An Appeal that Will Never Make the News - from St. Stanislaus Parishoners

I give my full support to the Archbishop, the Catholic Church and these faithful Polish parishoners, and will pray that this situation is resolved quickly and effectively.

The parishoners have written a letter entitled "An Appeal that Will Never Make the News from a Group of St. Stanislaus Parishoners" - sadly, I think the title is 100% accurate. But the press hasn't seemed to always represent the Church and its supporters very well in the past--why should it start now? I have included some of the text from the letter:

Many Catholics in the St. Louis Archdiocese have initially expressed support for the board of directors of the civil corporation of St. Stanislaus Parish. This was a result of an intensive media campaign conducted by the board of directors and their supporters. The main objective of the board seems to be to discredit Archbishop Burke, damage his reputation, and portray the parish community as a victim of his demands. Secular media not only disregarded the existence of parishioners supporting Archbishop Burke, but also distorted the truth about the background of the conflict. One such distortion relates to the fact that St. Stanislaus Kostka parishioners supporting Archbishop Burke refused to participate in January 9 th voting which was orchestrated as another publicity exploit by the board of directors and its media advisers. Although the board and their spokesmen loudly attempt to portray themselves as representatives of St. Stanislaus parish community, in reality they represent only a group of supporters who choose to affirm them. This critical distinction was never made by the media.

Support for the “Save St. Stan’s” campaign mounted by the board of directors is provided from many sources interested in destroying the unity of the Roman Catholic Church. The campaign slogan became even a City of St. Louis mayoral race issue, when one of the candidates publicly expressed support for the board of directors, while acknowledging no affiliation with the Catholic Church. The public scandal caused by the board, which has been instrumental in swaying the opinions of many of its supporters, and of the general public, has created much pain in the Archdiocese of St. Louis and in the community at large.

Read earlier thoughts of mine on this issue.

'Vatican Memo' Condemning Pius XII - Falsely Praised by Media

"The controversy began in December with the discovery of a 1946 document that supposedly outlines the Vatican's policy toward Jewish children who were sheltered in Catholic institutions during the war. The document states that baptized Jewish children should not be returned to their families.

Contrary to what many newspapers have reported, this document did not come from the Vatican. The document, which was found in the archives of the French Catholic Church, is an unsigned, one-page memorandum. It is typewritten in French instead of the Vatican's customary Italian and not produced on Vatican stationery.

Two Italian scholars, Matteo Luigi Napolitano and Andrea Tornielli, revealed that this memorandum was written by someone in the apostolic nunciature in Paris that was headed by Monsignor Angelo Roncalli, who would become Pope John XXIII. The memorandum was drafted in response to an official dispatch, dated Sept. 28, 1946, that Father Roncalli received from Monsignor Domenico Tardini, the Vatican's secretary of the Congregation of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs. When he was elected pope in 1958, John XXIII appointed Father Tardini the Vatican secretary of state.

Read more here.

Pope John Paul II - Apostolic Letter Concerning the Media

the Church is not only called upon to use the mass media to spread the Gospel but, today more than ever, to integrate the message of salvation into the “new culture” that these powerful means of communication create and amplify. It tells us that the use of the techniques and the technologies of contemporary communications is an integral part of its mission in the third millennium."

There is most certainly a difference between speaking to a person directly, face-to-face, and indirectly, as through text or pictures on a website, on TV or on the radio, and this fact must be respected. Communications media can help us, but it is by no means a complete solution to evangelization and education. One should not become caught up in the media (watching TV, blogging, writing, reading news, etc.); nor can one ignore it.

John Paul II is spot-on in his analysis of the current situation in the U.S. and many other media-saturated countries:

"The communications media have acquired such importance as to be the principal means of guidance and inspiration for many people in their personal, familial, and social behavior. We are dealing with a complex problem, because the culture itself, prescinding from its content, arises from the very existence of new ways to communicate with hitherto unknown techniques and vocabulary."

Catholics of the 3rd Millenium (myself included) must find inroads—through blogging, websites, video, audio, radio, television, telecommunications, and other forms of media—by which we can promulgate the Catholic faith. For centuries, our Church has continued to adopt new ways of bringing people closer to Jesus and ultimate fulfillment of Heaven, and the Church will continue to evolve to bring Jesus to millions more.

