Volume 8, Issue 1                  P.O. Box 14026, Fremont, California 94539                        June 2000

      "Most fittingly does the world rejoice, with great gladness, upon this day; for with Christ returning from the dead the hope of resurrection has everywhere been awakened in the hearts of men. For it is but right that when the Lord of creation triumphs, the creatures He has made should also rejoice.  This day the heavens rejoice, for now at length they see the earth, defiled by sin, made clean in the blood of the Lord. The multitudes of the hosts of heaven rejoice, for their king has overthrown in battle the hosts of the prince of evil. The sun rejoices, and now with unceasing thankfulness hold back by its joyful beams that woeful darkness that overshadowed it as Christ was dying. And together with them we too above all others must rejoice, for whom the only-begotten son of God, who also is true God, clothed Himself in our flesh, that  through that flesh He might come to the cross, by the cross suffer death, and through death despoil the kingdom of hell. Should we not rejoice: we whose sins the mystery of this sacrament has taken away, to whom heaven is given, paradise restored?"  [St. Maximus, Bishop of Turin, 380-465; Easter  Sermon 39]
  A blessed Easter season to all our friends during this jubilee year 2000. This year our Holy Father and the Church have provided an extraordinary gift of the Jubilee year indulgence to all Catholics throughout the world. While many dioceses in the U.S. are recommending Year 2000 pilgrimages in keeping with the Pope's call, what is not clearly explained to Catholics (especially here in the Diocese of Oakland) is the significance of making a pilgrimage to designated holy sites as a requirement of gaining a plenary indulgence. Pope John Paul II's bull, Incarnationis Mysterium, (11/29/98), explains the  means and the conditions for gaining the Jubilee indulgence. Many Catholics especially those who grew up in the post-Vatican II era are wholly ignorant of this magnificent treasure dispensed by the Church out of love and profound concern for all souls who have not attained the reward of eternal life in Heaven.
  An indulgence according to the Catechism (CCC, no. 1471; see also Pope Paul VI's  1967 Apostolic Constitution, Indulgentiarum doctrina for complete documentation) is the "remission in the eyes of God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions…" An understanding of  the supernatural action of  the ancient teaching and practice of  "indulgences" is closely linked to our Catholic belief in the final purification of souls in Purgatory. We believe that our confessed sins are forgiven by God but we must atone, make reparation, pay the penalty for our sins either in this world through suffering, pain and hardships of the present life or in the purifying pains of purgatory. A "plenary" indulgence totally frees a person from this temporal punishment; a "partial" indulgence in part. What this means is that at the time we gain the plenary indulgence, all our past sins are not only forgiven but punishment is also removed.
    Our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, explains why reparation or punishment for our sins is necessary after we have confessed our sins. This quote is from his  catechesis on indulgences, given at a wednesday audience last Fall in Rome, September 29, 1999:
  "In this context temporal punishment expresses the condition of suffering of those who, although reconciled with God, are still marked by those 'remains' of sin which do not leave them totally open to grace. Precisely for the sake of complete healing, the sinner is called to undertake a journey of conversion towards the fullness of love.
  "In this process God's mercy comes to his aid in special ways. The temporal punishment itself serves as 'medicine' to the extent that the person allows it to challenge him to undertake his own profound conversion. This is the meaning of the 'satisfaction' required in the sacrament of Penance."
  The Jubilee plenary indulgence can be gained by meeting the following requirements and fulfilling three conditions. The three conditions are: sacramental Confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the Pope's intentions. Exclusion of all attachment to mortal and venial sin is also necessary. The three conditions may be carried out several days preceding or following performance of the prescribed work, preferably on the same day. (See Handbook of Indulgences, Norms and Grants, 1988, page 22) Indulgences can only be gained once a day with the exception of those close to death. They can also be offered for the dead as suffrages, constituting an act of  "supernatural charity".
  To gain the Jubilee plenary indulgence this year, one of these requirements must be met: (1) In our home "ecclesiastical territories", complete a sacred pilgrimage to the Cathedral Church  or to other Churches or places designated by the Ordinary (local Bishop). (2) Complete a pilgrimage to Rome in one of the four patriarchal basilicas, as well as the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, Basilica of St. Lawrence in Campo Verano, the Shrine of our Lady of Divine Love, or the Catacombs; (3) Pilgrimage to the Holy Land sites to gain the plenary indulgence are the Basilica of the Holy Sepuchre (Jerusalem), Basilica of the Nativity (Bethlehem), or the Basilica of the Annunciation (Nazareth). While on pilgrimage, do one or more of the following: hear Mass, take part in Liturgy of the Hours, or other pious practices such as recite the Rosary, Stations of the Cross, spend time meditating, ending with the Our Father, the Creed, and prayer to Blessed Virgin Mary. (4)  Complete charitable act of mercy - visit the sick, the imprisoned, the elderly living alone, the handicapped. (5) Complete an act of penance and mortification such as abstaining from unnecessary consumption for at least one day, donating money to the poor, a significant contribution to works of religious or social nature especially for abandoned children, troubled youth, elderly in need, foreigners seeking assistance, etc.
  May all of us who are members of the Catholic faith, in profound gratitude to our Holy Father, take this opportunity seriously to avail of the gift of the Jubilee indulgence throughout the year .

                                                                              * * *

  In the Diocese of Oakland, Bishop Cummins has designated as Jubilee 2000 pilgrimage sites the following churches - Mission San Jose, Fremont; Our Lady Queen of the World, Baypoint; St. Mary's/St. Francis de Sales, Oakland; St. Paul's, San Pablo; and St. Elizabeth Seton, Pleasanton. [WARNING: We do not recommend St. Elizabeth Seton in Pleasanton. This "structure" is not a "sacred place" although the pastor in charge, Fr. Dan Danielson, sees fit to call it a Roman Catholic church. There is no Catholic crucifix with our Lord's body (corpus), no tabernacle, no sanctuary. Danielson has held heretical "dissent workshops" there in the past and has allowed at least one lesbian ceremony to be performed in this desecrated place.] One local Pleasanton Catholic calls the $5M building an excellent sports arena! Please read the article in this issue about the St. Elizabeth Seton "gathering space".

