Priest Answers the Holy Father's Call to Go Forth and Blog

Fr. Robert Barron and WordOnFire.org Spread the Message of Faith

In a Jan. 23 statement, Pope Benedict XVI called priests around the world to operate Web sites and blogs in order to participate in social media communications. The Holy Father also revealed the theme for the annual World Communications Day on May 16, "New Media at the service of the Word." Fr. Robert Barron of Chicago has answered the Pope's call -- he already embraces new media with his apostolate Word On Fire Catholic Ministries.

Fr. Barron, one of the world's great and innovative teachers of Catholicism, founded Word On Fire, a global media organization, in hopes of attracting millions into or back to the Catholic faith through his vibrant sermons and comprehensive online resources. Chicago's Francis Cardinal George calls Barron one of the Church's best messengers and now the priest from the Archdiocese of Chicago is harnessing today's technology to evangelize the culture.

"The spread of multimedia communications and its rich 'menu of options' might make us think it sufficient simply to be present on the Web," the Holy Father said. But priests are "challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources."

At the hub of Word On Fire is an interactive Web site (www.WordOnFire.org), which uses the most cutting-edge resources to reach out to people across the globe: YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, podcasts, and RSS Feed. Fr. Barron is preparing to re-launch his blog in the coming weeks. Word On Fire also produces written resources such as articles and books as well as CDs and DVDs. It is through all these formats that Fr. Barron reaches out to the world, encouraging participants to be active in their faith by broadening their understanding and depth of the Church's teachings. The Web site was originally launched in 1999 and currently draws more than 500,000 visitors each year from every continent.

"Pope Benedict is a man after my own heart," Fr. Barron said. "Even at 82 years old, the pontiff knows that we need to speak the language of our time to effectively spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have engaged thousands of people in dialogue about the Christian Faith through the rich 'menu of options' the pope describes: YouTube videos, Facebook, Twitter, weekly audio sermons and our fully interactive Web site. I am also re-launching my blog so that I am able to connect with people in a more personal way."

Additionally, Word On Fire, led by Fr. Robert Barron, is filming an epic 10-part documentary which will take viewers deep into the rich heritage of the Catholic Church across the world. Filmed in high-definition video in 15 countries and 30 locations, it will make the beauty of the Church seem new again. The CATHOLICISM Project will explore, through a global journey, the living faith of the Catholic Church by visiting sites on every continent that have enriched our culture. Through his journeys, Fr. Barron explains what Catholics believe and why -- using art, architecture, literature, music and all the riches of the Catholic tradition to tell a visually arresting and inspiring story.

Supporters can participate in an in-depth virtual pilgrimage found on Word On Fire's Web site. The new and improved Virtual pilgrimage will be launched in the spring and will include a team blog, where the producers, editor and other filmmakers from The Catholicism Project can tell stories of the trip. It will also include behind the scenes footage and video and audio postcards from Fr. Barron. Additionally, users can participate in a group forum, where they can interact directly with Fr. Barron and the Word On Fire team, sharing pictures and videos from their trips to the same locations in order to become part of the story in a fully-interactive way.

NC Public Schools: Pro-Life Laws, like Segregation, are Examples of ‘Oppressive Government’

From Catholic World News

New curricular guidelines drafted by North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction strongly encourage students to view pro-life legislation as an example of “oppressive government” akin to laws that permitted segregated public schools.

According to the department’s web site, all North Carolina public school students are required to take a course in civics and economics in order to graduate from high school. The draft of the revised civic and economics curriculum includes the following formative assessment prototype:

Using three Supreme Court Cases (e.g., Brown v Board, Roe v Wade, Korematsu v US) as support explain how the US Supreme Court has upheld rights against oppressive government?

Brown v Board of Education of Topeka was the 1954 Supreme Court decision that struck down laws permitting segregated schools; Roe v Wade was the 1973 decision that struck down pro-life legislation across the nation.

North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue, Lieutenant Governor Walter Dalton, and Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson are all advocates of legalized abortion who were endorsed by NARAL (formerly the National Abortion Rights Action League).

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• North Carolina Essential Standards, Social Studies: Civics and Economics Course (Public Schools of North Carolina)
• Phase II 1.0 Draft Essential Standards (Public Schools of North Carolina)
• Pro-Choice Voting Guide (NARAL Pro-Choice NC)

Tim Tebow Defends Pro-Life Super Bowl Ad under Fire

From LifeSiteNews
By Peter J. Smith

College football superstar Tim Tebow is standing fast behind a pro-life ad developed by Focus on the Family and set to air on CBS on Super Bowl Sunday. Although the ad has not been released, abortion advocacy groups are already demanding that it be scrapped, since it likely features the story of how Tebow’s mother chose life when doctors were urging her abort her now-famous son.

