In defense of the family-Part one

The Catholic faith has been, and is being redefined. We are witness to a breakdown in authority and obedience. "Whoever hears my words, says the Lord, and believes in him who sent me, has eternal life". Jn 5:24. The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church is the person of Christ. Those baptized into Him by means of water and the Holy Spirit are members of His mystical body of which He is the head. The Kingdom of Heaven, the beatific vision, eternal life are names for that supernatural condition that the immortal soul of man will partake of as a reward for his cooperation with divine grace in this life on earth. He is body and soul. At the last judgment our body will be reunited with our soul forever either in heaven or in hell. Prov.24:12, Mt. 25:12,41. St. Paul says, "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard nor has it entered the mind of man the things that God has prepared for those who love him" 1 Cor 2:9


The Church that is Holy, Catholic and Apostolic functions through the minds and hands of men in the world. While He lived Jesus provided for its continuance when He proclaimed to the apostle Peter, "Thou art Peter (thou art rock ) and upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" Mt 16:18.

This Church is organized in an orderly way,. Order befits holiness and the Church is holy. The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of the second Vatican Council, chapter III "The Church is Hierarchical" Paragraph nineteen, says this. " The teaching concerning the institution, the permanence, the nature and import of the Sacred Primacy of the Roman Pontiff and his infallible teaching office, the sacred synod proposes anew to be firmly believed by all the faithful, and proceeding undeviatingly with this same undertaking, it proposes to proclaim publicly and enunciate clearly the doctrine concerning bishops, successors of the apostles, who together with Peters successor, the Vicar of Christ and the visible head of the whole Church, direct the house of the living God."

The redefinition spoken of at the beginning is the result of the spirit of dissent introduced by theologians after the council who put themselves forward as a parallel Magisterium, superseding the role of the bishops as teachers. Much good has come from the work of theologians but to lead the faithful to dissent with them from magisterial teaching as has happened in the instance of Pope Paul VI Encyclical, Humanae Vitae on human life in 1968 is a disservice to souls.

The attempt to make contraception legitimate has resulted in the damaging of the marriage bond between husband and wife and has opened the door to broad acceptance of abortion, adultery, disease and divorce. Artificial birth control is a far cry from natural family planning which is approved by the Church under certain circumstances. The contraceptive mentality has brought about the exclusion of God and His truth from people's minds and has given our society the culture of selfishness which brings death to the human soul. Rom. 6:16, 23 - 7:13 - 1 Cor15:56 - Rev. 1:18.

Given the seriousness of the situation we are in and from which we must be helped to extricate ourselves the following points are proposed as critical to setting us upright again in our Christian and Catholic lives, in the Sacrament of Matrimony and in the family.

1 - The adherence to the norms of the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae which is contended to be traditional, authoritative, definitive and part of the ordinary Magisterium of the Church per canon 750 paragraph 2 as amended by the apostolic letter Moto Proprio of Pope John Paul II, "Ad Tuendam Fidem"

2 - In order to insure sound theological instruction on the part of students enrolled in Catholic Universities it is contended that bishops must enforce the apostolic constitution for those institutions, Ex Corde Ecclesiae. First by the issuance of the mandatum upon finding a professor to be qualified and second to require the adherence to canon 833 paragraphs 5,6,7 & 8 regarding the making of the profession of faith, or oath of fidelity. At one Catholic University the mandatum is simply made available upon request and that the profession of faith is not required although it is reported that all are willing to take it. It would seem proper also that those should make the profession of faith who are included in canon 833 and the sub paragraphs.

3 - In line with the foregoing resolve on educational matters it would seem that because at least two generations of Catholics have not had the faith taught to them in its fullness and comprehensiveness as outlined by the catechetical directory ( catechesi tradendae ) the faith formation for children and adults must be reevaluated and strengthened. The reason given for the recruiting of laity as teachers for CCD and R.C.I.A. is that priests are lacking due to a shortage of vocations, (a question to be dealt with further on). The laity as part of the generational problem are not suited because of their lack of training and even more problematical their lack of faith, (Catholic faith). This is true of the parents who are the ones in the first instance who have the responsibility for the education of their children. It can be added that if any of them are practicing artificial birth control or are sterilized they are in mortal sin, and even if they or their pastors don't consider such actions grave matter, their human dignity has been altered and their parenting ability damaged.