                                                                              * * *

  On the anniversary of the infamous (1973) Roe v. Wade court decision this year, an act of unbridled judicial tyranny which legalized the murders of millions of unborn American children through abortion, Dr. Edward Freiling passed away quietly at his Dublin home. He was 77 years young. "Ed" to his friends was a faithful ally and defender of the unborn. He wore his "precious feet" pin proudly and often spoke up against the injustice of abortion. I firmly believe he was greeted in Heaven by a multitude of little advocates pleading his case before the Lord.
    Ed's life-long friend and fellow "Christian soldier", Father Francis Felice, gave a personal, heart-warming eulogy at the funeral Mass held at St. Raymond's Church in Dublin. Many of his local friends were not aware of Ed's prodigious talents which he put to productive use in the passionate defense of Christian truth and morality. According to Fr. Felice, Ed founded Scientists for Life and earned his PhD in organic chemistry. A first-rate scientist, among his professional achievements, he developed the theory on which chromatography is based. Ed loved his faith. He was a third order Carmelite and truly put his Christian faith and first-rate intellect to  work in the service of truth and love of neighbor.
    RCW lost a good and loyal friend with the passing of Dr. Freiling. Ed was the inspiration behind the Roman Catholic Witness. He was co-editor and co-founder of the paper and wrote many entertaining, erudite, and spiritual sketches on a wide range of issues of interest to local Catholics.  He signed his articles  with his own name and also under the pen name, Klaus Penibel. In one of his articles titled, "The Tail of the Devil", Ed wrote sharply about liberal clergy:  "Modernism is a paper tiger. It is built on an intellectual framework no sturdier than a house of cards. It thrives on the chutzpah of its advocates and the timidity of its victims. Like the Darwinists, the things that keep it going is the act of blind faith that people are willing to put in authority figures, in what ideas they find pleasing and the gullibility of the laity. Some Catholics are so docile that they would follow Satan if he wore a Roman collar."  (RCW, Vol. 6, No. 4, Oct. 1996).  We pray Dr. Freiling is in good company, enjoying delightful banter with other staunch, cerebral defenders of the faith - Athanasius, Thomas More, Newman, Chesterton.  We miss you, Ed.

                                                                              *  *  *
RCW is on the Web!  Log on at:  www.romancatholicwitness.com Send us an email at: editor@roman-catholicwitness.com telling us you prefer an online issue and we will discontinue sending you the hardcopy. Please help us reduce our mailing and copying costs  by signing up for an online copy. Gratias  agamus.