The college football superstar, who just ended his last season quarterbacking for the Florida Gators, has been an anomaly among top-tier athletes. Tebow makes no bones about his Christian faith, his pro-life convictions, and the fact that he wants to save himself for marriage.

But Tebow’s pro-life convictions spring from an unusually personal source: back in 1987, his mother contracted amoebic dysentery while pregnant with him in the Philippines, and doctors recommended abortion. Had Pam Tebow taken that advice, Tebow fans would never have seen the football phenomenon win the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and carry the Gators to victory in two major championships.

At a Sunday press conference in Mobile, Tebow told the gaggle of reporters: "I know some people won't agree with [the ad], but I think they can at least respect that I stand up for what I believe, and I'm never shy about that."

"I don't feel like I'm very preachy about it, but I do stand up for what I believe. Unfortunately in today's society not many athletes tend to do that. So I'm just standing for something."

But Tebow’s standing for pro-life values has outraged abortion advocacy groups, who fear the effect the Focus on the Family ad could have on millions of Super Bowl viewers on Feb. 7. Tebow’s story is already credited with having influenced a number of women to choose not to abort their babies.

The Women’s Media Center has been coordinating efforts with the National Organization for Women and the Feminist Majority to pressure CBS, the broadcasting station hosting the Super Bowl this year, to revoke the 30-second ad called “Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life.”

"An ad that uses sports to divide rather than to unite has no place in the biggest national sports event of the year -- an event designed to bring Americans together," Jehmu Greene, president of the Women's Media Center, told the Associated Press.

Last year, the National Football League and NBC (then broadcasting the Super Bowl) elected to nix an advertisement sponsored by the Catholic watchdog group Fidelis, which hailed the success of President Obama overcoming the difficult circumstances of his early life and featured the message "Life: Imagine the Potential."

However one pro-life group says that feminist groups’ obsession with the as-yet-unseen content of the Tebow ad highlights an abysmal ideological attitude when it comes to defending women’s rights and dignity.

“In the three and a half years that I advised FCC Chairman Kevin Martin on indecency issues, I can’t recall one time that NOW ever spoke out about the sexually graphic or misogynistic content on CBS,” Penny Nance, CEO for Concerned Women for America told LifeSiteNews.com. “I find it laughable that NOW has a problem with Tim Tebow sharing his own story. If NOW really cared about women they would stop flacking for the abortion industry and start working on behalf of women.”

Focus on the Family has dismissed the controversy over the upcoming ad.

"There’s nothing political and controversial about it,” said Gary Schneeberger, a spokesman for Focus on the Family. “When the day arrives, and you sit down to watch the game on TV, those who oppose it will be quite surprised at what the ad is all about."

With the Super Bowl set to kick off in about two weeks, CBS, which has already reviewed and approved the ad’s script, has given no indication of yanking the Tebow ad.

Thousands of Vietnamese Catholics Pray for End to Persecution

From Catholic World News

Following the siege of a parish in Hanoi, the brutal beating of a religious, and the desecration of a crucifix, thousands of Vietnamese Catholics gathered on January 24 at the Redemptorist monastery in Ho Chi Minh City (the former Saigon) in southern Vietnam to pray for the end of the persecution of the Church in the Asian nation. Earlier in the day, thousands of Catholics gathered at the cathedral in Hanoi to pray for the nation.

State-controlled media outlets reported, with evident delight, that the parishioners at Dong Chiem had been forced to remove all crosses from a hill on the grounds of what had long been the parish cemetery. The demolition of a large crucifix there sparked a confrontation between parishioners and police. While the state media reported that Catholics had been persuaded to move their crosses through “a long process of patient reasoning, persuasion, and education,” the parishioners said that they were victims of harassment, intimidation, and violent coercion.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has repeatedly asked the US president and State Department to redesignate Vietnam as a country of particular concern in recognition of its egregious violations of religious freedom, but both the Bush and Obama administrations have chosen not to follow the commission’s recommendations. The nation had been designated a country of particular concern until 2006.

