Pregnant at 17 with a baby doomed to die at birth, she chose life

Micah and her newborn daughter Ambra

June 5, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Micah was just seventeen years old when she discovered she was pregnant. But abortion simply wasn't an option for her and her boyfriend, Kyle.

"We were not ready at all but we both felt like we needed to take full responsibility for the baby growing inside of me," she told LifeSiteNews.com.

Though they did not feel ready to parent a child, the couple soon began to feel a growing excitement about the baby growing inside of Micah. However, their excitement turned to fear and heartache when, at an 18-week ultrasound, they discovered that the baby Micah was carrying had a condition called anencephaly. This meant that their daughter had not developed a major portion of her brain, skull and scalp.

Doctors said she would not survive outside of the womb. 

Micah's doctor immediately suggested abortion. And though Micah and Kyle refused at first, Micah confessed that for a week following the diagnosis, abortion actually seemed like the more attractive option. She feared that it would be more painful to carry the child to term and deliver a stillborn than to simply "terminate the pregnancy" at 18 weeks. 

"I was carrying a baby that would more than likely not even be born alive. My daughter couldn’t survive outside of the safe haven I had created for her,” she said. “It took months before I came to terms with my decision to carry. I was constantly faced with questions. Why? How?" 

Yet Micah began to understand the answers to these painful and difficult questions. 

"Why? Because no matter what, she was my daughter. There was a life inside of me and I couldn’t just take that away from her. She didn’t choose to have this happen to her, so how could I choose to end her life to save myself from more heartache? 

“How? Go on with every day life! The bottom line was simple. She was alive she had a life and it was my job as a mother to give her the best life she could possibly have."

During her pregnancy, Micah was astounded at the insensitivity of people she encountered.  "Many people were so rude about the idea of carrying a baby that wasn’t meant to live outside the womb. The amounts of comments I got like, 'why don’t you just abort?' People seemed to think by aborting it would be easier. It would somehow just go away, like it never happened." 

But Micah knew that carrying her baby was the only option she had. 

"I explained to them, 'I would rather endure the heartache that is surely to come if I carry her because at least I can give her a fighting chance.'" 

Micah and Kyle decided to name their daughter Ambra Storm. 

Micah began to enjoy her pregnancy. She recalls that the baby "always got scared at loud noises. This made football games not so fun for me. She was always so funny. She would kick a few times then stop for 3 minutes and then you would just see my belly bounce up and down. It was like there was a party going on in there!" 

Micah's mother shared her own experience of watching Micah's pregnancy.

"There wasn’t a moment that Micah’s belly wasn’t moving around. We laughed a lot at Ambra’s tantrums. I struggled with how to be there for Micah. I could teach her how to be a mother, I could even show her how to be a good teen mother. But I didn’t know how to help her through this. We found that talking and laughing and crying all together was how we were going to handle this and that is what we did."

Due to an excessive amount of amniotic fluid, at 35 weeks, Micah began to find it difficult to breathe. The doctor ordered an induction. 

"Looking back I think I knew something was wrong when I hadn’t felt Ambra move. She was a wild one most of the time! I didn’t want a fetal monitor on during labor because I didn’t want to know during labor if she passed away. 

“After 20 minutes of pushing Ambra was here. They quickly placed her on my chest and cleaned her off. No one spoke. I remember giving my mom a look and she nodded back at me. But the words ‘she’s gone’ never were spoken." 

Micah and Kyle had three and a half hours with their daughter. They were astonished to discover Ambra's beautiful and familiar features. 

"Of course like any mom I started counting her toes and realized she only had 9, then her dad pointed out they were like his feet. His pinky toe wraps under his other toe. I started laughing at how many of our features she did have. She had my black hair and her daddy’s long eyelashes and my cheeks and both of our long legs. She had my mother’s chin and my family’s nose."

Ambra's funeral was held two days after her birth. Micah describes the event as a time of deep mourning, yet she maintains that she does not regret carrying and delivering her daughter. "Throughout my pregnancy it was important for me to not mourn her. She was still alive and I wasn’t going to mourn her until she was gone." 

Micah's mother also does not regret her daughter's choice to carry Ambra. 

"I can’t even begin to explain what going through this journey with Micah has meant to me. I have a wonderful, loving, and beautiful daughter who gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, my first grandchild, Ambra Storm. This experience has brought us even closer as mother and daughter ... I am so proud of her."

So many young women in Micah's situation would choose abortion, simply because they did not feel they could face teen pregnancy and motherhood. And even more so because of the fatal anencephaly diagnosis. Yet Micah courageously defends her decision to carry and give birth to her daughter, and encourages other young women in similar situations to do the same. She has also devoted her life to sharing the pro-life message in honor of Ambra.