Another interesting aspect of this letter is the fact that Pope John Paul II, who some in the mainstream communications media have deemed as unfit for the Papacy, is continuing his well-written, sound pastoral letters. In my opinion, the Pope is not the one who is in need of retirement; it is the writers who accuse him of being 'too old'. It is obvious from all the Pope continues to do that he is a blessing upon our Church and continues to share a profound, inspired wisdom.

The full text of John Paul II's apostolic letter can be found here.

Sickening Mockery of the Eucharist by NBC

"NBC-TV SHOW ANGERS CATHOLICS NATIONWIDE

During the February 22 episode of the NBC-TV sitcom, “Committed,” two non-Catholics are mistakenly given Holy Communion at a Catholic funeral Mass.  Nate, who is Jewish, and Bowie, a Protestant, don’t know what to do with the Eucharist, so they make several failed attempts to get rid of it.  For example, they try slipping it into the pocket of a priest, dropping it on a tray of cheese and crackers, etc. 

At one point, the priest, who is portrayed as not knowing the difference between the Host and a cracker, goes to grab the “cracker” from a tray of appetizers; he initially balks when he discovers that it is the last one.  Then he changes his mind, saying, “Oh, what the hell.”  By far the most offensive scene occurs when Nate and Bowie accidentally flush what they think is the Host down the toilet.

Catholic League president William Donohue commented on this today:

“It’s been quite a while since we’ve been deluged with as many complaints as this episode of ‘Committed’ fielded.  To say that Catholics are angry about this show would be an understatement—the outrage is visceral and intense.  The complaints have come from bishops, college chaplains, pastors and the laity, and they have come from all over the country.  With good reason: NBC has made a direct frontal assault on Roman Catholicism, choosing to mock, trivialize and ridicule the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. 

“What happened was deliberate.  According to a January 2 story in the Cincinnati Enquirer, the writers for the series, Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline, have been encouraged by NBC executives ‘to push the limits of comedy.’  For obvious reasons, the writers of ‘Roseanne,’ ‘Murphy Brown’ and ‘Ellen’ chose not to push the buttons of homosexuals (or some other protected group), so they decided to play it safe and stay in good standing with their bosses by bashing Catholics. 

“More than an apology is needed.  This episode should be retired for good, and that is what we will demand.”

Couch Potatoes - Critically Acclaimed Success!

Basically, the show's first showing of Couch Potatoes was last night, and it was quite good! I really liked it, and thought it was even better than last year's show, Spam and Cheese: Leftovers Too.

The show lasted about two hours, and will probably be shortened a bit by Saturday, the next time we will put it on. In terms of sound and lighting, we did a pretty good job, in my humble opinion! John (a fellow seminarian) and I were operating the light and sound boards (respectively), with the assistance of some other help for spotlights and other duties. Here's a picture of us right before the show (notice the new shirts with the KLM Logo!).

Many of the acts were even better than I had seen them in the rehearsals, and, even better, Fr. Edward Richard's "Holy Mountain Music" bluegrass band played four songs which were awesome! You can listen to some of their music on their website.

If you are in St. Louis, and would still be interested in viewing the show, there are still tickets available for Saturday Night (the 26th) at 7:30 p.m. and the Sunday (27th) show at 2:00 p.m. Call 314-792-6241 to reserve tickets (tickets cost $5 each). Rumor has it that you may find an added bonus during the Saturday show!

Urgent Prayer Requests!

Further updates to come...

Blogging for Terri - Please Pray for Her! (UPDATED)

"Today, the courts rejected the pleas of Terri’s parents to stop her husband, Michael, from withholding food and water from her. He has promised to begin starving her tomorrow at 1 pm.

Most of you are aware that Terri is not a "vegetable" or "brain-dead" as Michael and his lawyers claim, but responds to others and is aware of her surroundings. She laughs, smiles and, according to her nurses, has a small vocabulary.

Terri is not on life support and is healthy. She needs help eating and is fed through a tube (helping someone eat and drink who is impaired has never been considered artificial life support).

While Michael asserts he is carrying out Terri's wishes, he waited until after he received a large sum of money from a lawsuit against her doctors before making this claim . During the lawsuit, he alleged negligence and motivated a financial award with the potential cost of Terri’s rehabilitation.

However, Terri has been denied rehabilitation that experts testify could allow her to eat and talk. The courts in Florida have consistently blocked appeals to give Terri proper tests and therapy that would improve her life.

Terri may not have the capabilities she once had, but she is no less valuable and no less a person.