4 - The question of Sunday Mass attendance is part of the equation of default. In the lax and incoherent teaching by Church authorities the fact that missing Mass through ones own fault on Sundays and Holy Days of obligation is a mortal sin is never mentioned. It has been reported by a parent that he overheard a lay CCD teacher say to a colleague at the start of school, "I'm sure glad that Vatican II did away with mortal sin". The head of that parish's CCD program refused to use the Catechism of The Catholic Church or any material from it.

Sunday Mass attendance in many dioceses in America is 29% if only the registered parishioners figure is used or 17% if the estimated Catholic population figure is used. The usual attendance on Holy days is about one quarter of the Sunday figure so that attendance is 7% or 4% relative to the above figures.

We can easily rationalize these problems into obscurity if we take them individually. However taken together they give a troubling picture of a Church whose bishops, priests, deacons and lay leaders have capitulated to the demands and mores of the secular culture. The defiance on their part of Pope Paul VI and his love letter, Humanae Vitae on July 25, 1968 reaffirming the Church's century’s old ban on artificial birth control is at the heart of our difficulties as a Church and a modern society.

The book of Genesis says that God made man in his own image and likeness, male and female he created them. God commanded them, "Be fruitful and multiply". Male and female, man and woman were made for each other. Their gift of sexuality is a gift from God for them to share with each other as man and wife, bridegroom and bride in marriage. Sexual intercourse is a serious sin if used outside of marriage. Fornication is therefore sinful. Contraception in marriage renders the union sterile and is directed toward the self as is masturbation. In the Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes in the section titled "Married love and the respect for human life" paragraph 51 we read, "Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes. Mans sexuality and the faculty of reproduction wondrously surpass the endowments of lower forms of life; therefore the acts proper to married life are to be ordered according to authentic human dignity and must be honored with the greatest reverence."

...All this is possible only if the virtue of married chastity is seriously practiced. In questions of birth regulation the sons of the Church, faithful to these principles, are forbidden to use methods disapproved of by the teaching authority of the Church in its interpretation of the divine law.

It is intended to go into more detail on all of these six points regarding the defense of the family at another time. However there are two points with regard to birth control which always come up and they should be raised at this time. The Church teaches that, "Every act of sexual intimacy between spouses must remain open to new life". This is in contradiction to the ideas of some theologians that, "Could it not be admitted that procreative finality applies to the totality of married life rather than to each single act? The Church answered NO. Secondly is the question of the infallibility of the Encyclical, Humanae Vitae of Pope Paul VI on July 25, 1968. Various Pontiffs have answered that the weight of Encyclical Letters is as follows," it should not be thought that what is expounded in Encyclical Letters does not of itself demand consent since in writing such Letters the Popes do not exercise the supreme power of their teaching authority. For these matters are taught with the ordinary teaching authority, of which it is true to say: 'He that heareth you, heareth me' (Luke 10:16); and generally what is expounded and inculcated in Encyclical Letters already for other reasons appertains to Catholic doctrine. But if the Supreme Pontiffs in their official documents purposely pass judgment on a matter up to that time under dispute, it is obvious that that matter, according to the mind and will of the same Pontiffs, cannot any longer be considered a question open to discussion among theologians"

The result of the proposed above exceptions to the natural and moral law is in opposition to, "The call to holiness" that is found in Lumen Gentium article V and to a weakened body politic that in time and in fact can be seen just on the horizon and will not be able to withstand an enemy whose goal is our destruction.

