NEWS
1998 NEWS STORIES
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ROAMIN' CATHOLIC
Contents © 1998
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
NEWS
MAY 1998
A LONG-TIME PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST has come to the defense of an abortionist. Timothy Wilson of Inglewood has written a letter, dated April 2, to Kienis Clark, Riverside County Deputy District Attorney, asking that murder charges against abortionist Bruce Steir be dropped. As reported in the December 1997 Mission, Steir was arrested October 22, 1997 for the death of Sharon Hamptlon of Barstow. On December 13, 1996, Steir had perforated Hamptlon's uterus during an abortion on the 27-year old, then 20 weeks pregnant. Hamptlon died within hours of the abortion. If convicted of murder, Steir could face 15 years to life in prison.
In his letter to Deputy District Attorney Clark, Wilson wrote: "I am very opposed to abortion and have spent much of my adult life working to see an end to it. However, as long as there exists the legal fiction that the unborn child is not a person, entitled to protection by the state, then it is unjust to charge Bruce Steir with murder. I do not know of any abortionists who have intended to kill a woman while performing an abortion. Their intent is to take the life of the unborn child, which, unfortunately, is legal....I am sure that Bruce Steir did not intend to hurt Sharon Hamptlon in any way. Unfortunately he did, probably through negligence on his part. He has already given up his medical license and his occupation. I think a charge of involuntary manslaughter would be more appropriate."
Wilson says he opposes a murder charge against Steir because "it lets the state off the hook. The state licensed both Durante and Steir, even though they were on probation. Neither one of them should have had a license." Furthermore, says Wilson, "the state is judging with unbalanced scales all around--'the child's not human--you [abort it], we love it; but you kill someone, even though it wasn't your intent, and we're going to charge you with murder.'"
Wilson says he also came to Steir's aid because he "wanted to keep communication open with him." When Steir contacted him, Wilson, a Christian, said "I tried to steer [the conversation] to, 'you know your soul's in danger,' and I told him, 'you know, people are praying for you.' He was pushing his agenda, you know-- 'hey, I'm charged with murder, and they're going to take all my money and put me in jail.' In that order, he was worried about it. However, he faxed me back a letter, thanking me, and saying, 'please pray for me.' So he is asking for people to pray for him."
Wilson says the idea of helping Steir came up in March when Norma McCorvey was in California. An Operation Rescue rally featuring McCorvey was held in Walnut Creek, in Northern California, which Wilson attended. "There's an abortionist up there called Forrest Smith," said Wilson, "who owns a series of clinics called the Pregnancy Consultation Centers. He went to the Operation Rescue Rally, and sat in the front row. Near the end of the rally he asked to speak, and he was allowed to speak. He spoke for about ten minutes, and basically made a plea for Bruce Steir, saying, 'Hey, this is unjust, Bruce Steir's my friend. You people need to befriend Bruce Steir.'"
Subsequently, said Wilson, Steir contacted him:"He called because he wanted a pro-lifer to write a letter to the district attorney, basically saying, this is unjust to charge him with murder for the death of Sharon Hamptlon."
UNDER A HEADLINE WHICH READ, "Clinton Hears Sermon on Adultery," the March 30 Financial Times of London reported that President Bill Clinton took Holy Communion "from Father Mohlomi Makobane, priest at the Regina Mundi Roman Catholic Church in Johannesburg's Soweto township, which was a refuge for many blacks during the last years of white rule in South Africa. Mr. Clinton, with his wife Hillary, looked relaxed as he acknowledged the congregation's rousing welcome. He seemed less comfortable when Father Makobane based his sermon on the parable of the adulterous woman saved by Jesus Christ from death by stoning."
The South African priest, Father Makobane, seemed to see nothing improper in giving communion to Clinton, a Southern Baptist, and Mrs. Clinton, a Methodist. According to the April 2 Los Angeles Times, the priest said, "Let's be practical. He's a child of God and came willingly to share the Eucharist with us and pray with us... And he's the most powerful man in the world." "If I had denied him communion when he came with the procession... there would have been much more noise." Though Father Makobane suggests that he had no prior knowledge of Clinton's desire to receive Communion, White House press secretary Mike McCurry told the Los Angeles Times that Clinton and other non-Catholics with him had been invited to receive Communion.
