Love Lived on Death Row
Sunday, October 26th, 6:00 p.m.
St. Thomas More Church
1450 South Melrose Drive, Oceanside 92056




 

Number 3:   The San Diego Rescue Mission will hold its Seventh Annual Interfaith Candlelight Vigil, a memorial service for the 58 homeless neighbors who died alone on the streets of San Diego in 2008 - Saturday, November 1, 2008, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Community Concourse, 202 C Street, San Diego





WHERE: San Diego Community Concourse Civic Plaza; 202 C Street; San Diego, CA 92101

Please contact Karen, kclark@sdrescue.org
619-819-1892




 

Number 4:   It's "the CALL" and its here in San Diego on November 1, 2008, from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. 

Join tens of thousands of neighbors and friends in fasting, prayer, word and song at Qualcomm Stadium in support of traditional marriage and Proposition 8 - This is a free event - registration required at: www.thecall.com
 

Short Reports on OSM Related Issues/Events

Number 1:  Scores of young and old from around the Diocese of San Diego discuss Proposition 8 and view live broadcast via satellite at St Brigid's Parish on Wednesday, October 1, 2008
 
By Denis Grasska

SAN DIEGO – Local Catholics participated in a statewide rally Oct. 1 in support of Proposition 8.

The rally, titled “The Fine Line,” was held live at The Rock Church in San Diego and simulcast via satellite to more than 150 regional host sites throughout the state.
About 75 people gathered at St. Brigid Parish, which served as the simulcast site for San Diego Catholics.

Proposition 8 is a ballot initiative that will amend the state constitution to ensure that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California.” The California Conference of Catholic Bishops is urging Catholics to vote “yes.”

Though a portion of the simulcast was projected on a large screen, the programming at St. Brigid soon diverged from that of the other host sites.

Via satellite from The Rock Church, evangelical Pastor Miles McPherson offered a Bible-based defense of traditional marriage. But at the conclusion of his presentation, the satellite feed was disconnected and attendees were treated to a Catholic take on Proposition 8 and an in-depth discussion of the punitive measures that churches might face if voters reject the proposition.

The rally at St. Brigid featured presentations by two Catholic speakers – Father Anthony Saroki, director of the diocesan Office for Vocations, and attorney Charles S. LiMandri, who is representing four San Diego firefighters who were forced to march in a local “gay pride” parade, where they were subjected to sexual harassment.

Father Saroki approved of Pastor McPherson’s presentation and said it was consistent with Catholic biblical theology. He also explained how “natural law” and sociological data about homosexual relationships can be used to make an effective case against same-sex marriage, especially for those who reject the authority of the Bible.

(Fr. Saroki and Charles LiMandri take questions from the audience)

LiMandri explained that, if Proposition 8 fails, the state will begin treating opposition to same-sex marriage as the legal equivalent of racism.

He cited multiple examples of recent lawsuits, including a case in which the Knights of Columbus were sued for not allowing same-sex couples to rent their parish halls for wedding receptions.

Catholics would also run the risk of being charged with hate crimes simply for presenting the Church's teaching that the homosexual lifestyle is gravely immoral. For instance, a Lutheran minister in Sweden was prosecuted for hate speech after reading from the pulpit a Bible passage that condemned homosexual behavior, LiMandri said. In other countries, Christian ministers have been taken before human rights tribunals because of their preaching.

LiMandri said it is likely the Church would also lose its tax-exempt status, just as a Methodist church in New Jersey recently did after it refused to allow a lesbian couple to hold their wedding at its marriage pavilion. In Canada, LiMandri said, Catholic bishops have been told to remove from their Web sites pastoral letters that reiterate Church teaching on homosexuality, or risk loss of their own tax-exempt status.

Also in danger are state contracts to Catholic organizations, such as adoption agencies, hospitals and hospices, and the use of government-owned facilities by religious institutions.

LiMandri cited the example of the Catholic Charities adoption agency in the Archdiocese of Boston. Despite the fact that other agencies in the region were willing to place children with same-sex couples, Catholic Charities was forced out of the adoption business after almost 120 years for refusing to compromise its religious principles. 
If voters reject Proposition 8, LiMandri said, the state is also likely to reject the validity of Church-issued marriage licenses.

“The good news is this is a winnable fight,” he told attendees. “We just need to be informed … and to let other people know.

“Don’t be shy about it,” he urged them. “Pray to the Holy Spirit to guide you when you speak, and you will find the words to express yourself properly, because God wants you and needs you to be the vehicle to share this truth with other people, so that we can prevent these things that I’ve been telling you about from happening here.”