5 - Something must be said about the conscience, the moral compass, that guides us to do good and to avoid evil. Many rationalists say that if my conscience confirms an action that I'm contemplating I'm free to do it. People also refer to the French document, The Rights of man as proposed by Thomas Paine and to the U.S. Bill of Rights that guarantees the individuals right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What is overlooked often enough is the rights of the creator of all and the One from whom all things come; His rights over us. We, therefore have the responsibility to form our consciences on the truth.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me". And, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free". In the parish CCD context that was mentioned earlier the High School students felt imposed upon by the doctrine of the Church that was being taught. On three occasions during the year they were shown a video of a youth counselor, Pam Stanzel of Denver, giving a talk to kids in the school auditorium about the reality of STD's (sexually transmitted diseases).; about the number, variety and severe and lasting consequences of contracting one or more of them by the trivializing of their God given gift of human sexuality. These diseases will be brought into the marriage bed; some of them cannot be cured. As Pam talked to the children (that’s what they were) the concern on their faces grew more intense. The message was getting though. It got through to our CCD classes as well.. On another occasion a mother of an eighth grade girl wanted to get her daughter out of the public school. She was interested in the Catholic school the parish was planning. The mother came to see the pastor and related how every Monday morning the subject among the girls, (fourteen year olds), was who lost their virginity over the week end.

6 - The matter of diminishing priestly vocations is of great concern. We express the belief that, as has been said, "A young man will give his life for an exclamation point but not for a question mark". God is calling men to be an "alter Christus" and to serve Him and His Church in "persona Christi". In dioceses that are headed by bishops who inspire by holiness and orthodoxy there are many good vocations but in lax and weak in faith places vocations are not found in sufficient numbers. One example is the diocese of Lincoln which for a number of years has been number one among all dioceses in the country in vocations and in priestly ordinations. Lincoln's bishop is the reason.

This has to do also with what has been said earlier about the young who come from large families who have been nurtured in the faith and who many times have been home schooled. They will make good spouses and holy priests and religious. It has to do with education specifically. In Msgr. George A. Kelly's book, "The second spring of the Church in America" on page 100 he says, "As late as 1991 Rev. Avery Dulles, now a Cardinal, (Cardinal Dulles is deceased), summarized the secularization process in American education in one sentence, "As going from the slippery path that led from denominational to general Christianity, then to vaguely defined religious values and finally to total secularization."

Finally to point up the seriousness with which the body of bishops of the USCCB take these questions we emphasize two of the three documents that were voted on and approved at their Fall meeting in Baltimore on November 14, 2006, namely, "Married love and the gift of life", on the moral evil of contraception and "Happy are those who are called to His supper", on the criteria for the worthy reception of Holy communion. The first document gives a balanced look at what the bond of marriage means but its bottom line focuses on the practice of artificial birth control, contraception, which is a lie. At the bottom of page four of the document it says, “but they should never act to suppress or curtail (Gen 1:28) the life giving power given by God that is an integral part of what they pledged to each other in their marriage vows. This is what the Church means by saying that every act of intercourse must remain open to life and that contraception is objectively immoral. On page nine this scripture passage is quoted, "You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body" 1Cor 6:19-20. An additional passage is, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?, For holy is the temple of God and this temple you are".

In the forty year history of dissent from the Pontifical teaching on the immorality and sinfulness of contraception many artifices have been used to deny the truth of its meaning. One instance is with the use of the word "objectively" immoral in the above quote which we let ourselves think means subjectively. Objective is opposite of subjective we purposely put ourselves in a grey area in determining the meaning of "objectively", like the rationalist statement, "It may be true for you but it's not true for me". This is another glaring loophole that has been used by clergy to excuse the faithful from observance of the norms of the Encyclical Humanae Vitae. In the second sentence of article 20 is this, "and yet there is no doubt that to many it will appear not merely difficult but even impossible to observe." But then there is the third paragraph of article 25, "We have no wish at all to pass over in silence the difficulties, at times very great, which beset the lives of Christian married couples. For them, as indeed as for every one of us, 'the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life'. Nevertheless it is precisely the hope of that life which, like a brightly burning torch, lights up their journey, as, strong in spirit, they strive to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world knowing for sure that the form of this world is passing away."

It is important to recognize the role played by the federally funded group called, "Planned Parenthood" which is the largest provider of abortions and encouragers of contraception as is also our United States Federal Government. Abortion was declared to be constitutional and therefore legal for all citizens in the "Roe vs. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision in January 1973. In 1992 in an attempt to overturn it the court heard the Planned Parenthood vs. Casey case. Mr. Casey who was the Governor of Pennsylvania was defeated in the case and in the majority opinion written by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor she said, ... "The right to abortion could not be curtailed without serious inequity to people who for decades of economic and social developments, have organized intimate relationships...in reliance on the availability of abortion in the event that contraception should fail."