Here is what you can do to help Terri:

1. Pray for Terri and her family.
2. Blog - communicate the truth about what is going on and rally support for Terri and the Schindlers.
3. Visit BlogsforTerri (http://www.blogsforterri.com) for information and to join the team of blogs for Terri.
4. Deluge Gov. Jeb Bush with emails and phone calls. He has the power to intervene. Here is his contact information:
   
   Governor Jeb Bush
   jeb.bush@myflorida.com
   850 / 488-4441
   850 / 487-0801 (fax)
   
5. Support HB701 (click here).
6. Important - Bypass the Mainstream Media - pledge support for a paid advertisement in the St. Petersburg Tribune to inform its 450,000 paid subscribers about what is really happening to Terri. [http://www.blogsforterri.com/pledge.php]"

Archbishop's Retreat, Couch Potatoes Update

I have posted pictures of the Retreat on my Seminary Website (click here to see them):

Another note: For those of you who will be in St. Louis this week (and next weekend):

Kenrick-Glennon Seminary to Present Variety Show

The seminarians and faculty of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, 5200 Glennon Drive in Shrewsbury, will present the "Couch Potatoes" variety show at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24 and 26 and 2 p.m. Feb. 27.

This year's show follows last year's run of "Spam and Cheese" and asks the question: "If seminarians ran TV Land, what would be on the air?"

Tickets are $5 and are available at the door or by calling (314) 792-6241. Special group rates and family rates are available.

Proceeds from the event benefit student activities and pro-life work, including an annual pilgrimage to the pro-life march in Washington, DC.

New Pro-Life Bumper Stickers Have Arrived!

My sister and I are selling these bumper stickers (as well as the 'Slavery. Holocaust. Abortion' ones and PROLIFE Wristbands) for $1 each through our Pro-Life Wristband website. I've put mine on my car already, and I like it even more than our older stickers because it's very bold and simple (i.e. easy to read). If you're interested in buying a large amount for selling as a fundraiser, email me and I'll see what I can do.

One more note: If you live in St. Louis and are interested, the annual Seminary Variety Show, Couch Potatoes, will be held the weekend after next (24th, 26th and 27th). We hope you are able to come - it should be a fun time for all!

Abortion Doesn't Hurt Women, Does It?

"[After my abortion], I fear I would go out of my way to tell all the antis who say "Abortion damages women!/All women feel guilt after their abortions!" that I am neither damaged nor guilty. Not for any productive reason. Just to watch the fur fly as they try and insist that I REALLYREALLY do feel guilty, I just don't know it."

The problem here (besides a new abbreviated label for Pro-Lifers) is that this woman doesn't quite understand what we mean when we say women need healing after an abortion.

While it is true that many women have serious physical complications after their abortions (it is a surgical procedure, with possible complications), many have apparent psychological scars and many regret their abortions, there are some women who do not actively feel any guilt or pain, either physically or psychologically, after their abortions. But the whole person is comprised of more than the physical and the psychological.

If we dig deeper, we find a person's soul. This soul can become severely damaged after an abortion. In fact, in the words of the Code of Canon Law (#1398), "A person who procures a successful abortion incurs an automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication." Procuring (bringing about) an abortion creates a harmful condition for a person's soul--the soul becomes mortally wounded.

Therefore, even if a woman does not feel any psychological or physical pain as a result of abortion, she will still be hurting. She may not 'feel' guilty, but she nevertheless has a responsibility to properly form her conscience, and abortion is not a morally correct means, no matter what the end.

This is why the Pro-Life movement works to heal women after they have had abortions, and tries to prevent women from having abortions. Abortion (the taking of a baby's life before it is 'born') is an intrinsic moral evil, and it must be prevented at all costs. The Catholic Church works to heal the wounds caused by abortion by reconciliation with God through wonderful ministries such as Project Rachel (among others).

Protest V***** Monologues on Catholic Campuses (UPDATED)

From Catholic World News:

At least 30 Catholic colleges and universities are scheduled to host The Vagina Monologues, a play with strong feminist and lesbian themes, during February and March, according to the Cardinal Newman Society. The group urges Catholics to protest the shows, which typically are staged on February 14: St. Valentine's Day.

“Performing this offensive play during Lent mocks the Catholic faith, as does the attempt to replace Saint Valentine’s Day with ‘V-Day,’” said Patrick J. Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society. “The Vagina Monologues is contrary to all that Catholics believe about the dignity of women and human sexuality.”

The Vagina Monologues features a graphic discussion of women's sexuality, including obscene language, explicit description of sexual activity, and the sexual abuse of a young girl. The Cardinal Newman Society has furnished a summary of the Vagina Monologues on its web site for those seeking to understand a better understanding of the campus controversy.

