Rebecca Masih, a young Christian health worker, was on her way to work when she was kidnapped by armed men in Sukkur, a city in Sindh province of Pakistan, on October 2. The 23-year-old was later drugged and forcibly married to a Muslim man. The Pakistan Christian Post reports that Younis Masih, Rebecca’s father, took the case to court, but has yet to get his daughter back. Rebecca remains with her abductors and is scheduled to reappear in court on... Read more
Pakistani acid-attack victim finds new life in Houston Houston Chronicle. She was 16 years old, working as an operator in a tiny, public call office in Pakistan, when a man walked in and saw the silver cross dangling around her neck. He asked her three times: “Are you a Christian?” Julie Aftab answered, “Yes, sir,” the first two times, and then got frustrated. “Didn’t you hear me?” she asked. They argued, and the man abruptly left the little office, returning... Read more
Next Sunday is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Click here to download and print a prayer calendar that will guide you through 60 Days of Prayer for Persecuted Believers. This special prayer guide is provided by Open Doors, an international non-profit ministry that supports and strengthens persecuted Christians. Read more
I was never more proud to be a Catholic than when my archbishop, Archbishop (now Archbishop Emeritus) Eusebius Beltran and the priest’s council signed this pledge. They were willing to face criminal prosecution for refusing to obey this unjust law which passed the Oklahoma Legislature in 2004. The debate and vote on this bill was one of those times when I hated my job, but was very glad that I was there to fight the losing battle against it. Archbishop... Read more
I have read and heard lots of comments saying that President Obama “won” the Catholic vote. This is misleading. President Obama won the Hispanic vote heavily. Far more than half of Hispanics are Catholics. Based on the Hispanic people I know, they are devout, church-going, family-oriented people. I have also witnessed and fought against the repeated, racist attacks on hispanics by Republican politicians here in Oklahoma. The Republican Party used the issue of illegal immigration as a wedge issue in... Read more
I’m going to write about the Democratic Party’s turn to polarizing wedge-issue campaigning quite a lot in the months to come. I think it’s one of the most important aspects of the 2012 election. This tactic of using wedge issues to push segments of the electorate to vote the way you want has been used heavily by the Republicans for decades. They’ve built their constituency primarily around abortion, but they’ve also used attacks on homosexuals and hispanics that went so far as... Read more
The people spoke Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Barach Obama was re-elected President of the United States of America. Same-sex marriage won four important votes. Euthanasia got pushed back. Democrats strengthened their hold on the United States Senate. Republicans kept control of the United States House of Representatives. These were fair elections. Case closed. Done deal. If you want a pity-party, we-wuz-robbed, how-DARE-they-vote-wrong post-election wail-athon, you probably should just walk right past Public Catholic, because you won’t find it here. This... Read more
Gay marriage Did Maryland voters legalize gay marriage? YES Did Maine voters legalize gay marriage? YES Did Minnesota voters ban gay marriage? NO Did Washington state voters legalize gay marriage? YES Marijuana Did Arkansas voters legalize medical marijuana? NO Did Colorado voters legalize the sale and use of marijuana? YES Did Massachusetts voters legalize medical marijuana? YES Did Oregon voters legalize the sale of marijuana? NO Did Washington voters legalize the sale and growth of marijuana? YES Euthanasia Did Massachusetts... Read more
I thought you might want to read the full text of Cardinal Dolan’s letter of congratulations to President Obama on his re-election to the office of President of the United States of America. The letter says: Dear President Obama, In my capacity as President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, I write to express my congratulations on your re-election as President of the United States. The people of our country have again entrusted you with a great responsibility. ... Read more
Republicans could easily have taken the White House this year. But they didn’t. Why? Their candidate sucked. Their campaign sucked worse than their candidate. First, let’s talk about the candidate. If you’re going to win the Kentucky Derby, you need a horse. The Republicans didn’t have a horse to ride in this election. Governor Romney was one rotten candidate. Nobody, except possibly his family and his dog, wanted Governor Romney to win. They wanted President Obama to lose. The people... Read more
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