The first of the bishop’s documents of 2006 is on the worthy reception of Holy Communion. It points out that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the center of the life of the Church. At each Eucharistic celebration, Jesus speaks His healing word to us and gives us His life giving Body and Blood, His very self. The document says that we must be in communion with God and with the Church. If we are lacking in sanctifying grace, which means being in mortal sin, we must refrain from receiving the Holy Eucharist. It goes on to state some situations which involve grave matter such as, "acting in serious disobedience against proper authority,...committing murder; including abortion and euthanasia; harboring deliberate hatred of others, sexual abuse of another...failing to worship God by missing Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation without a serious reason such as sickness, engaging in sexual activity outside the bonds of marriage. In regard to the grave matter which is artificial contraception we quote, "The reality that contraception is objectively immoral and that every act of sexual intercourse must remain open to new life" All this is possible only if the virtue of married chastity is seriously practiced. In questions of birth regulation the sons of the Church, faithful to these principles, are forbidden to use methods disapproved of by the teaching authority of the Church in its interpretation of the Divine law". (Casti Connubii pp 559-561). Let all be convinced that human life and its transmission are realities whose meaning is not limited by the horizons of this life only: their true evaluation and full meaning can only be understood in reference to mans eternal destiny".

It should be noted that in discussing mortal sin the conditions are these. 1 - It must be grave matter, 2 - The person must know it is such, 3 -It must be entered into willingly.

The intent of The Second Vatican Council was not to change the traditional teaching of the Church but to make it better understood. Just the opposite has happened. The true faith and the practice of it have been obscured if not lost. We are fast becoming only a social service organization.

To die in mortal sin; lacking sanctifying grace renders the value of all of ones good works null and void. The new morality which includes proportionalism, fundamental option and situation ethics is a rotten deception. The children of this generation and their parents’ generation are living in this deception and are oblivious of the consequences.

We must be loving in our concern but not lacking in justice or truth as we speak out. The voices of bishops, priests and parents are silent. What will be the response of the just Judge at our moment of death - when heaven or hell hang in the balance?

The Catholic faith has been, and is being redefined. We are witness to a breakdown in authority and obedience. "Whoever hears my words, says the Lord, and believes in him who sent me, has eternal life". Jn 5:24. The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church is the person of Christ. Those baptized into Him by means of water and the Holy Spirit are members of His mystical body of which He is the head. The Kingdom of Heaven, the beatific vision, eternal life are names for that supernatural condition that the immortal soul of man will partake of as a reward for his cooperation with divine grace in this life on earth. He is body and soul. At the last judgment our body will be reunited with our soul forever either in heaven or in hell. Prov.24:12, Mt. 25:12,41. St. Paul says, "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard nor has it entered the mind of man the things that God has prepared for those who love him" 1 Cor 2:9


The Church that is Holy, Catholic and Apostolic functions through the minds and hands of men in the world. While He lived Jesus provided for its continuance when He proclaimed to the apostle Peter, "Thou art Peter (thou art rock ) and upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" Mt 16:18.

This Church is organized in an orderly way,. Order befits holiness and the Church is holy. The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of the second Vatican Council, chapter III "The Church is Hierarchical" Paragraph nineteen, says this. " The teaching concerning the institution, the permanence, the nature and import of the Sacred Primacy of the Roman Pontiff and his infallible teaching office, the sacred synod proposes anew to be firmly believed by all the faithful, and proceeding undeviatingly with this same undertaking, it proposes to proclaim publicly and enunciate clearly the doctrine concerning bishops, successors of the apostles, who together with Peters successor, the Vicar of Christ and the visible head of the whole Church, direct the house of the living God."

The redefinition spoken of at the beginning is the result of the spirit of dissent introduced by theologians after the council who put themselves forward as a parallel Magisterium, superseding the role of the bishops as teachers. Much good has come from the work of theologians but to lead the faithful to dissent with them from magisterial teaching as has happened in the instance of Pope Paul VI Encyclical, Humanae Vitae on human life in 1968 is a disservice to souls.