Dear Fr. Biondi,

It has come to my attention that Saint Louis University plans to allow a showing of The Vagina Monologues, a performance that is known to be against Catholic teaching on sexuality, and is offensive to the Catholic faith. It greatly displeases me that a Catholic Jesuit University would allow such a performance to be hosted on its campus. I am offended by this, and I request that you do not allow The Vagina Monologues to be performed on SLU's campus or sanctioned by any SLU association.

Lent - A Prayer Guide

Lenten Prayers

Lent - Quick Reflection Before the Beginning

This Lent I hope to use the special graces given by God to develop my physical and spiritual life in many ways. I will also pray that others may gain special graces to grow stronger in all aspects of their lives!

Happy Mardi Gras, and may God Bless you during this Lenten season.

LifeIsAPrayer.com - I Guess I Won the Contest?

Well, today it has started. I registered the Domain Name "www.lifeisaprayer.com" to get a name for my sites on the 'Net. Since it is a simple redirect, you can only access my home page from there, so I've tried to make it look as nice as possible and load as fast as possible (sometimes it's a challenge). Try it out! Type in 'www.lifeisaprayer.com' in your browser and see if it works. You should see all my websites in one spiffy little page (with the exception of my 'personal' site, which contains only humorous vidoes and jokes... I'll be putting that up soon).

So... I guess the contest is over, and I won. Odd.

Let me know what you think by emailing me or posting a comment!

Human Cloning in the UK, Media Still Confused

This is a very disappointing news story from ABC News:

"The scientist who attracted the world's attention by cloning Dolly the Sheep is about to take another major step for medical research: cloning human embryos and extracting stem cells to unravel the mysteries of muscle-wasting illnesses like Lou Gehrig's disease.

Ian Wilmut, who led the team that created Dolly at Scotland's Roslin Institute in 1996, was granted a cloning license Tuesday by British regulators to study how nerve cells go awry to cause motor neuron diseases."

"The experiments do not involve creating cloned babies, but the license has nonetheless stirred fresh controversy over the issue and prompted abortion foes and other biological conservatives to condemn the decision."

I am also stunned by the statement "the experiments do not involve creating cloned babies", because this statement is completely false. If I were the copy editor for ABC, I would fight to the bitter end to revoke that statement, because it is a complete lie. This is a huge problem in getting out the Pro-Life message, because people read these stories and become confused about what cloning actually is.

[Wilmut said,] "We all take for granted the very much healthier life that we have now compared with people 100 years ago," he said. "I think that the majority of people support this type of research and hope it will be successful in helping to bring useful treatment for diseases like motor neuron disease."

E-Fessions - Confess Your Sins Online?

I think the concept could work, with a little modification ;-).

Note: You must go to an actual priest to receive absolution.

Couple May Sue Over Discarded Embryo

"A couple whose frozen embryo was accidentally destroyed at a fertility clinic has the right in Illinois to file a wrongful-death lawsuit, a judge has ruled in a case that some legal experts say could have implications in the debate over embryonic stem cell research.

In an opinion issued Friday, Cook County Judge Jeffrey Lawrence said "a pre-embryo is a 'human being' … whether or not it is implanted in its mother's womb."

Another problem arises in this story: these people shouldn't be tampering with human life in this embryonic form anyways - see what the Catholic Church teaches about in-vitro fertilization.

At the bottom of the ABC News article, we find a comment from the ever-notorious ACLU:

"The decision could curb reproductive research, said Colleen Connell, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Chicago."

What a strange world we live in, where people pour money into unproductive things and withold it from proven successes! (Now, there's obviously a little more to this debate, but the basic issue is the wrongness of the creation and destruction of human embryos.)

2005 Catholic Blog Awards - Polls Open

My blog isn't up, but I didn't really expect it to make it, anyways - many new blogs didn't make it because not too many people have heard of them.

I encourage you to vote for The Meandering Mind of a Seminarian in the 'Blog By a Seminarian' category, A Saintly Salmagundi in 'Best Blog by a Priest or Religious' and The Curt Jester in 'Most Humorous Blog' (note: some of these blogs appear in more than one category, so you can vote for them multiple times!).

Read my earlier post concerning this topic.