"I got to meet my daughter, to hold and kiss her. I couldn’t imagine not being able to share those few hours with her. Even to this day when I share my stories doctors, mothers of many children, fathers and strangers will ask, 'why not abort?' It saddens me that this is the way we think. I still continue to fight for her, and all the babies that have been aborted."

Pic For The Day

The Animal Rescue Site

Holy Communion in the hand

Forgiveness and Love Your Enemies

Transubstantiation

Remember This Lady

Irena Sendler 

Died 12 May 2008 (aged 98)

Warsaw, Poland

During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw ghetto, as a plumbing/sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive'. She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews (being German). 

Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids). She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises. 

During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. 

After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted. 

Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize. She was not selected. 

President Obama won one year before becoming President for his work as a community organizer for ACORN and Al Gore won also --- for a slide show on Global Warming. 

This is Amazing

Man And His Dog

19 year old Schoep being cradled in his father’s arms in Lake Superior. Photo credit: Hannah Stonehouse Hudon, 

Stonehouse Photography

A touching and heartfelt photograph of John Unger, a Wisconsin resident, and his 19-year-old dog, Schoep. What is clear from this picture is that to John Unger, his dog, Schoep, means everything.

Unger and his then fiancé adopted Schoep when he was just an 8-month-old puppy and the two have been together ever since. At first Schoep was nervous around Unger, as it was thought that Shoep was abused by a male in the past. It took about eight months for Unger to really earn Schoep’s trust. Over the years the two have been through a lot together.

Now, at 19 years old, Schoep has arthritis and Unger found that the warm waters of Lake Superior is soothing for Schoeps aching body, so he takes him into lake and lulls him to sleep.

This wonderful photograph taken on July 31st was captured by Hannah Stonehouse Hudson, of Bayfield, Wis., owner of Stonehouse Photography and a friend of Unger’s.

“I had about 5 minutes to shoot and this is what I caught – a man and his dog. John loving his Schoep, and Schoep trusting John so much he falls asleep in the buoyancy of the water,” Stonehouse Hudson said.

“This is 19 year old Shep being cradled in his father’s arms last night in Lake Superior,” she said. “Shep falls asleep every night when he is carried into the lake. The buoyancy of the water soothes his arthritic bones. Lake Superior is very warm right now, so the temp of the water is perfect. I was so happy I got to capture this moment for John. By the way, John rescued Shep as an 8 month old puppy, and he’s been by his side through many adventures.”

Currently the photo has been viewed on facebook more than 225,000 times and shared more than 131,000 times. Because of it’s popularity, it has influenced many to make donations to help Unger pay for treatment to help Schoep’s arthritis.

Thank You To Our 8 Heroes In the Senate

Letter to the 8 Senators who Voted NO to RH Bill

Posted by cactusflower on Monday, March 11, 2013 · Leave a Comment 

To our dear Senators who Voted NO TO RH BILL,

GREETINGS!

We are men and women of Catholic Philippines – a movement now organized to rally Filipino Catholics from all over the country, from all sectors of society and from all walks of life to unite for the Philippines and the Catholic faith.  . We aim to “reclaim the Philippines as a truly Catholic nation” and to realize a solid Catholic vote and voice.

Please allow us to express through this letter, our most profound appreciation as well as our admiration for your most admirable and valiant stand against the RH bill to the very end. Armed with rich character, blessed wisdom, and inspired courage, bravely faced the overwhelming challenge – never giving up, never giving in.  Despite the passage of the law, in the eyes of God and your fellow believers, you are truly victorious and honorable. We believe that this momentary set back has a purpose that the Almighty is bound to reveal in due time.  With this, you have given us renewed hope that we still have leaders in the country whom we can trust and rely on to defend human life, human dignity, truth, justice and the integrity of the family, all treasured in our culture and faith.

Again, we thank you from the depths of our hearts for showing us and the whole nation and the world that not only what a true  Filipino is but above all what a true son or daughter of God ought to be.  We fervently ask you to continue the fight with even more fervor as we assure you that you will never be alone.  There are millions of us praying and willing to work and fight shoulder to shoulder with you. We honor you and we owe you a great debt of gratitude and joining you in this continuing struggle will be the least that we can do to repay you.

MABUHAY AT PAGPALAIN NAWA KAYO NG MAYKAPAL!