The attempt to make contraception legitimate has resulted in the damaging of the marriage bond between husband and wife and has opened the door to broad acceptance of abortion, adultery, disease and divorce. Artificial birth control is a far cry from natural family planning which is approved by the Church under certain circumstances. The contraceptive mentality has brought about the exclusion of God and His truth from people's minds and has given our society the culture of selfishness which brings death to the human soul. Rom. 6:16, 23 - 7:13 - 1 Cor15:56 - Rev. 1:18.

Given the seriousness of the situation we are in and from which we must be helped to extricate ourselves the following points are proposed as critical to setting us upright again in our Christian and Catholic lives, in the Sacrament of Matrimony and in the family.

1 - The adherence to the norms of the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae which is contended to be traditional, authoritative, definitive and part of the ordinary Magisterium of the Church per canon 750 paragraph 2 as amended by the apostolic letter Moto Proprio of Pope John Paul II, "Ad Tuendam Fidem"

2 - In order to insure sound theological instruction on the part of students enrolled in Catholic Universities it is contended that bishops must enforce the apostolic constitution for those institutions, Ex Corde Ecclesiae. First by the issuance of the mandatum upon finding a professor to be qualified and second to require the adherence to canon 833 paragraphs 5,6,7 & 8 regarding the making of the profession of faith, or oath of fidelity. At one Catholic University the mandatum is simply made available upon request and that the profession of faith is not required although it is reported that all are willing to take it. It would seem proper also that those should make the profession of faith who are included in canon 833 and the sub paragraphs.

3 - In line with the foregoing resolve on educational matters it would seem that because at least two generations of Catholics have not had the faith taught to them in its fullness and comprehensiveness as outlined by the catechetical directory ( catechesi tradendae ) the faith formation for children and adults must be reevaluated and strengthened. The reason given for the recruiting of laity as teachers for CCD and R.C.I.A. is that priests are lacking due to a shortage of vocations, (a question to be dealt with further on). The laity as part of the generational problem are not suited because of their lack of training and even more problematical their lack of faith, (Catholic faith). This is true of the parents who are the ones in the first instance who have the responsibility for the education of their children. It can be added that if any of them are practicing artificial birth control or are sterilized they are in mortal sin, and even if they or their pastors don't consider such actions grave matter, their human dignity has been altered and their parenting ability damaged.

4 - The question of Sunday Mass attendance is part of the equation of default. In the lax and incoherent teaching by Church authorities the fact that missing Mass through ones own fault on Sundays and Holy Days of obligation is a mortal sin is never mentioned. It has been reported by a parent that he overheard a lay CCD teacher say to a colleague at the start of school, "I'm sure glad that Vatican II did away with mortal sin". The head of that parish's CCD program refused to use the Catechism of The Catholic Church or any material from it.

Sunday Mass attendance in many dioceses in America is 29% if only the registered parishioners figure is used or 17% if the estimated Catholic population figure is used. The usual attendance on Holy days is about one quarter of the Sunday figure so that attendance is 7% or 4% relative to the above figures.

We can easily rationalize these problems into obscurity if we take them individually. However taken together they give a troubling picture of a Church whose bishops, priests, deacons and lay leaders have capitulated to the demands and mores of the secular culture. The defiance on their part of Pope Paul VI and his love letter, Humanae Vitae on July 25, 1968 reaffirming the Church's century’s old ban on artificial birth control is at the heart of our difficulties as a Church and a modern society.

The book of Genesis says that God made man in his own image and likeness, male and female he created them. God commanded them, "Be fruitful and multiply". Male and female, man and woman were made for each other. Their gift of sexuality is a gift from God for them to share with each other as man and wife, bridegroom and bride in marriage. Sexual intercourse is a serious sin if used outside of marriage. Fornication is therefore sinful. Contraception in marriage renders the union sterile and is directed toward the self as is masturbation. In the Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes in the section titled "Married love and the respect for human life" paragraph 51 we read, "Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes. Mans sexuality and the faculty of reproduction wondrously surpass the endowments of lower forms of life; therefore the acts proper to married life are to be ordered according to authentic human dignity and must be honored with the greatest reverence."

...All this is possible only if the virtue of married chastity is seriously practiced. In questions of birth regulation the sons of the Church, faithful to these principles, are forbidden to use methods disapproved of by the teaching authority of the Church in its interpretation of the divine law.