Tolerance - A Misunderstood Aspect of Ecumenism

“My friend gets drunk every weekend. I know it’s wrong, but what can I do about it? You know, if he’s going to do that, then that’s his problem—I shouldn’t have to do anything about it.” Sadly, statements such as this are heard all over our country today. In our culture, ‘diversity’ is praised and ‘tolerance’ is a popular buzzword. According to popular culture, to be ‘intolerant’ of anything someone else does, even if it opposes Natural Law, is a heinous crime against an individual’s freedom. According to popular culture, you should accommodate everyone else’s belief systems, even if they are opposed to Catholic morality, lest you be labeled intolerant and closed-minded.

A great many Catholics have a misunderstanding of a healthy and righteous ‘tolerance’ of others. Tolerance should not mean acceptance, nor should it mean a person is not obligated to correct another person’s wrongdoing. Steve Graves, of Catholic Answers, says in his article “In Defense of Apologetics,”

“Some Catholics and other Christians are uncomfortable with apologetics. They consider it contrary to the spirit of ecumenism and adopt a “go along to get along” attitude. Shouldn’t we just live and let live? This discomfort results from a misunderstanding of ecumenism. Ecumenism isn’t a policy of intellectual appeasement, nor does it demand that we overlook real differences.”

Rather, ecumenism and ‘tolerance’ requires that we respect others as individual human beings, for whom God has great respect, while fulfilling our obligation to “love one another; as I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (John 13:34). Jesus’ love included harsh reprimands, conflict and sorrow, because He loved other people with a Divine Love. For Jesus, being liked by everyone did not matter; he wanted everyone to follow Him to God’s Kingdom, but He knew that doing so would involve loving correction and uprightness in faith and morals. In order to love others as Jesus loves us, we must care for not only ourselves, but also our brothers in this world, in order to lead them to Jesus.

Because loving others and following Christ sometimes necessitates reprimand and correction, Catholics today more than ever must stand strong in their faith and share this faith with others. This ‘sharing of faith’ does not equate to a blind acceptance of anything anyone else wants to do; it involves leading a Christ-like life of fidelity to God’s Word and true love for one another.

The Priestie Boyz Concert

Today (as I had mentioned earlier), I helped the Priestie Boyz during their first-ever concert. Since the band had little (i.e. no) funds and very little equipment, I decided to help out. Luckily, Charlie, the lead singer, had connections and was able to borrow about $30,000 worth of equipment, including a 32-channel mixer, two huge JBL speakers, two power amps, four monitor speakers, a drum kit mic set, some stands, a few other mics, and a snake (all of the highest quality)!

And guess who was in charge of setting up and harnessing all of that power? Me. It was very fun, especially having to do it with a total of five people, in about three hours. We spent a little bit of the night before, and about an hour today, setting up all the equipment and doing sound checks (I liked that part because I told Charlie when to stop talking ;-).

Today, I brought three video cameras (borrowed from the Seminary and Mike), my Canon digital picture camera, and my iBook G4 to record sights and sounds from the event. I have now posted the pictures on a special page for the Priestie Boys. The 'Boyz are still working on details for audio distribution. I videotaped everything, but it will take a little more time before I can work on that (video's a lot more time-consuming than audio!).

There were about 800 youth from Charlie's parish attending the event, and it was very well received:

Enjoy all the pictures, etc. from the event by clicking here!

Rockin' Concert Today - Priestie Boyz Premiere (UPDATED)

UPDATE: I just returned from the concert, and it was AWESOME! Pictures and audio soon to come; video will have to wait a short amount of time (due to other obligations).

If You Can Spare a Prayer...

The article states:

"Dawn Eden, apparently embellished a Jan. 18 editorial about stem-cell research during the editing process. Her version of the story — which slammed New York Senate Minority Leader David Paterson’s plan for a state-sponsored stem-cell institute as a “harebrained scheme” — made it into print."

"This is a complete lie and it can easily be disproved... As a copy editor on the NEWS copy desk and not the EDITORIAL PAGE department, I had NO computer access to the editorials. I would only see them when they were on page proofs, where I would mark grammar and spelling corrections ONLY. These page proofs were then given to the editorial-page editors, who would make the changes themselves. I never once while I was at the Post accessed an editorial in a manner that I could possibly make any change without the editors' full and complete knowledge."

I encourage anyone who has not already done so to look through The Dawn Patrol's Archives and read some of the past entries - there seems to be an abundance of witty, wise and interesting observations about all things related to the pro-life movement, among other things!

Pope John Paul II Taken to Hospital with Flu Complications (UPDATED)

From Catholic Online (via CNS):

"Pope John Paul II was taken to a Rome hospital late Feb. 1 with severe breathing problems caused by an inflammation in his throat, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told reporters in a statement issued at midnight.