In Christ,

Permission to publish granted by Catholic Philippines

8  Senators Who voted  “ NO “ to  RH Bill

 source: http://www.prolife.org.ph/?p=3890

On Kneeling, Kneelers, Altar Rails

Thank You To Our 79 Heroes In The House of Representatives

Letter to the Incredible 79 Members of the House of Representative

Posted by cactusflower on Monday, March 11, 2013 · Leave a Comment 

To our dear 79 Congressmen & Congresswomen who Voted NO TO RH BILL,

“It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles.”

When the House of Representatives voted on the 3rd and final reading of the RH Bill, there were 79,  out of the 104 who had originally voted against the bill on second reading, who were left standing. There they stood for the truth, for principles and values foreign to others,  despite all the pressures.  Men and women of character, wisdom, and courage in a moral and political environment gone hostile to all the virtues.  The epitome of the dreams and aspirations of our countrymen, the embodiment of vigilance against despotism and oppression, the paragons of courage and patriotism.

You were among the 79.  You, along with 78 others, gave more than due honor not only to  your title as our people’s representative but above all to our Christian and patriotic heritage. You showed our country and the world that despite all the seemingly insurmountable problems we face, there is still hope for the future after all. By your unwavering stand against the RH bill, you showed our people that we still have men and women in our midst who can  make this country what it deserves to be—–leaders who will do everything to defend human life and human dignity, truth and justice,  no matter the cost; who will put service and the common good above self or all other interests; who will not bow to any form of dictatorship or imperialism.

We come from different groups,  different backgrounds, and  different places. But we are all  Filipinos,  and we thank you from the depths of our hearts for showing the whole country and the world not only what a true Filipino is but above all what a true son or daughter of God is. In the darkest moment of our most recent history you shone like stars, soared like eagles and  roared like lions, courageous and indomitable in the face of evil. The nation owes you a debt of gratitude which it shall be our honor and pride to try to repay in every way we can.

With all our love and prayers.

Very sincerely yours

Permission to publish  granted by Catholic Philippines

79 Members of the House of Representatives

Who Voted NO TO RH BILL in the 3rd Reading

Cong. Fuentebella is a prolife congressman. He was not able to vote on the 3rd reading because he was the PRESIDING OFFICER that time.

CLICK THIS LINK TO READ CONGRESS JOURNAL page 8-12 and explanation of votes page 13-18 of Dec.17, 2012

source: http://www.prolife.org.ph/?p=3837

Go Fetch!

Everyone Who Can Breathe Must See This

This Child Has A Message For You

Catholic's View on the Cross of Homosexuality

PNoy Signs RH Bill Into Law: A Faux Victory for Little Tyrants

Poor people… they foolishly rejoice in their loss of rights and freedom.

• NOTE: Remember the people who naively supported the RH measure (their ludicrously jubilant faces and gestures, including their overjoyed Facebook/Twitter posts and comments). It’s very important to remember that a lot of good-intentioned people credulously, foolishly celebrated the surreptitious destruction of their rights and liberty.

It’s final, the controversial, anti-rights Reproductive Health bill is now part of the law in this impoverished, protectionist welfare state. This new measure, otherwise known as Republic Act No. 10354 or the “Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, is obviously the Aquino regime’s post-Christmas gift for its millions of welfare constituents. President Aquino signed it “without fanfare”, according to media sources, on Friday, December 28.

According to the law’s proponents and supporters, the measure aims to provide universal access to RH care services and information. The law will provide its beneficiaries, as determined by the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), with “universal access to medically safe, non-abortifacient, effective, legal, affordable and quality reproductive health care services, methods, devices, supplies which do not prevent the implantation of a fertilized ovum.” It will also provide “age-and development-appropriate reproductive health education” for public school students between ages 10 to 19.

However, to achieve its goal, the law has to force doctors to render so-called “pro bono services” as well as conscientious, religious or non-religious healthcare providers to violate their freedom of conscience. It also compels employers and companies to provide said services to their employees or risk being fined or penalized with jail terms.

I am an unapologetic, strong opponent/critic of the bill (now a law) because of its perverted concept of rights and freedom of choice/conscience, it is against individual rights, and because welfare state is never a solution to poverty problem, poor access to contraceptives and even ‘overpopulation’. You may read my anti-RH law articles here.

For those who pathetically, naively, stupidly support this measure, I think– now mark my words– it will be another legislative disaster waiting to happen. Like many welfare laws passed in the past (e.g., the PhilHealth Law, Biofuels Act, Clean Air Act, anti-global warming laws, ect.), I strongly believe this RH measure will not be able to deliver its intended goals and will instead bankrupt this nation and cause more corruption in the near future.

But what if the RH bill is now a law? There’s absolutely nothing to celebrate. Instead, rational people and those who are still willing to think must mourn the continued destruction of their remaining rights and freedom.
Some fools must be asking: What loss of freedom are you talking about when the government simply guaranteed people’s access to contraceptives?