It is intended to go into more detail on all of these six points regarding the defense of the family at another time. However there are two points with regard to birth control which always come up and they should be raised at this time. The Church teaches that, "Every act of sexual intimacy between spouses must remain open to new life". This is in contradiction to the ideas of some theologians that, "Could it not be admitted that procreative finality applies to the totality of married life rather than to each single act? The Church answered NO. Secondly is the question of the infallibility of the Encyclical, Humanae Vitae of Pope Paul VI on July 25, 1968. Various Pontiffs have answered that the weight of Encyclical Letters is as follows," it should not be thought that what is expounded in Encyclical Letters does not of itself demand consent since in writing such Letters the Popes do not exercise the supreme power of their teaching authority. For these matters are taught with the ordinary teaching authority, of which it is true to say: 'He that heareth you, heareth me' (Luke 10:16); and generally what is expounded and inculcated in Encyclical Letters already for other reasons appertains to Catholic doctrine. But if the Supreme Pontiffs in their official documents purposely pass judgment on a matter up to that time under dispute, it is obvious that that matter, according to the mind and will of the same Pontiffs, cannot any longer be considered a question open to discussion among theologians"

The result of the proposed above exceptions to the natural and moral law is in opposition to, "The call to holiness" that is found in Lumen Gentium article V and to a weakened body politic that in time and in fact can be seen just on the horizon and will not be able to withstand an enemy whose goal is our destruction.

5 - Something must be said about the conscience, the moral compass, that guides us to do good and to avoid evil. Many rationalists say that if my conscience confirms an action that I'm contemplating I'm free to do it. People also refer to the French document, The Rights of man as proposed by Thomas Paine and to the U.S. Bill of Rights that guarantees the individuals right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What is overlooked often enough is the rights of the creator of all and the One from whom all things come; His rights over us. We, therefore have the responsibility to form our consciences on the truth.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me". And, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free". In the parish CCD context that was mentioned earlier the High School students felt imposed upon by the doctrine of the Church that was being taught. On three occasions during the year they were shown a video of a youth counselor, Pam Stanzel of Denver, giving a talk to kids in the school auditorium about the reality of STD's (sexually transmitted diseases).; about the number, variety and severe and lasting consequences of contracting one or more of them by the trivializing of their God given gift of human sexuality. These diseases will be brought into the marriage bed; some of them cannot be cured. As Pam talked to the children (that’s what they were) the concern on their faces grew more intense. The message was getting though. It got through to our CCD classes as well.. On another occasion a mother of an eighth grade girl wanted to get her daughter out of the public school. She was interested in the Catholic school the parish was planning. The mother came to see the pastor and related how every Monday morning the subject among the girls, (fourteen year olds), was who lost their virginity over the week end.

6 - The matter of diminishing priestly vocations is of great concern. We express the belief that, as has been said, "A young man will give his life for an exclamation point but not for a question mark". God is calling men to be an "alter Christus" and to serve Him and His Church in "persona Christi". In dioceses that are headed by bishops who inspire by holiness and orthodoxy there are many good vocations but in lax and weak in faith places vocations are not found in sufficient numbers. One example is the diocese of Lincoln which for a number of years has been number one among all dioceses in the country in vocations and in priestly ordinations. Lincoln's bishop is the reason.

This has to do also with what has been said earlier about the young who come from large families who have been nurtured in the faith and who many times have been home schooled. They will make good spouses and holy priests and religious. It has to do with education specifically. In Msgr. George A. Kelly's book, "The second spring of the Church in America" on page 100 he says, "As late as 1991 Rev. Avery Dulles, now a Cardinal, (Cardinal Dulles is deceased), summarized the secularization process in American education in one sentence, "As going from the slippery path that led from denominational to general Christianity, then to vaguely defined religious values and finally to total secularization."

