LITTLE NOTES
2006 LITTLE NOTES
November/December
September/October
July/August
June
May
April
March
February
January
ARTICLES
Letters
Confessions
Talk About Movies
Roamin' Catholic
Follow Me
Contents © 2006
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
LITTLE NOTES
February 2006
THANKS TO BISHOP BROM'S more generous application of the indult, January 8 marked the beginning of two Tridentine Latin Masses being offered each Sunday at Holy Cross Mausoleum. Attendance at the 9:00 a.m. Mass has long been overcrowded, forcing many Mass-goers to stand in the wings of the mausoleum during the liturgy. The addition of a low Mass at 7:30 will ease some of the crowding.
The Latin Mass congregation has been meeting each Sunday since 1985 when Pope John Paul II granted the indult by way of his Apostolic Letter Ecclesia Dei. The crowds soon grew too large for the community's first location, Saint Vincent de Paul in Mission Hills, and they have since gathered at the mausoleum. The Latin Mass board recently voted to move to Saint John the Evangelist parish in Hillcrest, but the move was refused by Bishop Brom. Cathy Florentino, a board member, thinks the bishop made the right decision. "I think moving to a parish would have caused more problems than it would have solved. We didn't want to create any kind of competition or tension at Saint John, and there's more room at the mausoleum now that there are two Masses. At the 9:00 a.m. Mass we average about 400 people, and you can hear a pin drop in there. At the first 7:30 Mass, we had 100 people. We are extremely grateful to the bishop for granting us this second Mass."
Since Augustinian Father Harry Neely's retirement as chaplain, the Latin Mass's new chaplain has been Father William Dillard. Pat Sullivan, former head usher for the Latin Mass says that Dillard appears well qualified. "I first met him at the monthly Padre Pio Mass (at Our Lady of the Rosary) and he gave a great sermon about how we need to stand up and fight as Catholics. He was right-on."
Father Dillard will offer the Mass once a month and the other Masses will be offered by Norbertine priests from Saint Michael's Abbey in Orange County.
PRO-CHOICE CATHOLIC ASSEMBLYMAN, JUAN VARGAS, spoke "on harmonizing one's faith with the demands of elected office" at the Thomas More Society's December s meeting. Vargas' visit was first announced in the Catholic lawyer association's August/September newsletter. Charles LiMandri, a Thomas More Society member and the West Coast regional director for the Thomas More Law Center, said, "There was quite a bit of discussion in advance about the propriety of having Juan Vargas come speak to the Thomas More Society, considering he has such an abysmal voting record on the pro-life issues."
In its November newsletter, the society again announced that Vargas would be speaking, but added, "Please note Juan Vargas' presentation at our meeting is not an endorsement. Mr. Vargas is a Catholic attorney who serves in public office. We encourage your participation and questions at the meeting."
As to whether a legislator with Vargas' dismal record ought to be asked to speak to a Catholic organization," LiMandri explained. "We want to make sure that the Catholic viewpoint is made known and [that] there would be no ambiguity about that. [But] in appropriate circumstances we'll have someone that will be expressing views that are not necessarily mainstream or orthodox Catholic viewpoints. It's only acceptable, at least in my perspective, from the point of view of being able to challenge the view and have it be defended to the extent that we know where the person is coming from. And, hopefully [it will] open the door, as in the case of Juan Vargas, to them rethinking their position."
LiMandri added, "In other so-called Catholic forums, people are brought and sponsored with the idea that their anti-Catholic message is perfectly acceptable to the [Catholic] institution, and they leave with the idea that it is. I don't think that happened with Vargas at the Thomas More Society meeting."