First, no one is deprived of his right ‘to buy’ condoms and contraceptives in these parts. Condoms and pills are available at almost all convenience and drug stores. The government does not currently provide us food, does this mean we’re also deprived of right right to food?

The problem is, a lot of Filipinos are blissfully unaware that a welfare government (a government that knows what is best for the people) is like a ticking bomb waiting to explode. The danger of this form of politics is that it appears beneficial to some people and that it appeals to the fools and to those whose poor judgment is instructed mainly by instinct and necessity.

Cicero warned the world of this deceptive form of government over 2000 years ago. This great Roman political philosopher and Aristotelian believed that Rome was not destroyed by Caesar, but by the people of the empire “who have so enthusiastically acclaimed and adored him and rejoiced in their loss of freedom and danced in his path and given him triumphal processions.”

Victory for women? *Facepalm* indeed… These women obviously don’t 

know what they’re doing. Give ‘em Pleasurable Sex Law, Pia Cayetano…

The educated/schooled Filipino should be the first to know that almost every dictatorship in the past century was blissfully supported by fools who thought they were fighting for a utopian society. Didn’t the early Russians rejoice when they formally erected the first Marxist society on earth in 1922? Didn’t the Chinese foolishly celebrate the death of their individuality when they established their great collective society?
As the old saying goes: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. The geniuses and visionaries of the old world had sufficiently warned us of the evil or danger of Big Government. Thomas Jefferson once said: “A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have.”

With the shameless passage of this law that employs legal “force” against certain sectors to work for the “greater good” and to violate their freedom of conscience, it follows that the government may also be justified/authorized to pass similar welfare measures in the future like, say, Housing For All Act or Food for Everybody Act. If the government can force the so-called pharmaceutical cartel (primarily caused by our protectionism and welfare regulations) to sell medicines to Filipino consumers at a heavily government-discounted sales price, it can also use the same tyrannical power against other goods-producing, job-creating industries and companies.

What’s next? Pleasurable Sex Law for women? Give it to them, Pia “Pleasurable Sex” Cayetano!

Now, here’s what many economically, politically clueless Filipinos don’t understand: Somebody else has to pay for those “free” welfare services. To serve the welfare needs of the poor, the government has to steal from the productive and the successful.

The truth is: the government has no magical/supernatural power at all to create real wealth from nothing.

There is no such thing as a Santa Claus government. In the real world, Santa Claus doesn’t use force– he doesn’t steal– in order to make children happy. The message of Santa Claus is voluntary, uncoerced gift-giving. In this welfare state, the government has to employ legal force against employers and healthcare providers to provide RH services to those who need them. Indeed, what we have is an inverted Robinhood government that steals from the innocent to help the poor.
So, what is there to celebrate when:

• we still face higher unemployment and poverty rates?
• more and more foreign investors avoid the Philippines as if it’s a very dangerous place to invest?
• we have high budget deficit and higher public debt?
• we still have rampant corruption in the government sector and more ways and opportunities for our politicians and public officials to corrupt?
• politicians focus more on welfare spending than on job-creating reforms (including constitutional reform to guarantee economic freedom)?
• more and more Filipinos depend on the government for their daily survival?
• the RH bill would definitely open new ways for our scheming, corrupt public officials to steal?

There is no such thing as ‘free RH services’. Someone has to pay for them. To make these services accessible to the poor, the government has to employ legal force against doctors and employers. And to fund all its welfare services, the Aquino regime has to use the power of taxation.

To increase its revenue collection, first the Aquino regime came to tax the country’s sin industries and companies. It’s always safe to denounce the rich and the successful industries that destroy people’s health.
The government might target any of the following tax options next :

• Tax on telecommunication companies and their related services (e.g., texts, calls, etc.)
• Tax on blogging and other related social network activities.
• Tax on e-selling or any other money-making ventures or activities online.
• Tax on other internet ventures or activities.
• Tax on mining companies.
• Tax on government benefits and insurance.
• Tax on OFWs. Remember that tax is defined as “a fee charged (“levied”) by a government on a product, income, or activity.”
• More taxes on the industries companies run by oligarchs who support the system.
• Imposition of more or higher regulatory fees and payments. Any kinds of processing, permits, application fees, etc. that we pay to the government (e.g., NBI clearance, LTO permits, among many others).

Also as stated here:

If the government provides you contraceptives and family planning services you need, it would be justified and empowered to tell you how to plan your family and to take away your rights and the rights of others  (e.g., employers, doctors, etc.). 