                                                                              *  *  *   

  RCW attended the Central Coast Marian Eucharistic Conference in Paso Robles in January along with 700+ other Californians who traveled from points north and south to hear inspiring talks and homilies by Fr. Pablo Straub, Fr. John Corapi, Fr. Andrew Apostoli, and Sr. Mary Francis of the Blue Army. Fr. Benedict Groeschel joined the group for a talk one morning on the Eucharist via video conference. Feeling depressed with the worsening condition of the Catholic Church in America, especially in the Oakland Diocese, under the laissez faire, "anything goes" administration of Bishop John Cummins, my spirits were revived, buoyed by the joyful and intensely Eucharistic and Marian  spirituality shared by the speakers. For this weary soul, the conference was a mini-retreat, sorely needed.
  Fr. Apostoli, frequent guest at EWTN, and close friend and Franciscan of the Renewal superior of Fr. Groeschel, had a few memorable quips. Regarding the Catholic tradition of having religious articles blessed, he relates a joke about a woman who holds up her husband along with her religious articles and tells her priest, "Father, here's my cross!" Father Andrew encouraged his listeners to spend 15 minutes in thanksgiving prayer after the Eucharist to deepen our love for Christ and one another. He reminds us of what Mother Teresa would answer to those who ask her about the strength she always managed to muster in her difficult work: "I begin each day with the Holy Mass; I receive Jesus every day - I see the same Jesus in lepers, in abandoned babies, in the homeless…"
    Fr. John Corapi gave a stirring , "apocalyptic" talk about the evil end times we are living in.  He asked the audience, "What is wrong if everything is going well with you." Emphasizing to his listeners that our battle is against  principalities, we are living during difficult times - ironically "the best of times, the worst of times". Our economy has never been better; unemployment is down, wages are rising, and many Americans feel well off. But we as a society are suffering from a moral malaise. We allow abortions; judges are doing evil. Bishops are facilitating the evil by not disciplining Catholic legislators (66% of lawmakers in California are Catholic - including the Governor!). Mother Angelica with her world-wide communications network is doing what bishops should be doing. (Some hate her for it!) Not one bishop other than the local Ordinary showed up for the consecration of the beautiful and unique chapel in Irondale, Alabama, probably the most beautiful church built in America in many years!
  There is indifference and cowardice among leaders who facilitate the propagation of lies - contraception, abortion, euthanasia - death stalks our culture which is becoming deaf to the gift of life. Fr. Corapi, modern day Jeremiah, sees the signs of corruption erverywhere - in language, "freedom of choice" to do evil rather than to do good; the use of a malformed "conscience" to disregard what you are taught is right which ultimately leads to a "dead conscience".  God wills that all men be saved - we have the freedom and power to choose to live in a "state of grace". Do we use it?
  Fr. Corapi's second topic was on our Blessed Mother Mary. Admonishing heretical, disbelieving priests and theologians whom Father says are "educated to imbecility", he warned his listeners not to let these people who question Mother Mary's immaculate conception and role in the salvation of mankind "rob you of your faith…If she is good enough for Jesus, she is good enough for you". Today devotion is not enough, Father Corapi insists. "Listen to your mother; live your life according to your mother… Mary is your best broker. She magnifies your prayers and your investment in prayer. NO mother, no Son. No Mary, no Incarnation. Christ came to us through Mary. We go back to Jesus through Mary… Let us say yes to grace; yes to Gospel, yes to vocation, yes to becoming disciples of Christ." Amen. Simple truths, common sense advise from a man once wallowing in the gutter of sin and worldly pursuits, now a charismatic apostolic preacher.
    Fr. Pablo Straub among other speakers at the conference articulated what many prayerful Catholics today are anticipating  - that there is an an outpouring of Divine blessings today, calling all mankind to repentence but that God is going to intervene to stop the "pervasive atheism" that has become prevalent all over the world. Man today, according to Fr. Straub,  says, " I know You (God) exist, but I am not Yours, I am mine!" Confession will be instrumental with the Divine intervention; as well as our Lady and her rosary and first Friday devotions. Father Straub went back to basics in his topic on Confession. He explained very thoroughly but simply catechetical instruction on the sacrament of Confession - examine your conscience nightly, feel truly contrite about your sins,  say an act of contrition before confession; have a firm purpose of amendment, resolving to sin no more; tell all your sins, and complete your penance.
    Sr. Mary Francis of the Blue Army in Washington, DC, spoke on the historical events surrounding the consecration of nations to Jesus and Mary. In a fascinating narrative, she recounted the sequence of events following the call of Our Lady of Fatima for a global consecration culminating in Pope John Paul II's act of consecration with other Catholic bishops around the world on March 24, 1984. World War I and II resulted from the disobedience of the Church in not following her directions.
  May these Eucharistic Marian conferences grow and spread all over the devastated Californian landscape - once again fertile missionary territory. You and I are the sons and daughters of Junipero Serra and the Franciscan friars called to spread the good news to many pagans around us who do not know Christ or reject Him. Let's get to work.
                                                                              * * *
  On March 12, prior to his trip to the Holy Land, Pope John Paul II in his homily asked for forgiveness on behalf of the Church for errors  committed by Christians down through history. Oh, let's not forget that He also forgave those who have offended the Church.  Unfortunately the secular press and other enemies of the Church have foolishly and maliciously used the Pope's humble apology to self-righteously protest that the gesture of repentence was inadequate. Hypocritical voices have also been raised from within the Church. Bishop Cummins' Diocesan paper , The Catholic Voice (3/20/00), provided an audience to embittered heretics like Hans Kung (currently banned from teaching theology at Catholic universities). Kung rails at  the Pope for not apologizing for the Reformation, for the burning of witches and for the Holocaust. Maybe Kung would like the  Church to apologize for the temerity of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher in standing up to Henry VIII (losing their heads as a consequence), for the papal bull of Leo X, Exsurge Domine, condeming the errors of Luther who called the Pope if not the antichrist, then his (satan's) apostle and for Pius XII's failing to save all the European Jews as well as Christians murdered by the Nazis  and their fascist accomplices. I'd like to see England, the United States, and virtually every European country  apologize for turning away boatloads of German Jews from their shores but I'm not holding my breath. For the record the U.S. and Great Britain combined allowed less than 40,000 Jews to enter their countries during the war. In contrast, Pope Pius XII, Eugenio Pacelli, and his Nuncios in Europe were responsible for saving well over 800,000 Jews from extermination camps.
  What is particularly embarrassing and outrageous to many local Catholics is the farcical charade acted out by prelates like Cardinal Mahoney and Bishop Cummins mimicking the actions of the Pope. Mahoney's public apology actually preceded the Pope's March 12 homily. The California Cardinal sought the forgiveness of divorced and remarried Catholics, victims of sexual abuse, women, homosexuals, and labor unions. In the Oakland Diocese, Bishop Cummins' parishes exploded with mea culpas for sins of the Church against insensitivity to the poor and homeless, alienation of gays and lesbians, the divorced, victims of discrimination and racism, etc. On March 25, according to the Voice, Bishop Cummins "publicly apologized to victims of clergy sexual abuse".
  Readers may have noticed glaring  differences between the statements of the Pope and these American prelates. The Holy Father in the spirit of penance and reparation in keeping with the Jubilee year confronts the sinful behavior of past members of the Church. Cdl. Mahoney and Bp. Cummins appear to be apologizing for the canonical laws of the Church, which by the way, they are called to teach and uphold as "high officials". While the Church obviously does not approve of discrimination and racism or the abandonment of the poor, we certainly do not have to apologize to obstinate sinners professing to be Catholic who divorce and remarry outside the bounds of Church law, indulge in homosexual acts which are always and everywhere unnatural, evil, AND forbidden, or patriarchy-hating feminists and rebellious Call-to-Action priests and ex-priests who agitate for women's ordination and the married priesthood, ignoring the Church's constant teaching on these issues.
  On the terrible subject of sexual abuse perpetrated by clergy, we certainly cannot judge the good intentions of our bishops who feel compelled to apologize for criminal actions of priests under their jurisdictions. However let us consider why we have a growing number of dysfunctional  priests serving Oakland and Los Angeles. Are these Bishops not responsible for bringing in these rogues hiding behind Roman collars masquerading as followers of Christ? Have these bishops among other American prelates not been responsible for liberalizing the requirements for entering our seminaries, condoning poor screening procedures, even placing despicable people in charge of vocations, local ministries, important teaching positions who dissent and are purposely working to screen in homosexuals, dissenters, and psychologically unsound candidates for the priesthood?
  What Cummins and Mahoney failed to apologize for is what the Holy Father also stressed in his statement of March 12:  "Let us confess, even more, our responsibilities as Christians for the evils of today. We must ask ourselves what our responsibilities are regarding atheism, religious indifference, secularism, ethical relativism, the violations of the right to life, disregard for the poor in many countries."
  Bishop Cummins should consider asking forgiveness from all Catholics for the widespread abuses in liturgical celebrations all over the Oakland Diocese, for his cowardice and the abject failure of his Diocese in directly confronting the abomination of abortion and those who profit from it, for supporting and allowing homosexual activism to be propagated by priests in his Diocese, for allowing dissent and rebellion against Church teaching among his priests and Church officials representing him, for ignoring the "annulment mill" operating in his jurisdiction without serious effort on his part to defend and save Catholic marriages, for his refusing to defend Humanae Vitae, teach National Family Planning and to condemn the evil of contraception, for the corruption of Catholic boys and girls by allowing syncretism and neo-paganism to be taught in so-called Catholic institutes of "higher" learning like Holy Names College. RCW would argue that liberal bishops are primarily responsible for the deep penetration of sexual deviants, homosexuals, pedophiles, sexually active predators, heretics and new agers into every level of the Church infrastructure in America.         
    In recent years we recall the public scandals caused by a number of Oakland priests as in the case of Fr. Devine, arrested for soliciting at a truck stop, Gilmore who fathered  two children out of wedlock (known to Bishop Cummins who let him keep his pastorship at St. Perpetua's), Swenson of Livermore who took up an adulterous relationship with the wife of a parishioner. A number of local pastors have abandoned the priesthood like Madgen, Joyce (Michael), and Gilmore. No amount of apologizing and breast-beating is going to correct the problem. These bishops must get to work to clean house and hunt down the miscreants and muster the backbone to strip the perpetrators of their priestly faculties and turn them over to authorities for criminal prosecution if warranted. These bishops in California whose dioceses are embroiled in scandal after scandal are either directly part of the problem or are not effectively instituting reforms in their jurisdictions to correct them.
    The shortage of vocations coupled with a rapidly aging priesthood is what we are experiencing in the Diocese of Oakland. This is what happens to liberal Dioceses. In spite of this, the Bishop refuses to allow young, well trained priests of traditional orders like the Fraternity of St. Peter to serve the people. Why?
  Wearing a yellow ribbon on your lapel, Bishop Cummins, is not going to solve your problem with deviant and rebellious priests. We want to see real action and tough, zero tolerance policies in dealing with clergy abuse. It is not sufficient to treat priests who molest children and for you to promise parents that these sick people will not be placed in contact with our children. Child molestation is a serious felony and perpetrators should be subject to the harshest criminal penalties allowed by law. The purity and innocence of abused children will never be restored. Many will suffer through a lifetime of pain and anger towards the Church.  Not only their bodies but their souls have been violently abused  and violated. But other kinds of clergy abuse must be dealt with as well.
  How do you make restitution to the husband and children of the parishioner Fr. Swenson committed adultery with? How do you think they feel about the Catholic Church? How could you have allowed Fr. Gilmore to continue to serve as a pastor after he willfully violated the trust and respect of his parishioners by taking up with a woman and fathering not one but TWO children by her? Your "Diocesan policies" as reported in the April 3 edition of the Voice do not go far enough in instituting clerical reforms in the Oakland Diocese. Why should we trust you with the millions of dollars you beg from parishes incessantly throughout the year? How do we know these funds instead of going towards the good work of the Church are not siphoned away to pay off large legal settlements and judgements against the Diocese? Disclose to the people how many Oakland priests are being treated for AIDS and what the Diocese is spending for their care? RCW suspects it is a significant sum. If a Bishop cannot rein in his priests and pick good upstanding men who are psychologically and emotionally sound and  spiritually fit to serve the people of God than he does not have the competence to serve as Bishop. The Santa Rosa Diocese is bankrupt due to criminal activities of the former Bishop Ziemann. Other Dioceses like Syracuse, New York, have been embroiled in  clerical pedophile cover-up lawsuits. Why should we trust you considering the chaotic state of the Oakland Diocese?

