Pastor's Page
By Fr. George Welzbacher
July 1, 2012

First some good news! Recent Gallup polls reveal that more and more Americans across the whole civic spectrum are joining the ranks of the Pro-Life movement. The only exception is that sector of the American public which describes itself as professing "no religion." Moreover the propaganda "pitch" used by "gay marriage" zealots, with long-standing support from the American Psychological Association, namely that children "parented" by homosexual couples display psychological problems in later life to no greater degree than do children who grow up with both a father and a mother in traditional homes, has been effectively refuted by two recent comprehensive studies which clearly show that the traditional family offers a vastly superior environment for producing well-adjusted and successful citizens for our republic, not to mention future committed members of the Church. May I share with you two reports, hot off the press, dealing with these two significant news items.
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All Demographic Groups Except 'Non-religious' Now More Pro-life: Gallup Poll
LifeSite News, June 14, 2012
Thaddeus Baklinski

PRINCETON, NJ, June 14, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Additional polling data released by Gallup on May 29 shows that, comparing abortion attitudes between 2001 and 2008 to abortion attitudes between 2009 and 2012, the only demographic group that did not become more "pro-life" during this time was that which self-identified as having "no religion."

The data was gathered as part of a survey on U.S. attitudes on abortion, the initial findings from which were originally released on May 23.

While the poll, conducted May 3-6, found only 41 percent of Americans would NOW embrace the "pro-choice" moniker, the LOWEST level since the company began asking the question in 1995, the additional data indicates that men, women, of ALL age groups, in ALL regions, people of ALL educational levels, and ALL Christians, have ALL become MORE pro-life by between 2 and 10 percentage points.

The shift to pro-life between the sexes was fairly consistent with men showing a five percentage point change compared to a four percentage point change among women. The highest change to pro-life was among college graduates with a 10 percentage point shift.

Christians of both Catholic and Protestant faiths indicated a 5 percentage point change to pro-life.

However, the "no religion" group saw a percentage point shift toward "pro-choice."

"Overall, Americans' views on abortion have shifted slightly over the past several years, so that some groups who tended to be pro-choice from 2001-2008 (such as women, young adults, middle-aged adults, and college graduates) are now more evenly divided in their views," the Gallup report states. "And others who were closely divided in their views from 2001-2008 (such as men and adults 55 and older) now clearly tilt pro-life."
[Emphasis added]
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And here is a report on the disturbing results of entrusting children to the care of homosexual couples.

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Study shows homosexual parenting not equal to heterosexual marriage
The Cypress Times, June 18th, 2012
Wendy Wright and Lisa Correnti

A groundbreaking study  reveals that adult children of homosexual and lesbian parents experience FAR GREATER NEGATIVE social, economic and emotional outcomes than do children raised within intact biological families.

The quality of University of Texas professor Mark Regnerus' study highlights the deficiencies of previous studies that homosexual advocates have relied on to grant same-sex couples a right to marry and adopt children.

"The empirical claim that no notable differences exist must go," said Regne-rus in his study published in Social Science Research.

Regnerus' comprehensive study examines nearly 3,000 ADULT CHILDREN from eight different family structures and evaluates them within 40 social and emotional categories. The results reveal that children who remain with intact biological families were better educated, experienced greater mental and physical health, less drug experimentation, less criminal activity and reported overall higher levels of happiness.

The GREATEST negative outcomes were found among children of LESBIAN mothers. This contradicts defective studies popularized by the media claiming children fare just as well, or even better, with lesbian mothers. Regnerus' study showed negative outcomes for these adult children in 25 of 40 categories including far higher rates of sexual assault (23% of children with lesbian mothers were touched sexually by a parent or adult, in contrast to 2% raised by married parents),  poorer physical  health,  increased depression, increased marijuana use and higher unemployment (69% of children from lesbian households were on welfare, compared to 17% of those with married parents).

Regnerus' study debunks an often-cited 2005 American Psychological Association (APA) brief that concluded, "[n]ot a single study has found children of lesbian or gay parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents."

In contrast to Regnerus, previous studies compared children of homosexual parents to children of stepfamilies and single parents. Regnerus also relies SOLELY on information DIRECTLY FROM ADULT CHILDREN rather than opinions from their parents.

A SECOND new study confirms that the studies touted by the APA are unreliable. Loren Marks, an associate professor at Louisiana State University, found the APA's STUDIES had limited data and focused on gender roles and sexual identities. They NEGLECTED to examine the children's education outcomes, employment, risk of substance abuse, criminal behavior or suicide.

The discredited APA-endorsed studies have been used in attempts to impact international legal decisions....     [Emphasis added]

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Bulletins, however, from other fronts are less encouraging.  Here is a LifeSite News report on governmental agitation for euthanasia in once Catholic Quebec.
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Quebec Announces It Is Exploring Ways to Allow Euthanasia Despite Federal Law.
LifeSite News, June 14, 2012
John -Henry Westen

MONTREAL, June 14, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) The Liberal Quebec government announced today that it is creating a committee of legal experts to examine how euthanasia and assisted suicide could be allowed IN QUEBEC, DESPITE the fact that they are forbidden by the FEDERAL criminal code.  The announcement was made during a joint press briefing by Minister of Health Yves Bolduc and Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Quebec, Jean-Marc Fournier.