If you want the government to pay for your medical and health care services, it would be empowered to police the food you eat, the kinds of beverages (their sizes, content, etc.) you drink, including your lifestyle and daily activities. Take the soda ban and other regulations imposed by limousine liberal Mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York. 

If you want the government to pay for your basic and college education, it would be justified to impose high taxes on industries and successful people and to tell you what to think. In France, socialist President Francois Hollande’s 75% tax on high income earners led to mass exodus of French millionaires and job creators.

So, you’re happy with the passage of the RH bill? Don’t be, stupid. Instead, brace yourselves for more destructive political measures to come…
You asked for it, brothers.

*** —————————————————————————————– ***

Of all pro-RH celebratory gibberish online, this grand display of idiocy by the Filipino freefarters takes the cake:

*FACEPALM* How stupid can you get, Filipino freefarters?

This statement made above must be re-posted here to further educate the clueless:

In the real world, Santa Claus doesn’t use force– he doesn’t steal– in order to make children happy. The message of Santa Claus is voluntary, uncoerced gift-giving. In this welfare state, the government has to employ legal force against employers and healthcare providers to provide RH services to those who need them. Indeed, what we have is an inverted Robinhood government that steals from the innocent to help the poor.

With their brain-deadness and hopeless idiocy, it’s very much possible the freefarters might support a proposal that would give homeless Filipinos “free” housing or “free” food. Unfortunately, these flips are giving a bad name to atheism.

Also, the little tyrants of this pro-RH Facebook page feel so empowered (***):

What a bunch of pitiful creatures… Seriously, what is there to celebrate?

Aquino’s moral-political cliff

By Francisco S. Tatad | Posted on Dec. 28, 2012 at 12:01am | 

While America teeters on the edge of a “fiscal cliff”, a collection of tax increases and spending cuts scheduled for the beginning of next year,  Philippine president Benigno Aquino III appears to have dragged himself to the precipice of a moral and political cliff,  by his naked misuse of presidential power to impose the will of foreign population controllers on outraged Filipinos, mostly Catholics.

To the completely unnecessary problems created by his decision to ram through Congress the patently unconstitutional and highly divisive reproductive health bill,   Aquino’s Liberal Party has now added its own completely avoidable problems, by making the country’s two biggest vote-rich provinces—-Pangasinan and Cebu—the battle zones of premature partisan fighting before the May 2013 elections.

Having earlier tried to destabilize  Pangasinan’s reelectionist Governor Amado Espino to create some partisan space for his LP gubernatorial challenger, Aquino has now trained his guns on three-term Governor Gwen Garcia of Cebu whose congressman-father, Deputy Speaker Pablo Garcia, was among the most eloquent opponents of the infamous RH  bill and whose political family has served the province of Cebu long and well.

By slapping a six-month suspension order on Garcia for alleged “abuse of power,” a charge that could have been more fittingly directed at  Aquino himself, Malacañang apparently expected to render the governorship vacant to allow the LP  to have a free hand running her office during the campaign period for the May 2013 elections.

To Aquino’s chagrin,  Garcia’s supporters, instead of abandoning her for fear of Malacañang reprisal,  closed ranks behind her, and the top three stalwarts of the United Nationalist Alliance –Vice President Jejomar C. Binay, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, who otherwise habitually support Aquino on many issues—have weighed in, in her defense.

Malacañang’s offensive was seen to be coming directly from the camp of Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas, the LP president “on leave” who ran  unsuccessfully as Aquino’s  vice presidential candidate in 2010, but seems to be preparing early for his presidential bid  in 2016. This has turned Cebu into a veritable flash point. This is not unwelcome to other forces, who could exploit the opportunity to turn Cebu into a center of  the opposition that is building up against Aquino following his perceived sellout to foreign population controllers on the RH bill.

In particular the archdiocese of Cebu could become the staging point.  The Archdiocese of Manila used to exercise this role under the late  Jaime Cardinal Sin,  who once mobilized a crowd of one million people to oppose the anti-life agenda of the Cairo international conference on population and development in 1994, and played a decisive role in the 1986 EDSA uprising which ousted Marcos and made Cory Aquino, PNoy’s late mother, revolutionary president.

But Manila’s new archbishop, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, has taken a relatively low profile with respect to the measure while both Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, archbishop emeritus of Cebu, and the incumbent archbishop, Most Reverend Jose Palma, who is also the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), have been at the frontline in opposing the bill.

Vidal was the CBCP president who issued the famous CBCP statement on the Feb. 7, 1986 election, which said that because of its shabby conduct, Ferdinand Marcos had lost the moral authority to remain in power.  That provided the “moral basis” for the EDSA revolt.  Although now retired, the cardinal remains  in good health and humor and is the acknowledged leader of the country’s pro-life and pro-family movement.