Finally to point up the seriousness with which the body of bishops of the USCCB take these questions we emphasize two of the three documents that were voted on and approved at their Fall meeting in Baltimore on November 14, 2006, namely, "Married love and the gift of life", on the moral evil of contraception and "Happy are those who are called to His supper", on the criteria for the worthy reception of Holy communion. The first document gives a balanced look at what the bond of marriage means but its bottom line focuses on the practice of artificial birth control, contraception, which is a lie. At the bottom of page four of the document it says, “but they should never act to suppress or curtail (Gen 1:28) the life giving power given by God that is an integral part of what they pledged to each other in their marriage vows. This is what the Church means by saying that every act of intercourse must remain open to life and that contraception is objectively immoral. On page nine this scripture passage is quoted, "You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body" 1Cor 6:19-20. An additional passage is, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?, For holy is the temple of God and this temple you are".

In the forty year history of dissent from the Pontifical teaching on the immorality and sinfulness of contraception many artifices have been used to deny the truth of its meaning. One instance is with the use of the word "objectively" immoral in the above quote which we let ourselves think means subjectively. Objective is opposite of subjective we purposely put ourselves in a grey area in determining the meaning of "objectively", like the rationalist statement, "It may be true for you but it's not true for me". This is another glaring loophole that has been used by clergy to excuse the faithful from observance of the norms of the Encyclical Humanae Vitae. In the second sentence of article 20 is this, "and yet there is no doubt that to many it will appear not merely difficult but even impossible to observe." But then there is the third paragraph of article 25, "We have no wish at all to pass over in silence the difficulties, at times very great, which beset the lives of Christian married couples. For them, as indeed as for every one of us, 'the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life'. Nevertheless it is precisely the hope of that life which, like a brightly burning torch, lights up their journey, as, strong in spirit, they strive to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world knowing for sure that the form of this world is passing away."

It is important to recognize the role played by the federally funded group called, "Planned Parenthood" which is the largest provider of abortions and encouragers of contraception as is also our United States Federal Government. Abortion was declared to be constitutional and therefore legal for all citizens in the "Roe vs. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision in January 1973. In 1992 in an attempt to overturn it the court heard the Planned Parenthood vs. Casey case. Mr. Casey who was the Governor of Pennsylvania was defeated in the case and in the majority opinion written by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor she said, ... "The right to abortion could not be curtailed without serious inequity to people who for decades of economic and social developments, have organized intimate relationships...in reliance on the availability of abortion in the event that contraception should fail."

The first of the bishop’s documents of 2006 is on the worthy reception of Holy Communion. It points out that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the center of the life of the Church. At each Eucharistic celebration, Jesus speaks His healing word to us and gives us His life giving Body and Blood, His very self. The document says that we must be in communion with God and with the Church. If we are lacking in sanctifying grace, which means being in mortal sin, we must refrain from receiving the Holy Eucharist. It goes on to state some situations which involve grave matter such as, "acting in serious disobedience against proper authority,...committing murder; including abortion and euthanasia; harboring deliberate hatred of others, sexual abuse of another...failing to worship God by missing Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation without a serious reason such as sickness, engaging in sexual activity outside the bonds of marriage. In regard to the grave matter which is artificial contraception we quote, "The reality that contraception is objectively immoral and that every act of sexual intercourse must remain open to new life" All this is possible only if the virtue of married chastity is seriously practiced. In questions of birth regulation the sons of the Church, faithful to these principles, are forbidden to use methods disapproved of by the teaching authority of the Church in its interpretation of the Divine law". (Casti Connubii pp 559-561). Let all be convinced that human life and its transmission are realities whose meaning is not limited by the horizons of this life only: their true evaluation and full meaning can only be understood in reference to mans eternal destiny".

It should be noted that in discussing mortal sin the conditions are these. 1 - It must be grave matter, 2 - The person must know it is such, 3 -It must be entered into willingly.

The intent of The Second Vatican Council was not to change the traditional teaching of the Church but to make it better understood. Just the opposite has happened. The true faith and the practice of it have been obscured if not lost. We are fast becoming only a social service organization.

To die in mortal sin; lacking sanctifying grace renders the value of all of ones good works null and void. The new morality which includes proportionalism, fundamental option and situation ethics is a rotten deception. The children of this generation and their parents’ generation are living in this deception and are oblivious of the consequences.

We must be loving in our concern but not lacking in justice or truth as we speak out. The voices of bishops, priests and parents are silent. What will be the response of the just Judge at our moment of death - when heaven or hell hang in the balance?