                                                                            * * *

  In early January of this turn-of-the-century year, we were media-bombarded with lists of the "greatest men and women" and most significant events of the last century. Not surprisingly a list of the most important  Catholics of the century circulated in the Diocese. RCW picked up Fr. Dan Danielson's bulletin (4/6/00) from  St. Augustine's in Pleasanton. In it he was hawking his friend's, Fr. Brian Joyce's list which was publicized in early January. It is not surprising  to those readers who are familiar with the antics of Fathers Joyce and Danielson to find in their lists certain prickly "thorns" among the "roses", analogous  to their inconsistent views on Catholic morals and dogma.  For example in the ten most important Catholics of the 20th century list, along with Pope John Paul XXIII (no. 1) and John Paul II (no. 3), we find John F. Kennedy in second place, Tielhard de Chardin in 5th, followed by Mother Teresa (7th) and the late Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago (8th). Fulton Sheen trails Bernardin (gasp) in 12th place and so does Pius XII in 14th. Pat and Patty Crowley and Raymond Brown make the list along with Cesar Chavez, Flannery O'Connor and Alfred E. Smith (who?) I wonder if  Fr. Joyce made a typo and actually meant to include Alfred E. Newman for those of us oldies who were fans of MAD magazine. (I always thought Alfred was Catholic; he looked just like one of my grade school chums.)
  Let's dissect the not-so-good guys and outright thorns on the list and end with a "corrected" list that we can share with the kids. RCW would question JFK's place in Fr. Joyce's  Catholic pantheon. Yes, he was a baptised  Catholic but by all accounts he was not "practicing". His actions spoke louder than words. His adulterous affairs were legendary and his administration's fouled attempts to assassinate Fidel, I would argue, do not fall under the Catholic prescription on "just war". John F. Kennedy showed promise but he was cut down  before he could accomplish great things. By the way the Democrat JFK certainly pleased his non-Catholic detractors when as President he took positions against the Catholic Church. He was the last President before Clinton to stand absolutely against funding or tax relief for private schools. I would venture to guess that JFK's position on abortion today if he lived would be no different from the other "pro-choice" Kennedy politicos in office.  Jesuit Father Tielhard de Chardin was a real thorn in the side of the Church. Pope Pius XII's 1950 encyclical, Humani Generis, severely criticized the "speculative theology" surrounding the theory of  evolution being propagated by de Chardin and other theologians and philosophers of his day. The great Catholic writer, Dr. Dietrich von Hildebrand  (1889-1977), wrote a careful analysis of de Chardin's questionable theories captured in two publications, The Charitable Anathema, and The  Trojan Horse in the City of God. Pope Pius XII called Dr. von Hildebrand "the 20th century Doctor of the Church." Dr. von Hildebrand concludes that "Tielhardism" and Christianity are incompatible especially when Chardin tries to synthesize the Christian God and the "Marxist God". "Teilhard's Christ is no longer Jesus, the God-man, the epiphany of God, the Redeemer. Instead, He is the initiator of a purely natural evolutionary process and, simultaneously, its end - the Christ-Omega." [Trojan Horse, p. 286] In Tielhard's letter to a friend, Leontine Zanta, he reveals openly his intention to spread a new  revelation: "As you know, what dominates my interest and my preoccupations is the effort to establish in myself  and to spread around a new religion (you may call it a better Christianity) in which the personal God ceases to be the great neolithic proprietor of  former times, in order to become the soul of the world."
    Sir Peter Medawar, the Nobel Prize winner, spoke of de Chardin's mental confusion and exaggerated expression that he said bordered on "hysteria". Medawar also pronounced de Chardin's work unscientific in its procedure, his works in general lacking scientific structure. Another scientist, Jean Rostand, said about the Jesuit's work that it did not "cast the slightest light on the great problem of organic evolution". [From Trojan Horse, p. 274] Why Teilhard's theories, fashionable in the 50s and 60s but out of favor today,  is still taken seriously by some is a real mystery. Maybe Fr. Joyce can shed some light.
  What was wrong with Cardinal Joseph Bernardin? Father Paul Marx and most  knowledgeable Catholic leaders in the pro-life movement in America emphasize that the late Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago derailed the prolife movement with his 1982 Fordham speech on the "seamless garment" suggesting that "abortion was on par with poverty, capital punishment, and a whole catalogue of social ills." [Fr. Paul Marx, Faithful for Life, p. 162] Bernardin gave Catholic pro-abortion politicians cover by suggesting to Catholic voters that they could weigh the candidate's negative voting record on overturning Roe v. Wade with a positive vote on passing a minimum wage law or outlawing capital punishment. He often spoke out of both sides of his mouth, implying he was loyal to Papal teaching and then would give contradictory advise. In 1987 he defended John Paul II's teaching on artificial insemination but in his talk he suggested, "in the end, after prayerful and conscientious reflection on the teaching, they must make their own decision." [Chicago Tribune, 4/30/87] He chaired the Bishops' committee tasked with drafting a pastoral on religious dimensions of war (1983). He stacked the committee with pacifists and their disordered work was bad theology, replacing the Church's just war principles with pacifism and was skewed against American defense strategy. [Msgr. George Kelly, Inside My Father's House, p. 342] Cdl. Bernardin also showed his ineptitude in his leading role on developing the Bishops' 1987 AIDS statement. In this statement, the bishops' AIDS committee recommended the use of accurate educational material including the use of "prophylactic devices (condoms) or other practices". So before the term was coined, Bernardin and his friends were advocating "safe sex" as a lesser evil, a concept radically at odds with Catholic teaching. Towards the end of his life, this Machiavellian prince of the Church attempted to provide cover to dissenting voices in the Church by starting a new project, "Catholic Common Ground". His brother Cardinals derailed it quickly, stressing that the Church already has common ground found in Scripture and Tradition, guided by the Magisterium and that "truth and dissent from truth are not equal partners in ecclesial dialogue…Dialogue as a way to mediate between truth and dissent is mutual deception." [Cardinal Bernard Law]
    RCW must also call attention to the other "thorns" on the list, especially Pat and Patty Crowley and Fr. Raymond Brown. The Crowleys, an American couple who founded the Christian Family Movement were members of Pope Paul VI's birth control commission originally established by Pope John XXIII to study birth control and new pill technology that was gaining popular use in the 60s. The Crowleys along with the majority on the commission recommended lifting the ban on contraception. Pope Paul VI responded with Humanae Vitae, which some enlightened souls say was directly inspired by the Holy Spirit against all human odds. The pressure on the Pope to approve artificial contraception was intense but he prevailed.  The Crowleys and their friends publicly dissented and rejected the Pope's encyclical and to this day continue to spread their dissent. We can only conclude by his choice in elevating these people that Fr. Brian Joyce is aligned with the pro-contraception dissenters. He and his soul mates are responsible for the devastation of Catholic families, failing to warn their flocks  against the destructive effects of contraception.