Reprinted with permission from The Southern Cross

1. Attend the San Diego "Friends of Fair Trade" monthly meeting

San Diego Friends of Fair Trade is a coalition of non-profit organizations and congregations attempting to advance the cause of fair trade.  They work to insure that all individuals who toil, both at home and around the world, to provide consumers with commodities are paid a living wage, one that can sustain a life with dignity. 

The next SD Friends of Fair Trade meeting will be on Wednesday, November 12, 2008, at 6:00 p.m. at the Open Door Book Store on 4761 Cass St., Pacific Beach - For more information please contact Carolyn Lief at fairtradesandiego@gmail.com 

 

2. Get Acquainted with Detention Ministry in the Diocese of San Diego

Join Deacon Jim Walsh each month for an Information and Training Seminar on detention ministry and restorative justice at the Diocesan Pastoral Center, 3888 Paducah Drive, San Diego, 92117

For the month of November...

For Information and Training Seminars for November, visit the web site:
www.diocese-sdiego.org/restore
 
Contact Deacon Jim Walsh for reservations or questions: 858-490-8375 or e-mail Deacon Jim jwalsh@diocese-sdiego.org

 

3. North-County prayer witness at the Carlsbad Planned Parenthood Clinic

North County parishioners meet the third Monday of every month from 10:00 to 10:30 a.m. to peacefully pray the rosary in front of the Carlsbad Planned Parenthood Clinic.  The clinic is located at 1820 Marron Rd. (in the shopping center just west of Plaza Camino Real Mall).  For more information contact Jahna White of St. Margaret Parish at 760-586-6356.

4. Prayerful witness for life at two locations (7340 Miramar Road in San Diego and 15546 Pomerado Road in Poway) in San Diego County

Helpers of God’s Precious Infants weekly rosary prayer vigil from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. every Saturday and Wednesday at 7340 Miramar Road, directly above Metro Flooring in the complex with the Pyramid Building, adjacent to Carroll Road.  Prayer warriors also needed as early as 7:30 a.m. 

Call Sue Lopez 619/990-1341 for more information.
 
Second Saturday of the month:  20 decades of the Rosary are prayed in procession past 4 clinics following the 7:30 a.m. Mass, 15546 Pomerado Road, Poway.  For more information, call 858-748-2109.

5. St. Dismas Guild sponsors two weekly hours of prayer for the unborn in North County

Join members of St. Dismas Guild for a rosary picket at Womancare, 120 S. Craven Way, San Marcos, (across from Cal State San Marcos), Tuesdays, 9-10 a.m.

The Guild also sponsors prayer (the rosary) in front of PayLess at Mission Avenue and Escondido Blvd. 347 W. Mission on Thursdays, 10:30-11:30 a.m.  For information on these prayer vigils, call 760-751-8541. 

6. St. John the Evangelist Parish in Encinitas Pro-Life Mass and Rosary held on the first Monday of each month

The first Monday of every month is designated Pro-Life Monday at St. John the Evangelist Church, 1001 Encinitas Blvd, Encinitas.  The 8:00 a.m. Mass will be followed by a Rosary for Life.  For more information, please call Helene McIlhon at 858-756-0622.


7. Most Precious Blood Parish Rosary Prayer Vigils held on Wednesdays each week 

The Pro-Life Prayer Group from Most Precious Blood sponsors a Rosary Prayer Vigil in front of the Clinica Medica abortion facility at 1550 Broadway, Chula Vista every Wednesday at 8:45 a.m.  For more information, please call Shirley Henry at 619-420-7096 or Luis Mendoza at 619-300-5563.
 

8. Prayer partners are needed mornings at the office of Feliciano Rios M.D., 1079 Third Ave., suite 3, in Chula Vista - Dr. Rios will perform abortions at his medical facility in the a.m.

Please contact Luis Mendoza, a Missionary of The Gospel of Life Lay Associate, at 619-300-5563, with questions or to share interest in this prayer ministry.


9. There is a new Planned Parenthood facility located at 1685 East Main, just off the Greenfield Drive exit in El Cajon - join friends and neighbors in prayer

According to the PP website, chemical (RU-486) abortions only are done at this location - not surgical abortions.  They do refer women for abortions to their surgical center on First Ave.  Join the group each Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Contact: Debbie 619-933-7776.


10.   The Goretti Group offers chastity prayer and speaker training monthly

Every First Friday of the month the Goretti Group will Celebrate a St. Maria Goretti Mass at Our Lady of the Rosary, 1654 State Street, at 6:15 p.m.