In his talk, Vargas initially described his own faith journey and explained how he had formed his conscience. According to LiMandri, he came across as "genuine and sincere." Nonetheless, said LiMandri, "I think he is sadly misled on the pro-life issues. He said he thinks abortion is horrible and we shouldn't have to have abortion; it's a terrible solution. I don't think he doubts it's the destruction of life. His justification was [that] not enough is being done for these women, if they have the babies, to take care of them. And basically it's putting these women and babies out in the street. The people, he says, who are screaming the loudest that abortion should be illegal are the first ones to say that they can't give handouts to these women who aren't in a position to take care of the babies, particularly if they're illegal immigrants. They say they're not entitled to health care. So what are they supposed to do when they can't get the help to take care of the babies? This was his justification."
Further paraphrasing Vargas' talk, LiMandri said, "He said he'd like nothing better than that there would never be another abortion; [but] he's just not in favor of these women being in the plight that they're in [having] no alter natives ... and that if alternatives regarding adoption or support for these women were made available, then those would be far preferable to abortion."
After the talk, LiMandri spoke to Vargas "at some length. And I remember telling him afterwards, 'I used to see a lot more gray area [in the abortion debate] until I developed a more sincere devotion to the Eucharist. There's just not so much gray anymore.' I told him I've gotten personally a sense of clarity and conviction that comes from understanding and practicing my faith more. I told him I'd pray for him, and he said he would pray for me. We had a real interpersonal exchange that way. He was very receptive and said he'd be willing to continue this discussion."
THE BLOOD RED POINSETTIAS which adorn the sanctuaries of the county's Catholic church's every Christmas help fund Planned Parenthood's murderous agenda. That's because most of the poinsettias sold in the United States -- some estimates are as high as 70 percent -- are grown and sold by the Ecke family of Carlsbad. And, for years the Ecke family have been among the county's top donors to Planned Parenthood.
The fall 2005 Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside Counties' newsletter lists the Ecke Family, Elisabeth "Jinx" Ecke, Lizbeth A. Ecke and David Meyer, Paul Ecke III and Julie Hampton, the Paul and Magdalena Ecke Poinsettia Foundation, and the Sara Ecke May and Andrew W. May Family as members of the "president's council" of donors who donated more than a thousand dollars."
Beyond that, Elisabeth and her three children (Paul III, Lizbeth, and Sara) donated $250,000 of the $340,000 spent to renovate and expand Planned Parenthood's abortion clinic in Carlsbad. Ironically, Elisabeth attributed her commitment to Planned Parenthood to the fact that a college friend of hers, whom she had driven to get an illegal abortion, almost bled to death afterward. "I was a sophomore in college," she told a reporter for the North County Times, "and it was a horrible, horrible experience."
We agree, Mrs. Ecke. It is horrible.
PRO-LIFERS CARED FOR A WOMAN WHO COLLAPSED outside of the Family Planning Associates abortion clinic on Sixth Avenue. The incident took place on Saturday, December 31. The pro-life sidewalk counselors, including Heather Mechanic, noticed a couple coming out of the door of the building in which the clinic is located. The man was trying to hold the young woman in his arms in front of him; she appeared to have gone limp or have fainted. Mechanic, an experienced registered nurse, and another of the pro-lifers who is a paramedic, approached the couple to offer assistance. They checked her vital signs and determined that she was not unconscious, although her eyes were closed and she wasn't talking. Mechanic began to ask questions: "Are you bleeding? Do you have a lot of pain?" She asked her to squeeze her hand if the answer was yes.
There was no response until Mechanic asked, "Is your heart hurting?" Mechanic said, "Two or three tears came out of the corner of her eyes and rolled down her face. She squeezed my hand so tight, and then the tears continued. I said, 'You can talk to me; what's your name?'" Then the woman opened her eyes and told Mechanic her first name. Mechanic then repeated her questions. "I said, '[woman's first name], are you bleeding?' She said, 'No.' 'Does your tummy hurt?' She said, 'A little.' I said, 'So mostly this is the pain in your heart?' She said, 'Yes.' I said, 'How many abortions have you had?' She said, 'Three.' I said, 'How old are you?' She said, 'I'm going to be 21 in another month.'