  In his book on The New Biblical Theorists, Msgr. Kelly draws critical attention to the leading exponent of the liberal theorists, Fr. Raymond E. Brown, S.S. Fr. Brown's interpretations on the bible, according to Msgr. George Kelly, summarizes what is wrong with contemporary Catholic theology. According to Brown, Mary's  virginity is an unresolved problem because there is no "scientifically controllable evidence" to prove it. Sounds an awful lot like heresy to RCW. Other examples of serious lapses of faith in Fr. Brown's work can be found in a number of his books studied by Msgr. Kelly. For example - the stories of Christ's birth are dubious history; he nuances the institution of the Church and the priesthood by Jesus at the Last Supper; the 12 apostles were neither missionaries nor Bishops; Peter cannot be looked upon as the Bishop of the early Roman Church; Vatican II was biblically naïve to call Catholic bishops successors to the apostles. If these are Fr. Brian Joyce's and Fr. Dan Danielson's icons of the 20th century, what can they be teaching their flocks in Christ the King and St. Augustine's?
    Now we give you RCW's Top List of Important Catholics of the 20 Century. Feel free to write or email us if you have other suggestions. 1. Pope John Paul II, 2. Pope Pius X, 3.  Pope Pius XII, 4. Pope Paul VI, 5. Pope John XXIII, 6. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, 7. Fr. Maximilian Kolbe, 8. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, 9. Sr. Edith Stein, 10. Sr. Faustina Kowalska, 11. Fr. Miguel Pro, 12. Bishop Fulton Sheen, 13. Cardinal Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei, 14. Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty, 15. Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha, 16. Msgr. Jose Maria Escriva, 17. Dr. Jerome Lejeune, 18. Dr. Dietrich von Hildebrand, 19. Maria Goretti, 20. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, 21. Fr. Paul Marx, 22. Mother Angelica, 23. Fr. Werenfried van Straaten,  24. G.K. Chesterton, 25. Gianna Beretta Molla, 26. Hillaire Belloc.

                                                                            * * *

  California Proposition 22, also known as the "Protection of Marriage"  or  the Knight Initiative named for its Senatorial sponsor, William J. Knight, was approved  with a wide margin of votes in the March 2000 ballot adding 14 simple words to the California Family Code: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." In another time and age, the average citizen would wonder why such a strange initiative would be necessary. Well, these are not ordinary times, folks. Every state is required to honor marriages contracted in other states. The activist Vermont Supreme court recently ruled that same-gender marriages should be legalized in their state or equal rights and benefits offered to same sex couples.
  The dysfunctional Catholic Church in Oakland lined up on both sides of the issue. Bishop Cummins was blasted by  some Catholics in the Diocese for putting up what was a paltry amount along with the other California Bishops to support the initiative. The Diocese made sure to clarify in the Voice (2/7/00) that the offensive contribution from the Diocese did not come out of the Bishop's annual appeal funds. Excuse me, RCW would suggest that many faithful Catholics would give to the Bishop's appeal if we knew our contributions supported such good works as the marriage protection act.
  Now more on the dysfunctional Church in Oakland: On Febuary 15, a "dialogue  on Prop. 22" was held at St. Joan of Arc in San Ramon. This "dialogue" was sponsored by the Northern California Interreligious Conference and Council of Churches. Members come from the liberal Episcopalian, Unitarian, Presbyterian sects and, sadly, the extreme left flank of the Catholic Church. What were these people doing at a Catholic Church? The "Interfaith alliance" is a one more trojan horse working to undermine the Judeo-Christian moral foundation of  professed Christian churches. The Alliance was born  in 1994 with $25,000 seed money  from the Democratic National Campaign Committee. The dialogue at St. Joan of Arc was a disaster for its organizers. Many of the estimated 70-80 participants (including RCW) were reform-minded Catholics and Protestants working against pro-homosexual and pro-abortion activism within their churches. Recognizable Church functionaries present were Fr. Jim Schexnayder, well-known homosexual lobbyist for the Diocese and Ned Dolesji, lobbyist for the California Catholic Bishops. The evening started off with a prayer  by a Jewish rabbi. Monologues for and against Prop. 22 followed the opening prayer. Speaking against the proposition was a minister from the Unitarian Church spouting the worn-out "gay-friendly" platitudes. Disappointingly, the Diocese did not produce a Catholic speaker at  St Joan of Arc  (Bp. Cummins, where are you?)  to defend the Holy Sacrament of marriage and argue against same sex unions. Instead the Catholic organizers chose to hide behind the skirts of a lay woman from the Mormon Church, who did a  respectable job in arguing for traditional marriage.
  The next segment was the "Dephi indoctrination" phase as participants split up in small groups to "share" their experiences and views about marriage and support for "gay" unions. Unfortunately for our facilitator who "shared" that she had lesbian daughters, most members of our little group were bible-quoting conservatives. She was not pleased. Other facilitators were also confronted with Christians and Mormons defending marriage. In a private moment after the "group grope", a reporter from RCW asked Fr. Schexnayder if he was for same-sex unions. He refused to answer a direct yes or no and deflected the question by responding that current marriage laws allowed only heterosexual marriage. Persisting we asked again for a direct answer and he sneered, waived us off and walked away. Ned Dolesji stepped forward, inserted himself rudely between Schexnayder and the reporter with puffed up chest like a threatening gorilla and told the reporter to go away. When asked if he was threatening the reporter, he turned his back and stomped off. 
    This evening surely was an opportunity recklessly squandered away when the fullness of Catholic morality rooted in Scripture and magisterial teaching was silent but should have been enunciated clearly and faithfully to all Catholics, Jews, Protestants present at the Catholic church in San Ramon, a perfect time to preach on the beauty and sacredness of the Holy Sacrament of Matrimony. I felt shame and pity for those members of my faith who missed this precious teaching moment. 