Minister Bolduc explained that a report recently released by the Select Committee on Dying with Dignity, which recommended that euthanasia be permitted in Quebec, was " well received" and motivated the move to find legal experts who would guide the implementation of its recommendations in Quebec. Bolduc also noted that the Select Committee was one of the most widely followed committees in Quebec history, and the one with the most briefs submitted.

Justice Minister Jean-Marc Fournier stated that the recommendations contained in the commission's report had "juridical implications of fundamental import." He asserted that the commission offered "rigorous conditions for obtaining medical aid in dying" and restated one of the recommendations of the Committee, namely that the attorney general of Quebec direct his various district attorneys to REFUSE TO CHARGE any doctor who commits an act of euthanasia in conformity with certain CLEARLY STATED CRITERIA. [of course, Doesn't it always START that way].

Georges Buscemi, Quebec president of the pro-life and anti-euthanasia group Campagne Québec-Vie, stated that the government's most recent move was "completely predictable".

"They now consider the ethical questions resolved. They've buried the whole ethical and spiritual dimension of killing people with the Select Committee Report on Dying with Dignity, and now they're basically saying that the only problem left is how to kill patients without getting in trouble with the law." Asked whether he agreed with the government that a "consensus" had been reached with respect to euthanasia, Buscemi answered : "They never mention that fully TWO THIRDS of the record number of the briefs submitted to the select committee were absolutely AGAINST opening the door to euthanasia and assisted suicide in our health care system."

The Select Committee report recommended that a bill outlining the criteria by which doctors could kill their patients be presented in Quebec's national assembly by no later than June 2013.
[Emphasis added]

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Well, you win some, you lose some. The struggle continues. But we must not lose heart. The Pro-Life cause is Christ's cause; the "Pro-Choice" crowd is Satan's gang. And Christ always wins in the end. In the meantime let's take up, at our bishops' urging, the weapons of the spirit, to wit, penance and prayer, especially right now, during what our bishops have described as the "Fortnight of Freedom" Campaign. This is a two weeks' campaign, which began Thursday, June 21st, and ends on July the Fourth, the day on which we collectively give thanks to God for the freedoms that we enjoy, with freedom of religion enjoying pride of place. The Fortnight Campaign is devoted primarily to prayer and works of penance, seeking God's help in protecting freedom of religion against those in our government who hope to restrict it. The Fortnight Campaign has also included an educational program about the growing threat to our exercise of freedom of religion.

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Next weekend our neighboring parish to the east, St. Pascal Baylon's, will welcome its new pastor, Father J. Michael Byron. With the other pastors in our deanery I beg leave to join in welcoming Father Byron to St. Paul's East Side. Father Anthony Andrade, St. Pascal's former pastor, is now the pastor of St. Thomas Parish in St. Paul Park.

Here is Father Byron's farewell letter to his parishioners at St. Cecelia's Parish, reprinted from the St. Cecelia's parish bulletin for May 12, 2012.

Dear Friends:

Well, this is the week that I wished would never come, but it has. I have to tell you that I am going to be leaving St. Cecelia's next month in order to take on a new full-time pastoral assignment at another parish [St. Pascal's]. It's been eight wonderful years here for me, and I will be very sad to have to say farewell. I asked the Archbishop a couple of months ago to consider a new assignment for me, not because of any unhappiness here at our parish but because of profound unhappiness at my Monday-thru-Friday work at the seminary. I need to get out of there, for the sake of my spiritual well-being, and I regret that this will require leaving St. C's too. I am grateful that the Archbishop has been kind enough to facilitate this. I have felt this need coming on for at least a couple of years, but I wasn't willing to walk away from St. C's until it seemed that an able, gifted, and right-fitting pastor could be found to come next. I think, thanks to the discernment of the Archbishop and his advisors, that such a person has now been identified [Father Thomas O'Brien], and so I'll be leaving with high confidence that our parish will be in excellent hands. In the next week or so I'll be able to share with you more particulars as to where I'll be going and who exactly will be coming here after me.

It was at Christmas time that I was having coffee with one of our great college students here who was home from school for the break. I shared some of this angst of mine with him and he had the courage and compassion to say words to this effect: "Father Mike, you are liked here at St. C's, and you'll be missed when you go, but don't kid yourself. There are lots of reasons that people find a home here, and lots of communities in the parish that thrive without necessary reference to you. We'll be fine." I needed to hear that, and it's true. I think one mark of a successful pastor is that he can go away without putting the integrity of the parish at risk, and I'd like to think of myself as successful at least in that way.

So I'll keep you posted during the next several weeks. Please pray for me and for the continued thriving of this wonderful place. This will be a difficult transition for me, but I wouldn't be doing it if it didn't seem necessary and ultimately best for everyone.

Fr. Mike Byron
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