6.8% of the Vietnam’s 85.2 million residents are Catholic.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• “Let us not forget our fellow Redemptorists and the faithful of Vietnam”- Appeal from Redemptorist Superior General (Fides)
• Vietnam: parish under siege; Hanoi archdiocese protests police violence (CWN, 1/21)
• USCIRF Urges President to Designate Vietnam as a CPC in Letter (USCIRF)
• Countries of Particular Concern (USCIRF)

Send California Inmates to Mexico, says Schwarzenegger

What an ingenious idea! Send 20,000 illegal alien criminals -- currently housed, clothed and fed by the taxpayers of California -- back to their own country, ease prison crowding, and save a billion dollars to boot! It's amazing what bankruptcy can do to clear a liberal's head.

Nationwide, there are about 111,000 illegal aliens in state and local lockups, and another 50,000 criminal aliens in federal prisons. May we suggest that federal and state governments, including South Carolina -- and yes, we have them here too -- begin the house cleaning.

From Yahoo! News

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested California could ease its crowded prison system by sending thousands of undocumented inmates to specially built jails in Mexico.

Speaking to reporters at the Sacramento Press Club, Schwarzenegger said California could ease its strained finances by a billion dollars if 20,000 illegal immigrants currently held in the state were housed across the border.

"I think that we can do so much better in the prison system alone if we can go and take, inmates for instance, the 20,000 inmates that are illegal immigrants that are here and get them to Mexico," Schwarzenegger said.

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Christian Leaders Urge Senate to Join House in Passing Tough Sanctions on Iran

Leaders representing millions of Evangelicals and Roman Catholics call for another overwhelming display of American unity through bipartisan passage of sanctions


As President Obama prepares to deliver his State of the Union message on Wednesday, leaders representing millions of evangelicals, Roman Catholics, and other Christians have sent a letter to leaders in the Senate urging them to join the House of Representative in passing tough sanctions on Iran intended to prevent that rogue regime from obtaining nuclear weapons.

On December 15, the House passed the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act by a vote of 412 to 12.

"The House vote was an overwhelming display of American unity against a nuclear-armed Iran, demonstrating that President Obama has the firm, bipartisan support he needs to show the Iranian regime that we are serious," according to Dr. Richard Land of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. "Now is the time for the Senate to show similar resolve, strength, and unity."

The letter urges the Senate to join the House in passing a measure that would cut off exports of refined petroleum products, including gasoline, as a firm yet peaceful rebuke against the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism.

After repeated efforts to persuade Iran to comply with it international obligations and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported to its member nations that its diplomatic efforts with the Iranian regime have come to a "dead end." Since then, defiant Iranian officials have announced plans to begin building additional nuclear facilities.

The leaders point out that at the onset of his diplomatic effort with Iran this spring, President Obama said that "by the end of the year we should have some sense whether or not these discussions are starting to yield significant benefits," and specifically held out the prospect of sanctions against Tehran "to ensure that Iran understands we are serious." That deadline is mere days away, and just as President Obama said, Tehran needs proof we are serious.

The leaders include Charles Colson of Prison Fellowship Ministries, Richard Land of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, Bill Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, Pat Robertson of Christian Broadcasting Network, Dr. James Merritt of Cross Pointe Church, Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for America, Gary Bauer of American Values, Tom Minnery of Focus on the Family, Al Kresta President and CEO of Ave Maria Radio, Dr. John Hagee of the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Deal Hudson of the Morley Institute for Church and Culture and Jordan Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice.

These leaders urge an immediate vote in the Senate to take advantage of the overwhelming bipartisan majority that was demonstrated by the House, and that stands ready in the Senate favoring strong sanctions against the Iranian regime.

The letter is an initiative of Christian Leaders for a Nuclear-Free Iran, an ad hoc coalition of evangelical, Roman Catholic and other faith leaders who have come together as a united, ecumenical voice that is reaching out to policy makers and opinion leaders and calling for urgent action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The coalition argues that Iran’s nuclear weapons program will destabilize the Middle East, lead to an arms race in a volatile part of the world, and threaten the United States and its allies in Europe.

Could This Be the Reason There's No Birth Certificate?

... and what kind of name is Barack, anyway?

Alien Life Could Already Be on Earth, Say Scientists

Scientists and other experts are gathering in London to consider new ways -- and new places -- to search for alien beings.


From Fox News

Scientists and other experts are gathering in London to consider new ways -- and new places -- to search for alien beings.

Britain's Royal Society -- an eminent group equivalent to the U.S. Academy of Sciences -- is hosting a two-day event to consider the progress made and the challenges posed in the hunt for alien beings.

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