                                                                              * * *

    RCW has been at the forefront of exposing the leadership of the homosexual movement within the local Church. Oakland and Los Angeles continue to be at the forefront of the homosexual movement's drive to break down moral resistance within the Catholic Church. Scandals continue in our own Dioceses in California and in other  areas around the country. The latest scandal involves Fr. Carl Anthony Schiper, a professor who has taught for the past 8 years at St. Patrick's seminary in Menlo Park and lives in Santa Rosa. Oakland seminarians go to St. Patrick's. Schipper, 57, suspected of soliciting sex from minors over the Internet was arrested March 2 for distributing pornography and seeking to meet teenage boys. He has had high positions in San Francisco, serving as  Superintendent of Schools under Achbishop John Quinn.
    Speaking of the Internet, a website called "St. Sebastian's Angels" run by a homosexual priest from Portland, Maine, Fr. John Harris, was recently exposed by the Catholic watchdog group, Roman Catholic Faithful. It appears an average of 50 Catholic priests and, at least one bishop, Aux. Bishop Reginald Cawcutt of Capetown, S. Africa, frequented the homosexual group's  web-based "chatroom". The website's contents captured by RCF within their own website (www.rcf.org) is populated with pornographic material, pictures of homosexual priests and their personal resumes commonly found in a dating service forum, email correspondences extremely crude and foul with particular focus on attacking and belittling Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Ratzinger. The homosexual bishop from Capetown, Reginald Cawcutt, brazenly expressed his hatred and contempt for the Pope and Cdl. Ratzinger in the most profane manner. Here are direct excerpts from Cawcutt's emails. RCW comments in brackets: "Talking about the Vatican - JP is in Poland at the mo - mebbe he will die there? I shall listen to the news broadcasts in hope!"
  Regarding the penetration of active homosexuals into the priesthood: "I am wondering what is to happen with those who have sneaked through [homosexual priests] and got themselves ordained??? Greeley [Fr. Andrew Greeley of Chicago] I think says 60% of priests are gay. I would be tempted to out myself and ask wot I and other gay bishops (cardinals), priests and religious (male and female) are supposed to do. I say tempted since I shall certainly think about it before October cums our way. However it will be a nice bomb to drop at the Chicago conference next month... Gary watch out for it! As I feel now - I could not continue - but we shall see. F***!"  Maine Bishop Joseph Gerry has recently  suspended  Fr. John Harris.
  Closer to home, homosexual propaganda continues unabated, supported by Bishop John Cummins and Catholic Charities. Fr. Jim Schexnayder's National Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries, will hold their homo-activist conference in Oakland, California on September 7 to 10. We are here to tell you, Fr. Schexnayder, that because we care for your immortal soul and the souls of others being corrupted,  we will do everything possible to protest, publicize and rally public support against your homosexual advocacy  conference!  In Los Angeles, Cardinal Mahoney's homo-activist minister, Fr. Peter Liuzzi continues his work to spread the "gay" agenda. His message is a deceptive one as we see in his Febuary 2nd letter to his followers: " God hears the cry of the poor. We are fighting a winning battle. Moses never entered the promised land. Jesus died for a kingdom that is still to come. Never engage the right; their protest is a witness to our effectiveness." RCW asks: Do the beatitudes apply to active homosexuals whose high risk behavior results in deadly disease? Average per capita income of homosexuals is higher than the general population. Poor? Victimized? RCW thinks not. Winning battle against whom? The Church's teachings which they refuse to obey? Never engage the right? Again they are rebelling against the Magisterium which time and again has witnessed to the truth about the sin of sodomy. Is this the "Right"? To naïve members among the faithful, open your eyes to the relentless assault on the Holy Catholic Church by hell and satan directed squarely at the priesthood. The homosexual priesthood is destroying the Church. Wake up, keep watch, speak out, and defend the Church! Let us know if you would like to help us organize against the Schexnayder homosexual advocacy conference in September.
                                                                              * * *
  Looking for an excellent religious good store in the Diocese of Oakland? Visit or call GLAD TIDINGS! For all your needs in the latest Catholic books, literature, Catechisms, sacramentals, statues, First Communion keepsakes, and much more. Conveniently located off  I-580 at Santa Rita Rd. in Pleasanton next to Trader Joe's. 6700 Santa Rita Rd, Suite K, Pleasanton, Ca. 94588; 925-847-9787 or 1-888-887-9463.

