Mistake or Lie? Why is Truth So Uncommon When It Comes To Life?

Listening to President Obama talk about Planned Parenthood during the Presidential Debate, I decided to see if what he said was true about Planned Parenthood and  mammograms. Here is what I found on another blog---

La Bocca della Verita on February 6th, 2012-

How Many Mammograms Does Planned Parenthood Perform Each Year?

It turns out the answer is... zero! No one was going to lose access to mammograms because Komen stopped giving Planned Parenthood money, because Planned Parenthood doesn't do any mammograms. There won't be any "sections" of the country where women can no longer get mammograms if Planned Parenthood lacks Komen funding, because Planned Parenthood doesn't do any mammograms

Oops.

UPDATE: Title changed from "provide" to "perform," because Planned Parenthood "provides" screening in that it refers for and may help pay for mammograms. But obviously Komen could just fund the people who are getting the referrals directly without diminishing the availability of screening.----

I found this surprising that our President does not even know what Planned Parent does and then once he finds out, he continues to give the same argument about them. When can people learn to tell the truth?

Speaking Out

A couple weeks ago, my Effective Speech class was given the assignment of delivering a persuasive speech. The objective of this speech was to persuade someone to change their look on subject or to make them see two sides to a story. Some chose to give speeches on why school year round is bad, or why one sports team is simply better than another.

Surprisingly some students chose controversial topics to speak about such as stances on pro-abortion and gay marriage. Because of this I decided to also speak on a controversial topic, wanting to show my insight and my stance on these topics. My initial intention was to speak out against abortion, but when someone else chose that topic, I decided to choose another.

The topic I chose to speak about was Anti-Gay Marriage. This was a something that many Christians have fought against ever since five of our fifty states passed laws that allowed two persons of the same-sex to get married. I felt that I should speak out about my stance on it because many of my classmates are in favor of gay marriage. I feel that as Christians and as Catholics in particular, we should be able to teach others about our faith not just by our words but also by our actions. Please feel free to read my speech below-

The United States Constitution, the supreme law of the land, is decorated with laws and regulations with which our government runs our nation with all due respect to the people. Over the years, certain states of our country have endorsed and promoted questionable and controversial laws that not only are immoral and illogical but also fog the lens of our country’s law-makers, forcing them to blindly pass laws that destroy the sanctity of human life and the reason why we are here.

The definition of marriage in the Merriam-Webster dictionary states that marriage “is the binding of one man and one woman to each other in a consensual as well as contractual relationship both in the eyes of the state and in the eyes of God.” New York’s Cardinal-Elect Timothy Dolan recent blog post from May 2011 states, “Marriage is at the very core of civilization.” By this simple statement, Cardinal-Elect Dolan is implying that with out the essence of man and woman uniting together in a pro-creative act of sexual intercourse within the confines of marriage, there would be no hope for mankind. Without man and woman combining their naturally separate and uniquely different bodies we would cease to exist as a city, as a country and as an entire world. There are countless individuals however, who fail to see this point.

Fairly recently, five of our fifty states have passed laws allowing this beautiful unification of man and woman to also be open to either two men or two women. According to Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver of the New Jersey Senate, “ the passing of this law is seen as the third and final leg of the civil rights movement, initially started by Martin Luther King Jr. as a means to bring social and political equality to the African-American race. “

Please don’t take my remarks here as a sign that I am anti-gay or hateful towards the lesbian/gay/transgender community. I realize that many people simply are born with attractions toward the same sex and this is a very difficult and often times tormenting state in which to exist without the freedom to express their unique sexual identity. However, those people who claim a sexual orientation that is anything other than heterosexual are not able to naturally bear children for which the union and sanctity of marriage was created.

Am I saying that those in the gay and lesbian community can’t live together and enjoy the benefits of friendly companionship and the care of family for one another? No, I am not. But I am saying that the legal benefits that come with marriage should be reserved for those of the opposite sex. Marriage should involve one man and one woman only.
Gay Marriage has a surprising effect on children. Marriage more times than not involves reproduction. A man and woman create a human life and give it the opportunity to grow and develop in the world. The gift of life enables the new born to discern the many aspects of life such as emotions, triumphs and struggles and ultimately the meaning of life. Without man and woman, none of this would be possible. With two men or two women, a child would be deprived of having a true father or mother figure in their life. As a result of gay marriage, children in same-gender relationships often experience social marginalization, ridicule and harassment. This is not to say that children reproduced from heterosexual relationships are not teased too, but it would be more prevalent in a homosexual relationship.

To clarify my stance on this subject, I agree that people who feel attracted to the same sex are not bad people. These feelings a person has, he or she is simply born with. I totally understand that concept. However, I also understand that even though you as a person with these feelings, should not be able to flaunt your sexual identity. I believe that even though people are sexually attracted to others, he or she should not be able to act on it. Perhaps the lawmakers of our country will realize the importance of morality over desire. A desire or a want can sometimes be transferred into an immoral act, sometimes depriving us from the ability to discern what is right.