"Well, by that time, a worker in a scrub suit from the FPA mill came downstairs. At that time, I didn't realize she was from the mill. So I said to her, 'She's not bleeding; her pulse is good; everything's okay; her tummy hurts a bit, but her heart hurts a lot; it's broken because she's lost three babies this way.' She immediately said, 'I've got it; you can leave now.' And she started talking to the young woman. I said to the young woman, 'I can help you if you want; I can talk to you later. God forgives.'"
In the meantime, the Family Planning Associates worker was pushing Mechanic away, and Mechanic reports that the worker told her, "You have no business being here; I can handle this." So Mechanic returned to the sidewalk, just as an ambulance arrived. The pro-lifer who is a paramedic knew the paramedics on duty and spoke with them. Mechanic told them that the young woman's vital signs appeared to be normal and that she wasn't bleeding, "but her heart is broken."
The paramedics were present in the parking lot for about a half-hour, assessing the young woman before she was loaded onto a gurney. Mechanic reported, "In that period of time, four women that arrived all changed their minds and walked away. We saw them pull in. Some of them parked, but we saw four couples then drive right out and not come back."
The paramedics took the young woman away in the ambulance and that was the last contact that Mechanic had with her.
THE JANUARY 10 UNION-TRIBUNE ran an editorial cartoon by Steve Breen that brought clarity to the Senate Judiciary hearings over the the nomination of Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court. The first frame shows a bloated Senator Kennedy denouncing Alito for not being on the side of the "little guy" while the second frame shows a fetus in the womb thinking, "Au contraire."
The cartoon was picked up by several other publications, most notably USA Today. Breen, a pro-life Cath olic, says that his inspiration came easily. "I just wanted to make the point that no matter what these guys were saying at the hearings, the only thing they were really concerned about was abortion."
Breen says that he has received nothing but positive responses to the cartoon from all around the country. And even though a few people in the Union-Tribune disagree with his stance, he is supported at the top. "The editors I answer to are pro-life, and so is our publisher," he says.
NEW AGE ITEMS AT MERCY HOSPITAL'S GIFT SHOP shocked local Catholic Bill Wilson who recently stopped by the shop to buy a gift for his wife who was upstairs recovering from the birth of their son. It was with every expectation of finding a good amount of Catholic merchandise that Wilson had walked in. Instead, he said, "The first things you see when you walk in are some sort of Eastern prayer beads on the counter." Then, there was the sign which read, "Do not steal, it's bad karma." The more he looked around, the more Wilson felt that all was not right in the Catholic hospital's gift shop.
Although there were Catholic rosaries and some Catholic books, the mix of eastern prayer beads and crystals were enough to prompt Wilson into conversation with the sales clerk. Although he didn't remember her name, he remembered she did wear a Mercy Hospital badge. When he asked her why eastern prayer beads and crystals were for sale in a Catholic hospital gift shop, the clerk responded that "we're not really a Catholic hospital any more; Scripps has taken over."
Wilson left the gift shop without buying anything. Afterward, he was assured by the hospital's nurses that there were crucifixes in all of the rooms. And he noticed that daily Mass is offered in the small chapel off the ground floor lobby.
Reached by phone, gift shop manager, Christa Chaney, confirmed that the gift shop is part of Scripps Mercy Hospital. She wouldn't answer the question about whether there were any guidelines as to what's offered in the shop. Chaney stated that, "The nuns come in and look around. We are very open-minded here. Nobody is offended."
Asked to explain the presence of eastern prayer book, beads, and crystals alongside Catholic books and rosaries, Chaney said, "We have everything. Something of each religion that we can think of. We have Eastern stars, crosses, Buddha. If it's available, we try to carry it. We need to be there for everybody."
Asked whether she was concerned about leading Catholics astray? She said "No, once you're Catholic ... we are open to all religions, we're not just Catholic. We have to serve everybody. We have patients who are not Catholic."
THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL CHILDREN OF SAINT EPHREM ACADEMY won the National Prayer Contest launched by the World Apostolate of Fatima, also known as the Blue Army. The children's prayer was one of four prayers that were selected from over 5000 entries. Saint Eph rem's pastor, Father Nabil Mouannes accepted the $1,000.00 award on Friday October 7 on the steps of the state capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota. And, for one year, the three groups of winners will share half of the proceeds from the sale of the CD recorded by internation ally know Irish singer Dana Scallon which features the prayers set to music.
Father Mouannes said, "The children have prayed everyday with Mass, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and the Rosary for a way to raise money to build their new school. Now we will have the seed money to begin the Saint Ephrem Academy Foundation."
The World Apostolate of Our Lady of Fatima, in conjunction with the annual meeting with the Eucharistic Congress, endorsed the contest. Over seven thousand people were in atten dance and joined in the candle light procession to the Cathedral of Saint Paul.
Dana Scallon's composition of the prayer for the CD contains words and phrases from the four winning entries. She invited the children of the world to join her in song and prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in their own parishes during the award ceremonies. The sheet music can be downloaded via internet website www.mostholyrosary.org.
If you'd like to order a CD contact Fadi Massamari at Saint Ephrem Academy: frmassamari@yahoo.com.
RADIO STATION 101 KGB is running advertisements on television which depict a suit-wearing mob boss with a sidekick entering a church to the sounds of Gregorian chant. The mob boss cautions sidekick that "this could take a while." As sidekick waits in the center aisle, the boss enters "Confessional #1." Within seconds, he is out, and telling sidekick, "He says he's heard worse."
The next scene cuts to the chubby priest, laughing uproariously while wearing headphones in the Confessional. The last scene with voiceover advertising 101 KGB, shows the priest, a habit-wearing nun, and the two gangsters, all wearing headphones and laughing over the KGB show, "Dave, Shelly & Chainsaw."
I called KGB to complain about the ad, and program director Jim Richards returned the call. When I stated that I found the commercial to be demeaning, disrespectful, and terrible towards the Catholic faith, Richards responded that that was not the intent of the ad. He said that it's a syndicated commercial, which means that it is being run in many markets, with the specific radio show added in at the end.
Asked if there been much reaction to the ad, Richards responded, "Your call is the first. In fact, we've been running the commercial for two weeks, and we've had a lot of positive reaction. People have called the show to say they really liked the ad, and thought it was funny. People, generally have loved it."
Will you pull the ad because it is offensive to Catholics?
"No, because there hasn't been any reaction. I will continue to gauge the response. Right now, it's a little mist. I'd be looking for a downpour. Again, it was never our intent to offend Catholics."
To complain about the TV ad, please contact Jim Richards, program director for KGB, at 858-292-2000, email him at jimrichards@clearchannel.com, or write to him at KGB, Clear Channel Communications, 9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego, CA 92123.
POST SCRIPT to the city council's proclamation to honor Mark Salo, who retired after 31 years as president of Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside Counties. The council proceedings that day were opened with an invocation given by Father Henry Rodriguez, pastor of Saint Jude's Shrine in Ocean View. After being introduced by radical lesbian and former abortion clinic director, Councilwoman Toni Atkins, Rodriguez offered this prayer:
"Loving God, we give you thanks for the renewing grace of your presence among us this afternoon. We ask you to bless and guide with wisdom and compassion our new mayor, Jerry Sanders, who will be sworn in today. May you guide him and our council members and all responsible with leadership to move our city forward with confidence, courage, care, and a genuine collaborative spirit. May all of us continue to work together to improve safety, housing, education, economic recovery, and respect and care of our senior communities, and the poor, and the homeless. Restore to all a renewed sense of participation and appreciation of the diversity which makes our city a treasure and gives the strength to address the issues with transparency, and improve the quality of life for all, regardless of race, gender and sexual orientation. We give you thanks and praise for all your blessings, and trust in your goodness that lives in the hearts and spirits of all people of goodwill. We ask this through you, loving Creator, now and forever. Amen."