According to Catholic News Service, Father Makobane, in defense of his action, cited a document issued by the Southern African Bishops, the Directory on Ecumenism in Southern Africa, approved by the Southern African bishops at a plenary meeting in Pretoria, South Africa. However, the Southern African Bishops' Conference in a statement issued Saturday, April 4, stated that only a bishop should make the final decision to admit a non-Catholic to Communion.
What has the Vatican said about the issue? According to the wire service Catholic World News, Bishop Geraldo M. Angelo, secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments at the Vatican, said: "Since this is a person [Clinton] who is not a Catholic, he cannot be admitted to eucharistic Communion. This is a canonical norm...and therefore no bishops' conference can advance a different rule."
"CLINTON, OF COURSE, IS NOT THE FIRST prominent non-Catholic to receive the sacrament in a Catholic parish," according to the April 11 Los Angeles Times. On January 11, non-Catholic Rupert Murdoch, says the Times, received Communion "during rites at St. Francis de Sales Church in Sherman Oaks when he was inducted into the Order of St. Gregory the Great." His Eminence, Cardinal Roger Mahony, was present at the ceremony.
ON GOOD FRIDAY, April 10, the Sons of St. Vibiana, an ad hoc group of Catholics in the archdiocese dedicated to the patroness of Los Angeles, held two prayer sessions. A collect in honor of the saint and recitation of the five sorrowful mysteries of the rosary were offered with the intention of restoration of the now-abandoned cathedral of St. Vibiana and the return of Los Angeles and its clergy to Catholic orthodoxy.
The first session was held at 9 a.m. in front of the boarded-up cathedral's facade at Second and Main Streets in downtown Los Angeles; the second took place an hour later, in front of the unmarked niche, under Cardinal McIntyre's body, to which the saint's relics have been consigned at the Calvary Cemetery's Mausoleum.
The Sons of St. Vibiana plan events to mark St. Vibiana's feast day on September 4.
A PRO-LIFE SIDE-WALK COUNSELING CENTER will open adjacent to an abortion facility. LifeSavers Ministries, a Bakersfield pro-life group that has been working with four refugees from Red China detained in the Lerdo Detention Facility in Bakersfield (See "Evil Like Buddha," December 1997 Mission) has leased a building next to Family Planning Associates, located on H Street in Bakersfield. Terry Palmquist of LifeSavers had, in the past, wanted to lease the building, but the previous occupants showed no signs of leaving. Then, unexpectedly, on February 1, the building was available for lease.
Though the building was available, LifeSavers had not enough money to lease the building. Within ten days, however, various people came forward to pledge the needed money. The center was officially opened on Friday, March 27 by Norma McCorvey, the "Jane Roe" in the Supreme Court case Roe vs. Wade.
A GROUP OF CATHOLICS determined to point out the flaws in Cardinal Mahony's pastoral on the liturgy, Gather Faithfully Together, demonstrated in front of St. John's seminary on March 14 (see photo, page 5). The protest was prompted by Father Richard Albarano's letter sent to all the parishes in the Los Angeles Archdiocese advising them of a liturgical formation day which would be held at St. John's Seminary. Father Albarano's letter outlined a slate of classes to be offered that included liturgical dance, children's liturgy, liturgical spirituality, amongst other offerings. The classes were to be conducted in both English and Spanish, save the liturgical dance class, which was only scheduled in English.
On March 14, critics of the cardinal's pastoral distributed flyers in front of St. John's Seminary to participants going in for a liturgical formation day for all parish liturgy ministry leaders. Though the group only consisted of four members, they managed to distribute approximately 70 flyers. The long line of cars that were waiting to enter the seminary caused such a delay that the participants could not help but note the large signs that the group held aloft. The signs were strongly supportive of the Holy Father and the authentic vision of the Second Vatican Council.
THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL WANDERER FORUM, held at Santa Teresita Hospital in Duarte, March 28, featured Father Hugh Barbour, O.Praem.; Father John Hardon, S.J.; Father Rawley Myers, and Father Bartholomew DeLaTorre, O.P.
The theme of the forum was "Mobilizing the Catholic Family in Today's Cultural War." Speaking on this topic in the light of chapters five and six of St. Paul's epistle to the Ephesians was Father Barbour. Prior of the Norbertine Abbey of St. Michael, Father Barbour was both the youngest of the speakers at 37, and the only convert. Father Barbour explored the crisis of the Catholic family today, pointing out that the family is the intermediate institution between society and the individual. In totalitarian states, he explained, the family is subsumed into the nation, making every individual part of an army. In individualistic states, on the other hand, the family is downgraded in favor of individual needs. Society degenerates into a collection of interest groups with no other ties to one another. This, he maintained, is our current problem.
In response to this threat, Father Barbour emphasized that the Sacrament of Matrimony gives the Christian family power, transforming it into a domestic church. He then gave advice for the Catholic family trying to cope. The practice of the virtues, particularly chastity above all, was offered as the basis. If a family are wealthy, they ought to abstain from various innocent pleasures for spiritual poverty. The Faith must be the family's first consideration, and they must consider their own salvation, and so try to spread Catholicism as and where they can, professing it openly. Fatherhood must be exalted, as must be the unity of the family--especially in worship. Father Barbour further advocated the use of sacramentals and Catholic taste in pastimes.
Father Hardon's topic was: "The Holy Eucharist in mobilizing the Catholic Family." He quoted Pope John Paul II as saying, "you must do everything possible to restore faith in the Real Presence in the Eucharist, or I fear for the survival of the Church in America."
The results of widespread denial of Transubstantiation since Vatican II has had its effect, Father Hardon declared. "We have lost more priests since Vatican II than in any other period of our history," he said. "We have only 10% of the seminarians we had in 1965!" "The main reason for the priesthood is that Christ may be with us always."
He then declared that the Eucharist is the foundation of the Christian family. "The Sacrament of Matrimony is the condition of family life, and the Eucharist its consequence." Declaring that a Catholic marriage is a lifelong commitment of Christian love, Father Hardon further asserted that this is impossible without "supernatural help straight from God. Ordinary Catholics' faith will not survive today's crisis; only heroism will do." This heroism, he maintained, can only come from the Eucharist.
Hailing from Colorado, Father Rawley Myers spoke on youth. Father maintained that all liturgical questions are red herrings, and that the real trouble confronting the Church today is the ruin of youth by drugs. Citing the rise in teenage drug use (70% in five years), he attributed many of our problems to the failure to give Christ to the young. "Our religious textbooks are not giving them the real Christ, but Christ the wimp!" This leaves kids without a guide. Father declared that it is our "sacred, solemn" duty to pass on to them Christ the brave, the bold, and the daring of the Gospels, who alone can lead. He excoriated "pollyanna teachers who teach that God brings all to heaven." These he accused of teaching a religion of indifference. He then called on his audience to throw away the school books, and have the children read the Gospels, and to support Catholic schools and improve them.
Last of the speakers was Father DeLaTorre, chaplain at Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula. Speaking on "The Catholic Family Wins Through--Thomistic Principles For the Reconquista of the Third Millenium," Father was upbeat. He quoted John Paul II's declaration that the "Third Millenium will lead to a flowering of Catholicism."
He then proceeded to outline ten principles of our hostile culture: pandering to our selfishness; manipulation of our minds; selective concealment of public information; distortion of influential information; diminution of private property and personal wealth; expansion of governmental intrusion; oligarchic control of the economy; weakening of the family; marginalization of the Church; and extension of the culture of death. Behind this culture, Father DeLaTorre said, is Satan.
Against these principles, Father proposed their opposites, culled from the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas. He pointed out that each of the hostile culture's beliefs leads logically to the next one in line. Maintaining that no famous Catholic theologians of our time actually believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus, he centered the recovery first in the home, where good principles must be inculcated.