  There was once a time, not too long ago, when almost all Christians believed the same truths, worshipped at the same altar, and received the same Sacraments. This was the case with Christianity from the days of Christ until the days of Protestantism, a period of 1500 years. The present-day contradictions and confusions of Christians cannot be ascribed to Christ, but to men: Luther, Zwingli, Cranmer, Knox, Calvin, and the rest - men born some 500 years before our time and some 1500 years after Christ's time. Christianity was simple until these men made it complex. Aside from a few transient times of heresy, Christianity was one body of worship doctrine, held and believed by all in common, until these men came and divided it decisively. You will recall how, in the beginning, Christ established one school of Christian teaching. He called aside twelve men and appointed them the first faculty of that school. They were handpicked and personally tutored by Him in the truths of salvation. Then, after three years of vigorous training - equivalent to more years today - they received their assignment from Him: "Teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And, behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world."                              (Matthew 28:19-20).                           
  Christ Himself did not teach all nations. He sent men into the whole world to do that job for Him, to preach His Gospel to all nations, all days. But there are those who object to what they call 'organized religion', because they want no one coming between them and God. This is as if the early Christians had objected to the Apostles teaching them the Gospel of Christ, expecting rather that Christ should have done so Himself. This is as logical as objecting to a father and a mother coming between them and their Creator. Why does God not create us directly into the world? Why do we have to pass through intermediaries such as parents? The reason is that God, in His wise disposition, has chosen human parents as His cooperators in creation, just as He has chosen His Church to be His cooperators in Redemption. For God disposes the world that He created not by casting humanity aside, but by using it. The sun and the soil are God's creation, but the sowing and ploughing He leaves to man. Grace and the Gospel are God's, but the preaching and ministering Christ entrusted to His Apostles.
  Those who today object to men ordained by God coming between them and the Savior forget that this is not a new system, but the continuation of the established system of God in Old Testament times. Who were Abraham, Moses, Noe, and David? They were all men, appointed by God to lead their people in the ways of truth and to direct their steps from the paths of error to salvation. There can be no doubt as to what Christ intended His Apostles and His Church to do in this world until the end of time. The very title He gave them explicitly defines their mission. From the Greek, an 'apostle' is 'one sent out'.  And the message that they were sent out with was the most important message ever delivered by any messenger this side of heaven. For that reason Christ promised that He Himself would remain with His Church until the end of time, to ensure that His message would not be changed in the telling or deteriorate into error. The Tradition of His Church, that is, the handing down of His words and teachings, would n every century be His mouthpiece. In every century until the end of time, the Church, if it is to remain true to Christ, cannot teach anything new, but only makes clear the meaning of the truths that are as old as Christianity itself.
    Not even the pope can teach anything new, as he would then be rejecting Christ, whose vicar, not master, he is. This Catholic principle, true from the time of St. Peter, was expressed dogmatically by the First Vatican Council in these words: "For the Holy Ghost was promised to the successors of Peter not so that they might, by His revelation, make known some new doctrine, but that, by His assistance, they might religiously guard and faithfully expound the revelation or Deposit of Faith transmitted by the Ajpostles." The way of salvation today, as in the first century of St. Paul, as in the fifth century of St. Augustine, as in the thirteenth century of St. Thomas Aquinas, as in the fifteenth century of St. Joan of Arc, as in the twentieth century of Pope St. Pius X - the way of salvation is to be found only in the true Church of Christ and His Apostles, the faculty of His schoolhouse planted on the seven hills of Rome. "A PRIEST To live in the midst of the world without wishing its pleasures; to be a member of each family, yet belonging to none; to share all sufferings; to penetrate all secrets; to heal all wounds; to go from men to God and offer Him their prayers; to return from God to men to bring pardon and hope; to have a heart of fire for charity and a heart of bronze for chastity; to teach and to pardon, console and bless always. My God what a life! And it is yours, O Priest of Jesus Christ."

Submitted by Catherine Willis

Pleasanton, California
    Father Dan Danielson, an Oakland diocese priest who, two years ago, was castigated by Bishop John Cummins for authorizing gay weddings inside his parish church, has come under scrutiny again for building what some parishioners are calling "a Protestant hall" with funds donated  for the building of a Catholic church.
    Danielson is pastor of St. Augustine's, Pleasanton and also of a second, new church, St. Elizabeth Seton in Pleasanton which will be dedicated by Bishop Cummins on April 9. Elizabeth Seton, which took 15 years to build and cost $5 million, was the site of an attempted lesbian wedding on  May 9, 1998.  The wedding was called off when fifty Catholics surrounded the partially built church in a protest which was recorded in the San Francisco Chronicle and on San Francisco's Channel 7 News.  At the time Danielson bragged he would continue blessing gay unions outside of  the church building and Bishop Cummins, who appears reluctant to exercise any authority in these situations, left him as pastor of St. Augustine's and head of the local Deanery of Priests, merely warning him to stop talking to the press about his gay blessings.
  The newly-opened St. Elizabeth Seton church has no tabernacle (the tabernacle is housed in a completely separate building),  no crucifix, no stations of the cross, no kneelers. Predictably, there are no stained glass windows or statues.  Chairs are arranged in an oval looking down on a simple wooden table which suffices as the altar. Also predictable is the 8 foot long, waist-deep, full immersion baptismal bath complete with bright blue tiles and jacuzzi jets.
  At his first Mass in the new church Danielson, who refers to his parish as "The Catholic Community (not church) of Pleasanton" told the congregation,  "There is no sanctuary because this is all holy ground now. This is not a church but a gathering space." He said  there was no Christ on the  cross because in a circular worship space some people would have had to look at the back of the figure of Christ so it was better just to have a plain, wooden cross (as the Protestants do).
  Contrary to what Danielson maintains, the east wall of the oval would serve for the hanging of the crucifix which would be clearly visible to all. He said there was no room for kneelers so the congregation stands throughout the Eucharistic Prayer and consecration, as they do at St Augustine's  from time to time under Danielson's orders. Worshippers sit  immediately after receiving Communion.
  A woman who attended the Ash Wednesday Mass said, "It was a circus.  People were talking loudly before and after Mass because, without the tabernacle, there is no reason to regard the church as anything other than a hall. It really is just a gathering space.  They were waving at each other across the circular space  during the Mass."   Prior to his authorizing gay weddings at St. Elizabeth Seton, Father Danielson, drew the attention of the local media several years ago when his pastoral associate, Father John Gilmore  was featured in the local Valley Times newspaper as having fathered two children with a St. Augustine's office employee.  Bishop Cummins swiftly removed Gilmore from St. Augustine's and gave him pastorship of St. Perpetua in Lafayette, one of the wealthiest suburbs in the East Bay. Then on November 14, 1996, the Valley Times reported that Gilmore had retired from active ministry in the priesthood.                                       

By M.A., Pleasanton

Dear Editor,
  Please take my name off your list.  You are too harsh and judgemental.  Jesus would not approve of what you are doing. He preached love your neighbor.   

-R.S .Dublin

Dear R.S.,
  Yes, you are right, Jesus did preach about loving your neighbor; however, He also corrected wrongdoing and errors.  If you think Jesus never did so, get out your Bible and look up the following:

Cursed: GAL 1:9
Dogs: MT 7:6 & 15:26; PHIL 3:2; 2PET 2:22
Evil: ACTS 8:22; 1COR 5:13
Filth: MT 23:27; LK 11:44
Fools: LK 11:40; ROM 1:22
Frauds: MT 23:13 & 15 & 23 & 25 & 29
Hypocrites: MT 15:7 & 22:18; MK 7:6;
Liars: TIT 1:12
Murderers: ACTS 7:52
Perverted: MT 17:17; ROM 1:27 12533
Pigs/Swine: MT 7:6; 2PET 2:22
Sons of Satan: JN 8:44
Wicked: 1 COR5:
  Perhaps Jesus and the Apostles should be accused of "hate literature/speech"?

^-Ed.

Dear Roman Catholic Witness,
    Perhaps one of you experts could discuss a recent change in church tradition in the next Newsletter.  Recently, our church has insisted that all persons must stand after communion until ALL persons have taken communion.  All are informed that they must stand unless they are unable to do so or ill, etc.
    I do not mind following this directive but curious to know why a tradition of many years is being changed.  Is it from Rome?  the Bishop?  Or is it just a Parish desire to do so?  It seems strange that a tradition is suddenly changed without any explanation.  A discussion in the Newsletter would be helpful.