Governor Garcia and her followers may not necessarily want to convert the  moral and religious groundswell against Aquino into a partisan weapon in their current fight against the LP forces.  But nothing prevents them from pointing out to the Cebuano electorate that the last thing they need would be a governor who would not mind being inside Aquino’s pocket.  Cebu has a proud history: it is where Magellan met his  doom after circumnavigating the globe; it is also where Cory Aquino sought temporary refuge while the 1986 EDSA uprising raged.  The militants could appeal to that history to mount a national anti-Aquino movement.

Many Filipinos mind it very much  that Aquino’s attack on the sanctity of human life and the Filipino family, through the railroading of the RH bill, came on the eve of Christmas, on the third month of  the Year of Faith, as declared by Pope Benedict XVI, and after the canonization of the nation’s second saint, St.  Pedro Calungsod, a 17th century teenage lay catechist from Cebu who died for his faith. But many Cebuanos take it as a personal offense, and feel they have a personal score to settle with Aquino, because of their ethnic affinity with Calungsod.

Such sentiment may have been reinforced even more this season when Pope Benedict XVI  in his Christmas message challenged  Christians (which would include Filipinos) not to bow to any false gods (like an RH bill?) being proposed by some demagogues (like Aquino?) who would like to play God and replace man’s  vision of his own destiny with some diabolical construct.

Ateneo professor resigns; says his ‘service to the Church and to ADMU no longer coincide’

MANILA, Dec. 29, 2012–“No one can serve two masters.”

An Ateneo de Manila theology professor has resigned, realizing that he could “no longer share the path” taken by the Jesuit-led university community that went all-out for the passage of the reproductive health (RH) law despite opposition from the Catholic Church.

Prof. Rafael Dy-Liacco, in a resignation letter, decried the “failure” of Ateneans to reject what he said was an alliance with a “spirit of disdain for the Church” that had worked for the RH bill’s passage.

“That spirit repudiates the Church’s holiness and, at the same time, attempts to assume it for itself (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:4). It has manifested at an unusually high level of ferocity, even hatred. It has manifested in the wholesale denigration of the Church – of her teachings, of her bishops, of her catechists, and of her common lay faithful,” said the letter, addressed to the chair of the Ateneo’s theology department and the dean of humanities.

“Whatever material good Ateneans believe they have accomplished by supporting the passage of the Bill, their failure to reject alliance with that spirit, to truly seek counsel with the Church, and to make amends for and to repair whatever harm that their alliance with that spirit is doing and will do to the faith of believers in the Philippines, has not been right,” Dy-Liacco added.

The letter was written on Dec. 28, Feast of the Holy Innocents, the day on which the Church commemorates the massacre of children under King Herod and which resonates today amid the grim reality of abortion. It was on Dec. 28 that news first spread of the clandestine signing of the RH bill last Dec. 21 by President Benigno S. Aquino III, an Ateneo alumnus.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines had warned that a “contraceptive mentality” to be promoted by an RH law would lead to an “abortion mentality,” as what has happened in countries that had passed laws making contraception widespread.

In August this year, 192 Ateneo professors signed a statement of support for the RH bill, in open defiance of the shepherds of the Church and lay leaders. Ateneo professors, in a 2008 statement, had claimed Catholics could support the RH bill “in good conscience,” contradicting the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae which reiterated the Church’s ban on contraception.

The move by the 192 professors prompted the Ateneo president, Fr. Jett Villarin, SJ, to release a statement saying that Ateneo was officially against the bill. Villarin’s statement, however, was largely ignored as professors and students continued to call for the passage of the controversial measure, which calls for billions in taxpayers’ money for contraceptives and sterilization.

Detail from 'The giving of the keys to Saint Peter' by Pietro Perugino

Dy-Liacco and two other Ateneo theology professors released a statement on Aug. 28 calling out their colleagues for distorting the Church’s teachings on conscience.

In his resignation letter, Dy-Liacco said the “procreative love” between husband and wife as well as the bond between the mother and child from the point at which life begins in the womb are “spiritual realities.”

He said: “One does not need infallible pronouncements from the Magisterium in order to willingly assent to their truth, and to their implications for any path towards genuine human fulfillment.”

The theology professor, who has a Master of Arts in Religion from Yale Divinity School, said the teachings of the Church indeed “clash with the ideologies that rule this age, while her ministers and her teachers are all too human.”