WILL ALAN KEYES RUN FOR PRESIDENT in 2000? That depends on his supporters, according to an e-mail message sent by David Quackenbush of "Keyes 2000." "Our goal, writes Quackenbush, "is to find 200,000 supporters who will send... encouragement to Alan" and to demonstrate that "we are serious about helping him do what is necessary." Quackenbush asks supporters to fill out an on-line petition, or to sign a down-loaded version and return it to Keyes 2000.
The petition reads, as follows: "Whereas the liberty of a free people is dependent on its character and its fidelity to the laws of nature and of nature's God; and [w]hereas in the United States of America these principles are set forth in the Declaration of Independence; and [w]hereas we are seeing in our times the decay of that character both in the citizenry and its officeholders, especially in the highest office; and [w]hereas fidelity to Declaration principles in our times is diminishing to the extent that individual rights, property rights, family rights, and the fundamental right to life are all impaired, distorted, or denied by elected and appointed officials of both parties; and [w]hereas it is the duty of men and women who love their country and its principles to offer themselves for public service in a time of crisis; and [w]hereas no other contemporary public person has been more candid, intelligent, and far-seeing in his words and more bold and tireless in his deeds in endeavoring to restore America to her founding principles; and [w]hereas he is eminently qualified for the office by capacity, virtue, and wide experience; [t]herefor we, the undersigned, conscious of the magnitude of the burdens we propose for him and his family, but equally conscious of the needs of our republic, do petition Ambassador Alan L. Keyes to offer himself as a candidate for the nomination of the Republican Party for the office of President of the United States of America, in the election to be held in the year 2000."
David Quackenbush says this petition is "a national effort." As far as the campaign is going, Quackenbush says "things are going pretty well. Keyes is going to be keynote at this 20,000 person celebration of the 50th anniversary of Israel, in Orlando, Florida. Invitations of that calibre are starting to come more frequently. It's typical Keyes stuff; it's not as though hotsy-totsy political people are calling. But big black stations in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. are picking up [Keyes' television] show, live, every day. I think momentum is picking up. Last [election] we didn't have assets anywhere, now it's marginal progress everywhere."
Keyes people, says Quackenbush, have "rented chunks of four major conservative telemarketing lists and one of them did very well, and they're going to confirm that with another sample, and probably just chug through the whole thing. If it does as well as it did on the first sample, they could end up doubling the donor list to 35 or 40,000 people.
"If the geometric progression begins to occur, along with Keyes' generally rising name I.D., we could start to think of getting up to a 100,000 donor list, say, in a year from now. Heck, you get $10 or $20 from each of them, you've got your $2 million start-up money."
A copy of the Keyes' petition may be obtained at www.AlanKeyes.com/2000.html; or write, Keyes 2000 Petition Drive, 325 East Oak View Avenue, Oak View, CA 93022.
ADOREMUS, a group advocating "reform of the reform" of the liturgy to conform to the original intentions of the Second Vatican Council, has published a booklet entitled, "The Mass of Vatican II." The inside cover of the booklet quotes Vatican II documents calling for retention of Latin and Gregorian Chant, with some use of the vernacular in such places as the readings and intercessory prayers.
The booklet follows the old missal style, with Latin printed on the left side of the page and the English translation on the right side. Chant notation is included for sung parts. The booklet uses a new translation into English by CREDO (a priests' group promoting better translations from Latin). Only the unchanging parts of the Mass are included; for the variable parts, permitted by the Second Vatican Council to be in the vernacular, readers are directed to the Roman Missal and Lectionary already in use.
The "Adoremus Mass" conforms to the liturgical instructions of Vatican II and those promulgated thereafter. It is not the Tridentine Mass, so no indult is required for its use.
The Adoremus Society publishes a periodical, Adoremus Bulletin, edited by Helen Hull Hitchcock of Women for Faith and Family. Contact Adoremus at P.O. Box 5858, Arlington, VA 22205.