Bishop Edwin M. Conway died Monday of cancer. Bishop Conway was not only Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Chicago and a brilliant Catholic leader, but he was pro-life to the core.
Great Pro-Life Bishop Passes On
He led two Helpers prayer vigils, attended the special Helpers priest meeting, and was pictured in Action News holding a baby saved from abortion due to his presence at an abortion mill. It was one of his favorite pictures.
Bishop Conway will be waked at Holy Name Cathedral, State and Superior, from 2-9 p.m. on Thursday. Prayer service at 7:30 p.m. The funeral is 1 p.m. Friday at the Cathedral.
Cardinal Francis George said, “[T]he Catholics of Chicago have lost a kind and dedicated priest and bishop and I have lost a good friend and trusted adviser.” We echo those sentiments.
Obama Backing Out of Debates
We were all looking forward to six debates, insisted on by Barack Obama before he knew his opponent for the U.S. Senate for Illinois would be Ambassador Alan Keyes. Now Obama has chickened out and wants only two debates, in October.
Keyes should go ahead with six debates, four next to an empty podium. We did that once when our opponent didn’t show up for a debate and it is really a blast. You get to introduce your opponent’s nonsense positions and shoot them down one by one. You always win the debate.
People say the media won’t come. Want to bet? Even secular columnists are saying Obama’s decision to cut the debates from six is a mistake. Liberal Mark Brown calls Obama’s backing out a “letdown.” Angry Cindy Richards says Obama should live up to his earlier promise to engage in six debates with his general election opponent.
He made that promise when he thought he would be facing Jack Ryan, “a white, less-than-articulate investment banker. As a longtime admirer of Obama, I urge him to stand up to the challenge.” Her reasoning is all wrong, but at least she is on our side on the number if not the reason. She thinks Obama would win. Keyes will flatten Obama.
First Lady on ES Cells
First Lady Laura Bush agrees with her husband that Kerry’s pledge to use federal fund for human embryonic stem cell research, “is ridiculous.” She refers to their usefulness as a “myth.”
Keyes the Illinoisan
Jack Higgins’ political cartoon in Wednesday’s Sun-Times features Democrat donkeys saying Keyes isn’t from Illinois and Republicans can’t win here. Then one turns to Lincoln: “Nothing personal, Abe.”
Incidentally, Alan has found a two flat in Calumet City, in a mixed race community, so he is officially an Illinoisan, but the liberal press will keep calling him a carpetbagger and foreigner for a while yet, until the real battles begin.
Three More Bishops Get Tough
Three more bishops have decided to deny Holy Communion to pro-abortion Catholic Politicians, saying the Church recognizes a manifest lack of proper disposition for Holy Communion in those whose outward conduct is seriously, clearly and steadfastly contrary to the Church’s moral teaching, such as those who consistently support pro-abortion legislation, which is gravely sinful. Such persons should not be admitted to Holy Communion:
Only after reconciliation with the Church and with the knowledge and consent of the local bishop and a public disavowal of former support for abortion, will the individual be permitted to approach the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
They say Catholics who support such candidates should seek the Sacrament of Penance before receiving Communion, obviously with a firm purpose of amendment. The Bishops are Most Rev. John F. Donoghue of Atlanta, Robert Baker of Charleston and Peter Jugis of Charlotte. As the list keeps growing, slowly.
NOW v. Scheidler Helps Activists
Thanks to our 8-1 victory in NOW v. Scheidler, two New York pro-lifers have had their 1995 convictions overturned. John Arena and Michelle Wentworth’s extortion convictions are vacated. Each spent three years in jail and paid thousands in damages. Only a fraction of their money was returned, with no compensation for prison time. Their crime — putting rancid butter in an abortion mill. They were persecuted relentlessly by Catholic D.A., William Fitzpatrick.
