�s acts of terrorism.

It reveals the religious, political, and social beliefs of the terrorist groups currently threatening the West.

Neither anti-Islamic nor pro-Western, Extreme Islam presents the facts of Islamic fundamentalism and features fatwas, commands, and declarations by the clerics and leaders of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, Syria, and Afghanistan, including Osama bin Laden and leaders of the Palestinian intifada.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:45 PM Permalink

Election violence must be stopped : Thomas Libscomb Manchester Union-Leader

The worst outbreak of election violence since the civil rights era of the early 1960s has been occurring all across the United States, and there has been far too little attention paid to it.
In one of the worst cases, an AFL-CIO goon squad leading 100 “protesters” ransacked the local Bush-Cheney Orlando headquarters in hotly contested Florida, injuring two of the workers.

Lipcomb is critical of the Bush administration for not mobilizing the resources of the Justice Dept and FBI to protect election and party workers. This is a civil rights issue as much at the racist attacks in the 1960's were.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:18 PM Permalink