The pope, 84, came down with the flu Jan. 30.

About 10:50 p.m. Feb. 1 he was rushed to the Gemelli hospital for what Navarro-Valls called "acute laryngeal tracheitis and a crisis of laryngeal spasms."

When he arrived there he did not need intensive care treatment and was admitted to his 10th-floor room where he has stayed on previous hospital visits, Navarro-Valls said.

Because of advancing Parkinson's disease, Pope John Paul has chronic difficulty breathing, complicating the possible effects of the flu and the inflammation of his throat. Laryngeal spasms make breathing more difficult.

Navarro-Valls had announced earlier Feb. 1 that the pope had canceled scheduled meetings that day and his Wednesday general audience the next day. He said then that the flu was running its natural course.

In his final public appearance before he was hospitalized, the pope came to his apartment window overlooking St. Peter's Square to lead the Sunday noon Angelus Jan. 31. His voice was hoarse, but it did not stop him from greeting visitors in the square below."

UPDATE: The Pope seems to be doing much better now! I am sure he appreciates all the prayers:

"The pope had difficulty breathing as he battled the flu, the Vatican confirmed Wednesday, but it said tests showed his heart and respiration were normal and that the 84-year-old pontiff rested for several hours overnight.

John Paul had “just a little fever,” papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in elaborating on a terse medical bulletin issued by the Holy See."

Problems in Belize - Prayers Requested

The Catholic Church in Belize is having some of its own troubles, as some of the government officials and those who would like to run for office are opposed to the Catholics and would like to hurt the Catholic Church. A great many prayers are needed - not only for Belize, but for much of Central and South America, where certain problems such as these exist today.

From The San Francisco Bay View:

"Civil unrest broke out in Belmopan, capital city of Belize, provoked by the release of a new national budget with significant tax increases as well as anger at the ruling People’s United Party for the worsening fiscal condition of the Belizean government. The government’s 2005-2006 budget, released on Jan. 13, includes major tax increases on a variety of businesses and commodities and further delays long overdue raises to teachers and public service workers.

No longer could popular frustration be restrained after years of alleged financial mismanagement and corruption by the People’s United Party that included non-stop spending and borrowing, sale of the country’s assets, privatizing the water, the electricity, the airport and the port, and even the potential leasing of the barrier reef and Mayan archaeological sites. Belize is bordered by Mexico, Guatemala and a 270-mile Caribbean coastline.

Among the demonstrators on Jan. 21 in front of the Belize National Assembly are teachers, union members, civil society and business people who represent a cross section of the Belizean population. The Belize population is almost 32.9 percent Creole (mixed Black with white), 40.7 percent Mestizo (Indigenous and white), 6.1 percent Garifuna (Blacks originating from Africans and Caribs), 10.6 percent Maya and 9.7 percent “other,” which includes East Indians, Middle Easterners, Europeans and Chinese.

The new budget sparked protests at the National Assembly building on Jan. 15. The Chamber of Commerce, the unions, the Better Business Bureau and civil society called for the implementation of reforms against continued corruption, before any new taxes are even considered. The government decided they did not have to pay attention.

Prime Minister Said Musa said of the budget measure, which raises some taxes by as much as 22 percent, that increases are necessary to help pay spiraling international debt. His administration has been plagued by financial scandals and higher living costs.

The people finally said “enough!” and a general strike was called for Jan. 20-21 by a rare coalition of unions, businesses and civil society. The call was answered. About 90 percent of the businesses and all the schools, from primary to university level, closed nationwide."

To Those in St. Louis: Couch Potatoes! -- A Seminarian Production

SEMINARIANS ON STAGE:

"The seminarians and faculty of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in Shrewsbury will be presenting “Couch Potatoes,” a fun-filled variety show. This year’s production is the fourth year of enjoyable family entertainment, following last year’s successful run of “Spam and Cheese.” If seminarians ran TV Land, what would be on the air? Come find out! The proceeds go to student activities and pro-life work, including an annual pilgrimage to the pro-life march in Washington, DC.

There will be three showings this year: Thursday, February 24th and Saturday, February 26th at 7:30 p.m. and a matinee on Sunday, February 27th at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5, available at the door or in advance by calling 314-792-6241. Special group and family rates are available. Call the same number for directions or additional information. There is no Friday show this year (it’s Lent) so tickets may sell out fast!"