“Often times it seems easier to give up believing that the Church is the Holy Spirit’s work. But the gospels tells us that believing in the Son of God when He became incarnate was not easy either (cf. John 1:11).”

Dy-Liacco maintained that there could be no compromise with the spirit of animosity against the Church, “much less collusion with it (cf. Revelation 18:4).”

“The Holy Spirit’s will and that spirit’s will are never the same (cf. CCC 676). It rejects God’s truth (cf. John 8:45). Moreover, when one becomes allied to it, one becomes like it (cf. John 8:44), he said. “Thus here the saying also holds: ‘No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other’ (Matthew 6:24). Because of these realities, I believe that my service to the Church and my service to ADMU no longer coincide, and I believe that I can no longer share the path that ADMU has taken. Therefore I hereby resign both my teaching position and my tenure at ADMU Theology,” he said.

“Throughout my years teaching theology at ADMU, the Bible had increasingly become my primary teaching resource. I had found that the religious virtues, spiritual ideals, and array of theological perspectives on the human condition that are conveyed in the full range of Biblical narratives, from Genesis to Revelation, filled a lacuna that I had noticed in ADMU theology. It was a lacuna in the formation of character and conscience,” he said.

He said he would be judged in the way he had taught his students in grasping the truth. “I wish I had been a better teacher. I wish I had learned more quickly about hewing closely to the truth (cf. 2 Timothy 2:15). I wish I had learned sooner about not putting my own thoughts ahead of God’s teachings (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:20–25). I wish I had understood more deeply about avoiding self-promotion and not seeking praise (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:5). I know that I shall be held accountable for my students’ grasp of the truth (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:10–15).” (Dominic Francisco)

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Fa La La La La

RH bill: How to destroy our country’s future

FROM A DISTANCE By Carmen N. Pedrosa (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 16, 2012 - 12:00am

While in Toronto, we visited Bombardier Aerospace, a world leader in manufacturing aircraft. It has launched 30 aircraft programs around the world working with Canadair, Short Brothers, Learjet and de Havilland.

Because I was feeling cold with the subzero temperature, I wanted to stay in the bus and wait for the others to finish I very nearly missed the most important discovery of that morning’s visit. Anyway what is building airplanes all about?

But I changed my mind in the last minute and trudged with the rest of the group in the different warehouse looking construction sites.

I wondered if there were Filipinos working here? The Bombadier executive was not sure but, yes, there was one and off we went to talk to him. There were 400 of them the Filipino said in all kinds of jobs, mostly engineers. Some of them have been working with Bombadier for 40 years. They have made Toronto their home but they go home every now and then to the Philippines.

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What is the point of this story? That Filipinos are all over the world in sensitive jobs. The most written might be abused maids in the Middle East but what about Filipinos in the UN, in hospitals, as seamen manning ships worldwide, Filipino geologists in huge mining industries, Filipinos in Iraq, they go anywhere were work can be found.

n Toronto, it was said again, Filipinos are loved wherever they work. Their work ethic has become well known although little has been said about it. This experience in Toronto ties up with my column yesterday trying to find a reason why the Aquino administration should want to make sure there are less Filipinos.

The numbers of Filipinos working abroad has its downside but they also work at some of the most sensitive industries. Filipinos as workers, engineers, and geologists etc. around the world is the real asset of the Philippines. Indeed, if in the unlikely event that they get together and stopped working the world will be at  a standstill. Why should our own government want to destroy our country’s future? It would if the RH bill is passed.

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There is wailing and anguish that men and women who are supposed to represent us in Congress are working against our only asset as a nation.

Here are the names of the men and women who voted to depopulate the world of Filipinos:

Abad, Henedina R. (Batanes); Aglipay, Emmeline Y. (Diwa Party-list); Alcala, Irvin M. (Quezon, 2nd Dist.); Alvarez, Mercedes K. (Negros Occidental, 6th Dist.); Amante-Matba, Angelica M. (Agusan Del Norte, 2nd Dist.); Angara, Juan Edgardo M. (Aurora); Antonio, Patricio T. (Agbiag Party-list);

Arquiza, Godofredo V. (Senior Citizens Party-list); Avance-Fuentes, Daisy (South Cotabato, 2nd Dist.); Bag-ao, Kaka J. (Akbayan Party-list);

