Scottish Cardinal sent live bullet in the mail

THE leader of the catholic church in Scotland was sent a live bullet in the post.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien received the package at his edinburgh home.

The senders claimed to be the Protestant Action Group - an old cover name for the Ulster Volunteer Force.

Under the words "No Surrender", the letter warned the churchman: "If you bring your Pope here ... this is what he will get."

Police, including the Met's anti-terror squad, carried out an investigation but the culprits were not traced.

LINK

For those who don't know, the UVF is basically the Loyalist version of the IRA; a terrorist group known for violence against perceived Irish Republicans, mostly Catholic.

Threats like this may turn out to be bluster, but they MUST be taken seriously.  Any time someone threatens to kill a leader for whatever reason, it's a serious affair.

Pray for our Holy Father.

The Holy Father is right!

Courtesy of Father Z.

A friend of mine, the great Roman Fabrizio noticed this and sent it along for our opportune knowledge.
The Holy Father, in his “Message” for the World Day for Migrants and Refugees, offered:

” The Church recognizes this right in every human person, in its dual aspect of the possibility to leave one’s country and the possibility to enter another country to look for better conditions of life” (Message for World Day of Migration 2001, 3; cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Mater et Magistra, 30; Paul VI, Encyclical Octogesima adveniens, 17). At the same time, States have the right to regulate migration flows and to defend their own frontiers, always guaranteeing the respect due to the dignity of each and every human person. Immigrants, moreover, have the duty to integrate into the host Country, respecting its laws and its national identity. “

The Holy Father is absolutely right in this regard.  Catholics, pay attention!

CNA: Cardinal O’Brien accuses BBC of attempting to 'humiliate' Pope, says is time for religion editor

From CNA:

London, England, Sep 6, 2010 / 09:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the senior Catholic authority in Scotland, accused the BBC on Sunday  of  being contaminated by “a radically secular and socially liberal mindset.” Then prelate added that the public corporation headed by Mark Thompson, a 52-year-old Jesuit educated Catholic, should appoint a religion editor immediately.
Cardinal O'Brian, who is Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh also accused the BBC of plotting a “hatchet job” on the Vatican in a documentary about clerical sex abuse on the eve of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Britain.
“This week the BBC’s director general admitted that the corporation had displayed ‘massive bias’ in its political coverage throughout the 1980s, acknowledging the existence of an institutional political bias,” the cardinal said.
“Our detailed research into BBC news coverage of Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular, together with a systematic analysis of output by the Catholic church, has revealed a consistent anti-Christian institutional bias,” he added.
As proof, Cardinal O'Brian pointed out to 15 percent decline in religious programming over the past 20 years. Also, he added, insiders at the BBC have privately admitted that there is a cultural intolerance of Christianity at the corporation.
“Senior news managers have admitted to the Catholic Church that a radically secular and socially liberal mindset pervades their newsrooms. This sadly taints BBC news and current affairs coverage of religious issues, particularly matters of Christian beliefs.”
The Archbishop of Edinburgh voiced his fears that the BBC will use a forthcoming documentary called "Benedict –Trials of a Pope" to "humiliate the Pontiff on the eve of his visit to Britain."  The program was created by Mark Dowd, a homosexual former Dominican friar, and will be aired on September 15.
The cardinal joined the recent Church of England's demand that the broadcaster appoint a religion editor to address the issue of the decline and the bias on religious information.
The BBC immediately dismissed Cardinal O’Brien’s criticism of its religious coverage. A spokeswoman told The Telegraph that “BBC news and current affairs has a dedicated religion correspondent.”
In fact, the BBC appointed Mr. Aaqil Ahmed last year as head of religious broadcasting, the first Muslim to hold that position.
Nevertheless,  Roger Bolton, who presents BBC's Radio 4’s "Feedback," said early this year at an awards ceremony in London that the religious perspective was often "bafflingly absent" both on air and behind the scenes in editorial discussions.
“BBC television, unlike BBC Radio, seems to be in the hands of the secular and skeptical, who view religious coverage as a rather tiresome obligation to be minimized rather than a rich and promising area to explore,” said Bolton.
He also noted that Aaqil Ahmed had a proven record in his previous job at Channel 4, but that at the BBC, his “playing field" was "more the size of a fives court than a football pitch.”
Bolton added that BBC News should appoint a religion editor of a similar seniority and prominence to business editor Robert Peston, to appear prominently on its radio and TV bulletins.
“BBC News requires a religion editor, able to appear on the networks to interpret the latest religious story at home and abroad, but more importantly to bring a religious perspective to the vast range of areas such as foreign affairs and medical dilemmas where that perspective is so often, and so bafflingly, absent,” said Bolton.

 With all due respect to the good cardinal, I highly doubt a religion editor will do much to root out the bias against Christianity at the BBC.  The network is so beholden to secularism, it'll take fundamental reform to root it out, and reform is painful.

Nevertheless, it's clear something needs to be done.  The attacks against the Holy Father leading up to his visit to the UK is a shameful episode and highlights the clear need for reform in the major media.

Oremus Pro Pontifice

Reading the news can be depressing; reading the comment section can be even worse.

Especially when reading articles about the Holy Father and the Church; the venom can be downright horrific, to the point where it can shake faith.  Believe me, it's happened, but thankfully the Lord was there to help me through it. 

It's quite obvious though, that our beloved Holy Father still needs our prayers.  So, let us pray for Benedict, our Pope.

V. Let us pray for our Pontiff, Pope Benedict.
R. May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and bless him upon earth, and deliver him not to the will of his enemies.

Our Father.  Hail Mary.

Let us pray.

O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all Thy faithful people, look mercifully upon Thy servant Benedict, whom Thou hast chosen as shepherd to preside over Thy Church. Grant him, we beseech Thee, that by his word and example, he may edify those over whom he hath charge, so that together with the flock committed to him, may he attain everlasting life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

A partial indulgence is attached to this prayer for those who recite it with filial devotion.

WHOA! OH YES, HE WENT THERE!!! 8)

Courtesy of WDTPRS

Our Holy Father has taken a strong stance against homosexual "marriage" and denounced it in no uncertain terms.  Heck, he described it as "insidious and dangerous".

Thank you, Your Holiness.  You will be in my prayers for speaking the truth so forcefully.

Ad Multos Annos Pope Benedict XVI!

April 19, 2005

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is elected Pope Benedict XVI.

Happy 5th anniversary Holy Father.  May your reign be blessed.

Pax Christi.

Alert! Bigoted Poll Alert from Father Z.!

From WDTPRS

Whoever said there's no such thing as a stupid question was wrong.  Some questions are just plain dumb.

Like, say, "Should the Pope be charged with ‘crimes against humanity’, over the alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church?"


The whole "Benedict covered it all up" canard has by now been thoroughly debunked by both bloggers and the likes of the venerable National Catholic Register, and they're still on it in the MSM.


I normally don't advocate taking a page from the Ron Paul playbook and spamming polls, but in this case, I think I'll make an exception.  Catholics, spam away!