Our society is taught that nowadays “if you truly want something, you have the right to strive for it.” However, taking a religious point of view, it is okay to live a chaste life. Just because you feel attracted to the same sex, these feelings shouldn’t force you to make the decision to act on it. We need to realize that chastity and purity, which are two fading ideas in our world, are very important considering how many people obtain sexually transmitted diseases. In order to remove the anti-gay marriage laws, we need to go back to thoughts of morality, purity, cleanliness and embrace our sexuality of any source, all within the context of living to glorify our creator with our lives.

When will the Catholic Herald become Catholic?

I am an avid reader of the local paper in Milwaukee called the Catholic Herald, but this past week I saw something that bothered me. In the October 21st edition an ad for Senator Russ Feingold was printed. Senator Feingold is pro-choice. Above the ad was a notice saying that if they accept ads from any political candidate, then they must accept ads from all candidates. I didn't accept that no-endorsement statement as being enough to allow the Catholic Herald to print the ad for a Senator whose beliefs are far from Catholic, so I wrote the following letter to the editor of the Catholic Herald:

Regarding the Russ Feingold Campaign Ad in the Catholic Herald-

I am an active Catholic teen at St. Matthias Parish and I am not even old enough to vote yet, but I am very upset over the posting of the Russ Feingold ad in the Catholic Herald. The day the Catholic Herald arrives in the mail, I read it cover to cover. This is the first time that I have been incensed by what I found in it. Russ Feingold is openly for abortion and has consistently supported abortion rights. What kind of Catholic community are we when we support political candidates who oppose Catholic beliefs? Who would vote for him anyway?

I remember reading an article by Archbishop Listecki's a couple of weeks ago talking about Pro-Life. This political ad for Russ Feingold totally contradicts the Archbishop! What do you think he is thinking right now as he looks at this ad that has been printed in the paper that he publishes!

While watching the debate between Russ Feingold and his pro-life opponent, Ron Johnson, a few days ago, I couldn't help but notice that Senator Feingold showed no respect or courtesy for anyone else. He wouldn't even let Ron Johnson speak, because he continued to cut him off and interrupt him, smirk at him and laugh at him. Why should the Catholic Herald show respect for a man by printing his ad, when he shows no respect for anyone else?

And here is his response:

Dear John:
Thank you for your e-mail regarding our publication of the Russ Feingold ad.

The Catholic Herald has accepted political advertising for decades. One of the conditions for doing so is that if we solicit ads from one candidate for a political office, we must solicit (and accept) ads from all candidates for that office – even if his or her opponents choose not to advertise. This is not a self-imposed condition but rather one imposed upon us by the Internal Revenue Service. Here is how the legal department of the U.S. bishops explained it in 2007:

“Paid Political Advertising. A Catholic organization may not provide political advertising to a candidate, political party or PAC free, at a reduced rate, or on a selective basis. IRS has stated that acceptance of paid political ads in exempt organization newspapers, periodicals, and other publications generally will not violate the political campaign prohibition, provided: (a) the organization accepts political advertising on the same basis as other non-political advertising; (b) political advertising is identified as paid political advertising; (c) the organization expressly states that it does not endorse any candidate; and (d) advertising is available to all candidates on an equal basis. IRS places particular emphasis on the manner in which political advertising is solicited. One identified negative factor is solicitation of ads from certain candidates that support an organization’s views, but mere acceptance (without solicitation) of ads from other candidates. It is important to emphasize that once a Catholic organization accepts one paid political advertisement, it cannot selectively decline to accept others. [See: Election Year Issues at 384.]

“Factors to be considered in determining whether the provision of paid political advertising constitutes political campaign intervention include: (a) whether advertising is available to candidates in the same election on an equal basis; (b) whether advertising is available only to candidates and not to the general public; (c) whether the fees charged to candidates for advertising are the customary and usual fees; and whether the advertising activity is an ongoing activity or whether it is conducted only for a particular candidate. [See: Rev. Rul. 2007-41 at 1425.]”

In the case of the U.S. Senate race, advertising was sought from the Johnson campaign; thus it had to be sought from the Feingold campaign. The Johnson campaign expressed no interest in reaching Catholic Herald readers; the Feingold campaign did. Thus, the reason his ad appeared.

Be assured, John, that prior to the 2012 election, we will be evaluating our practice of accepting political advertising. It will not be an easy decision, so I ask that you keep the Catholic Press Apostolate in your prayers.

Again, thank you for taking time to write, and for expressing yourself in a Christian, civil manner.

Brian T. Olszewski
General Manager
Catholic Herald

For more on the subject visit Badger Catholic and Imprisoned in my Bones.