Balindong, Pangalian M. (Lanao Del Sur, 2nd Dist.); Banal, Jorge (Quezon City, 3rd Dist.) Barzaga, Elpidio Jr. F. (Dasmariñas City); Batocabe, Rodel M. (Ako Bicol Party-list); Bautista, Franklin P. (Davao Del Sur, 2nd Dist.) Bello, Walden F. (Akbayan Party-list); Belmonte, Feliciano Jr. R. (Quezon City, 4th Dist.); Belmonte, Vicente Jr. F. (Iligan City); Benaldo, Benjo A. (Cagayan De Oro, 1st Dist.); Benitez, Alfredo B. (Negros Occidental, 3rd Dist.) Bernos, Ma. Jocelyn V. (Abra) Biazon, Rodolfo G. (Muntinlupa) Binay, Mar-len Abigail S. (Makati City, 2nd Dist.) Biron, Ferjenel G. (Iloilo, 4th Dist.) Bondoc, Anna York P., M.D. (Pampanga, 4th Dist.); Brawner Baguilat, Teddy Jr. (Ifugao); Bulut-Begtang, Eleanor C. (Apayao);

Cajayon, Mary Mitzi L. (Caloocan City, 2nd Dist.); Calixto-Rubiano, Emi G. (Pasay); Casiño, Teddy A. (Bayan Muna Party-list); Castelo, Winston (Quezon City, 2nd Dist.); Catamco, Nancy A. (North Cotabato, 2nd Dist.); Celeste, Jesus ‘Boying’ F. (Pangasinan, 1st Dist.); Cerafica, Arnel M. (Taguig City, 1st Dist.); Chipeco, Justin Marc Sb. (Laguna, 2nd Dist.); Cojuangco, Kimi S. (Pangasinan, 5th Dist.); Colmenares, Neri J (Bayan Muna Party-list) Cosalan, Ronald M. (Benguet) Cruz-Gonzales, Cinchona (Cibac Party-list);

Datumanong, Simeon A. (Maguindanao, 2nd Dist.); De Jesus, Emmi A. (Gabriela Party-list); Defensor, Arthur Jr. R. (Iloilo, 3rd Dist.); Del Rosario, Anthony G. (Davao Del Norte, 1st Dist.); Del Rosario, Antonio A. (Capiz, 1st Dist.); Dimaporo, Imelda Quibranza (Lanao Del Norte, 1st Dist.); Duavit, Joel Roy (Rizal, 1st Dist.); Ebdane, Jun Omar C. (Zambales, 2nd Dist.); Eriguel, Eufranio C., M.D. (La Union, 2nd Dist.);

Espina, Rogelio J., M.D. (Biliran); Estrella, Robert Raymund M. (Abono Party-list); Flores, Florencio Jr. T. (Bukidnon, 2nd Dist.);

Garcia-Albano, Mylene J. (Davao City, 2nd Dist.); Garin, Janette L. (Iloilo, 1st Dist.); Garin, Sharon S. (Aambis-owa Party-list) Gatchalian, Rex (Valenzuela, 1st Dist.);

Gatchalian, Weslie T. (Alay Buhay Party-list); Go, Ana Cristina S. (Isabela, 2nd Dist.); Go, Arnulfo F. (Sultan Kudarat, 2nd Dist.); Gonzales, Neptali M. (Mandaluyong); Guanlao, Agapito H. (Butil Party-list); Haresco, Teodorico T. (Ang Kasangga Party-list); Hataman-salliman, Jim S. (Basilan); Herrera-Dy, Bernadette R. (Bagong Henerasyon Party-list);

Ilagan, Luzviminda C. (Gabriela Party-list);

Jalosjos, Cesar G. (Zamboanga Del Norte, 3rd Dist.); Jalosjos, Seth F. P. (Zamboanga Del Norte, 1st Dist.); Joson, Josefina M. (Nueva Ecija, 1st Dist.); Kho, David L. (Senior Citizens Party-list). (To be continued in my next column)…. Circle the name of your representative. Does he or she represent what you want or believe in? If not, write to them, spread the word that he or she is one of those who voted yes to depopulate the Filipino nation.

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Senators who voted yes in favor of RH Bill:

EdgardoAngara, Joker Arroyo, Allan Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Miriam Santiago, Franklin Drilon, Chiz Escudero, Teofisto Guingona, Panfilo Lacson, Loren Legarda, Bongbong Marcos, Francis Pangilinan, Ralph Recto

Thought For The Day: Love

Fun Stuff

St. Francis and the Wolf

God's Discipline

Thought For The Day: Victory Over Satan

"Modern times are dominated by Satan and will be more so in the future. The conflict with hell cannot be engaged by men, even the most clever. 

The lmmaculata alone has from God the promise of victory over Satan. 

However, assumed into heaven, the Mother of God now requires our cooperation. She seeks souls who will consecrate themselves entirely to her, who will become in her hands effective instruments for the defeat of Satan and the spreading of God's kingdom upon earth."

-  St. Maximilian Kolbe~