Every Second Monday of the month: ChasteMasters Meeting at Our Lady of the Rosary, Giovanni Room, 7:00 p.m.  -  Please join us in prayer, a roundtable discussion, and providing feedback as chastity speakers refine their talks.

For more info please visit: www.thegorettigroup.org or call David at: 619-733-8439

Dear Mayor Sanders and Members of the San Diego City Council,

Dear Mayor Sanders and Members of the San Diego City Council,

Those of us who favor preserving marriage as the union of a man and a woman in California are wondering what ever happened to our democracy.

In 2000, 61% of voters – 4.6 million citizens – voted in favor of Proposition 22, which placed the traditional definition of marriage into the California Family Code. The will of the majority was overturned by four Supreme Court Justices on May 15th of this year. It is true that citizens should ensure that ballot propositions they present be able to pass constitutional muster. But defining marriage as it has been understood in every society since the beginning of the human race is hardly the stuff of which unconstitutional laws consist.

Trusting in the democratic process, many people expended vast resources of time, energy and capital to qualify the language of Proposition 22 as a constitutional amendment, and it was certified shortly after the Supreme Court decision as Proposition 8. Concerned about the confusion and legal quagmire that could result not only in California but all throughout the country due to same-sex marriages contracted between the time of the implementation of the decision and the hopeful passage of Prop 8, the Court was requested to stay its decision until after the election. Such an action would have seemed to be a common-sense move to protect the public good. Nonetheless, it refused do so. Then, in an unprecedented move, the attorney general changed the title of the Proposition after its qualification for the ballot in a way that prejudices the wording as much as possible against the initiative.

Next, we hear of “Yes on 8” signs disappearing and being vandalized repeatedly, all throughout the state, with impunity. A pro-Prop 8 worker in Modesto was attacked, and so severely beaten he had to be rushed to the hospital and given stitches. And yet, not a peep from our elected officials decrying this violence and intolerance. A little over a year ago, a letter of mine was read in these very chambers when you were debating signing onto the amicus curiae brief to urge our State Supreme Court to rule the traditional definition of marriage unconstitutional. In the letter, I stated that this issue was divisive, and we needed to unite our community; that point was rejected as being untrue. The experience over this last year has more than adequately demonstrated who was right. Let the lesson be learned: you cannot make something true simply by wishing it were true.

Now we find our City Council poised to speak for our entire city in taking a stand against Proposition 8. Have you taken a survey of the citizens of the San Diego area? The movement in support of Prop 8 began here in San Diego and has spread like an October wildfire all throughout the state. At this time, the polls indicate that supporters for Prop 8 outnumber its opponents. How can you presume to speak for the entire city when a majority – or at least, a very sizeable minority – is in favor? What would the other side think and feel if you voted to support Proposition 8? Why are our thoughts and feelings not worthy of equal consideration to theirs, especially when we can offer many rational, cogent arguments to justify our position? We support marriage because marriage benefits everyone; we abhor violence and unjust treatment against people who disagree with us. Nonetheless, we are accused of discrimination. Who, though, is being discriminated against now?

A little over two weeks ago, I stood on the same stage with some of you at the San Diego Organizing Project’s rally for our youth. I was happy to be there and even felt obliged to attend, because I can hardly recognize this city from what it was when I grew up here in the 1960’s. I could walk home alone from elementary school and fear no harm. My friends and I could play in the streets without our parents having to worry for our safety, and we all had secure homes to return to. That is why I was so gratified by your commitments to make the youth of our communities a top priority. What, though, can be a greater benefit to children and young people than growing up with their mother and father married to each other in a low-conflict relationship? We need to be supporting and strengthening the institution of marriage for the sake of children, not redefining and weakening it. Yes, many people find themselves as single parents through no fault of their own, and they need and deserve our praise and support for the sacrifices they make to give their children the best possible upbringing in less-than-ideal circumstances. But to intentionally deprive children of a mother and father is something quite different. After having made such laudable and inspired commitments to our youth, please, do not now sell them down the river by telling them that it’s not important for them to have a mother and a father.

Please do not divide our community any more bitterly than it already is. Please do not betray the trust the public has placed in you. Please do not disenfranchise those who worked so hard to give Californians the opportunity to decide. Rather, please place principle over politics, and allow the democratic process to work, unencumbered and objectively. Please, do not give up on the idea that democracy is a good thing when allowed to work according to its principles. Please, let the people decide, fair and square.

Sincerely yours,