-Unsigned

  There is an informative article "Every knee should bow - but When? by Helen Hull Hitchcock and Susan Benofy - from the EWTN online Library.  For this specific document regarding kneeling, go to the following ETWN address:  http://www.ewtn.com/library/Liturgy/KNEEBOW.HTM  The address for the main document library is:  www.ewtn.com/library.

-Ed

Dear Editor,
    We just came across an issue of your excellent publication at our St. Anne Byzantine Catholic Church.  It has been over four years since our family moved to this beautiful central coast of California from Alameda, CA.
    It seems that the situation in the troubled diocese of Oakland has gone from bad to worse.  How sad!  What a tradgedy to have a wishy-washy bishop who tolerates faleshood.  In the book of Hosea in the old testament we read, "My people perish for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6)  Small wonder that countless Catholics have left the Catholic Church to join evangelical and Fundamentalist churches, where sin is still called sin and Jesus is preached as Lord and Saviour and not just another social worker.
    The church situation in this Diocese (Monterey) is not much better than the diocese of Oakland.  Most parishes in this area leave a great deal to be desired with their banal music and cheap show  atmosphere.  God in His Goodness led us to St. Anne's where Divine Liturgy, incense, reverence, orthodoxy, and loyalty to the Magisterium of the church is something to behold.
    More than one-half of the congregation at St. Anne are like us Catholics of the Latin Rite who could no longer tolerate the liturgical abuses, clowns, balloons, and plain stupidity found in so many parishes.  Oh, yes, at St. Anne you will not find so-called inclusive gender-bender lingo, female altar girls, so-called kiss of peace;  loud, silly talking and other types of carnival nonsense which is destroying most parishes these days.
    We extend an invitation to all loyal and faithful Catholics who might travel through the central coast to join us at St. Anne's Byzantine Catholic Church at 222 Foothill Blvd., San Luis Obispo, CA for Divine Liturgy 10am Sundays, 9am daily.  Fr. Ed, our pastor, is a wonderful and loyal priest who is not afrad of calling sin, sin  and exhorts his flock to walk in the ways of the Lord.  Divine Liturgy is a foretaste of Heaven.

Sincerely, C. and M. Santos, Atascadero, CA

Dear Readers,
    We apologize for the tardiness of our publication and  we appreciate your patience.  We are sorry we cannot keep to a strict publishing schedule.  No one here draws a salary and we are all volunteers who help on their own personal time.  Thanks again for your notes of good wishes and donations.                                   

-Ed.

                                                                              *  *  *                                     

  Gianna Beretta was born in Magenta, Milan in 1922. Her parents were fervent Catholics who taught little Gianna the faith and the need for prayer. She learned early on that human life was a precious gift from God. During her high school and university years she worked enthusiastically with young people as an active member of Catholic Action. She spent many hours in volunteer work with the St. Vincent de Paul Society helping the old and needy. She graduated in 1949 with a medical degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Pavia and the following year she opened an ambulatory clinic in a rural town. She specialized in Pediatrics working with mothers and children.Gianna embraced life in its fullness, enjoying the beauty of God's creation, skiing and mountain climbing in the Italian Alps. Dedicated in her professional work as a medical doctor, she persevered in her apostolate reaching out to young people through Catholic Action, prayerfully discerning her vocation in life. God soon blessed her with an answer and in 1955 she married an Italian engineer, Pietro Molla at the Basilica of St. Martino in Magenta. Over the next few years she lived the idyllic life of a contented Christian mother, giving birth to her first child, Pierluigi in 1956, soon followed by Mariolina in 1957, and Laura in 1959.        .   
      In 1961 Gianna became pregnant with her fourth child. This pregnancy would be different. Before the end of her second month she began experiencing severe pains. Her doctor found a fibrous tumor in her uterus. As a doctor she knew the inherent risks to her child if surgery was initiated to remove the tumor. Trusting in God she instructed the surgeon to operate but to do no harm to her unborn child. Her baby was spared and Gianna continued to suffer through her difficult and painful pregnancy. Before the date of her baby's delivery, she told her doctor: " If you have to choose - I demand it - choose the life of the baby. Save him." On April 21, 1962, Gianna Emmanuela was born. A week later, Gianna died of complications. She was 39 years old.                                                    .
      On Christmas Eve 1962, Cardinal Archbishop of Milan, Giovanni Colombo, presented a gold medal in honor of Dr. Gianna Beretta Molla. He read this statement: " We are witnessing an unforgettable example which compels us to silence, meditation, admiration, prayer and a desire to be worthy of these souls the Lord sends us, without doubt, in order to give us a message. Here is an example of someone who had the courage to follow Jesus' words: that there is no greater love than to give one's life for a loved one. She lived that greater love and imitated more closely the redemptive sacrifice of our Lord Jesus."                                  .
      In May 1993, Pope John Paul II beatified Gianna Beretta Molla.                                                                                                            

by Phil Sevilla
                                  [Thanks to article from Fatima Family Messenger]

    The Witness is asking all readers to unite in praying as the Church Militant for all our parishes, our Bishop, priests and religious.  We ask that you use the prayer of Cardinal Carberry which follows this announcement.  Whenever possible, we recommend prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.  We will spiritually adopt a number of specific parishes every month.  Please pray daily specifically for:

June  2000:  Holy Spirit (Fremont), St. James, St. Joseph (Fremont), St. Leonard-Sta. Paula, All Saints, St. Bede, St. Clement, St. Joachim.
July 2000:  St. Perpetua, St. Charles, St. Michael, St. Catherine, St. Monica, St. Edward, St. Anthony (Oakley), Sta. Maria, Corpus Christi (Piedmont)
August 2000:  St. Joseph (Pinole), Good Shepherd, St. Peter Martyr, Christ the King, St. Augustine, (Pleasanton) St. Elizabeth Seton, Our Lady of Mercy, St. Patrick (Port Costa).

        O Jesus, our great High Priest, hear my humble prayers on behalf of Thy priests.  Give them a deep faith, a bright and firm hope, and a burning love which will ever increase in the course of their priestly life.  In their loneliness, comfort them.  In their sorrows, strengthen them.  In their frustrations, point out to them that it is through suffering that the soul is purified, and show them that they are needed by the Church; they are needed by souls; they are needed for the work of redemption.  O loving Mary, Mother of Priests, take to your heart your sons who are close to you because of their priestly ordination and because of the power which they have received to carry on the work of Christ in a world which needs them so much.  Be their comfort, be their joy, be their strength, and especially help them to live and to defend the ideals of consecrated celibacy.  Amen.

                    -John J. Cardinal Carberry
former Archbishop of St. Louis
b1904-+1999