Catholic Defense League

05/09/2022

Apostolic Traditions and Faith Men’s Fellowship

The ATF is reconvening on Tuesday, May 10th. 5pm - 8pm
Bring a friend, make a memory, drink an ale

Jason Adkins will be speaking this month on Building Babylon's Good Without Bending to its Gods: Lessons in Faithfulness from the Old Testament.

This talk will explore how we can be in, but not of, the world. How do we resist the temptation of survivalism and instead work to save our souls and those of others as signs of contradiction in a hostile world?

* 5pm: Dinner - Dinner: Pulled Pork, Corn Bread, Beans and Slaw
* 6:45pm: Talk/Debate - Dinner available until 8pm

All you can eat
Great food and wonderful ales

$20 at the door - food and drink included
$0.00 down reservations!
Just end a name for each attending to [email protected]

Holy Family Maronite Church
1960 Lexington Ave S, Mendota Heights, MN 55118

What is ATF?
It stands for Apostolic Traditions and Faith. What we aim at is indeed a night of fellowship and old-fashioned edification. That means we aim to build up men with entertainment, education, and encouragement. They will be built up to be good husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, and citizens of the earthly and heavenly cities who protect and provide for life. They will learn that, as Chesterton put it, Catholics are officially bound to agree on a few things. . .and bound to disagree on almost everything else. We will disagree with each other without being disagreeable. And most of all, we will have a great time pursuing the truth and Truth.

“Why did I help organize a new men’s event? Well, the short answer is that it’s needed. Much contemporary Christian life is dominated by women, for good and for ill. One of the ill parts of this is that there is a certain feminized quality to many events that turns men off.”

The ATF fellowship “will approach Catholic and Christian faith as not a matter of sentiment or temperament but of truth. It will deliver intellectual content about what they must believe about and do for the faith. On subjects in which there is no direct teaching—prudential decisions in politics and personal life—it will allow men to argue for their positions. And it will deliver those shoes to the posterior by reminding men of Christ’s challenge to live a life of self-sacrifice at home, at work, and in their communities.”
— David Deavel

Paid for by by Catholic Defense League
Saint Helena Catholic Church
3204 E 43rd St.
Minneapolis, MN 55406
(New Address)

11/07/2020

Prayer Group Disbands

A group formed to recite 15 decades of the Rosary every Saturday at Noon in front of the St Paul Cathedral has ended coming together for this purpose. There will be no gathering for the Rosary this Saturday, November 7, 2020.

The group prayed together publicly for the complete restoration of all Masses and parish ministries, as well as for all priests, and Bishops.

The weather became a consideration, especially since children had also been attending with their parents almost every Saturday.

If you know of other prayer groups underway or being formed, please let us know by replying to [email protected]. Please share information such as times, location, prayer intentions, and any other necessary details. We will help get the word out.

"For where there are two or three gathered together
in my name there I am in the midst of them."
Matthew 18:20

06/16/2020

IS YOUR CHILD REALLY SAFE?
Educational Trends Shaping Our Future

Virtual Conference
June 20th, 2020
9 am - 3 pm CST
(Please Share)

The Catholic Defense League encourages anyone concerned about religious freedom and a safe environment for learning in public schools to attend the Child Protection League's Virtual Conference described below.

This all-star lineup takes an in-depth look at the latest educational trends in public schools that should be of concern for all Catholics!

Public schools are becoming increasingly hostile to Catholics and people of faith. Students that do not conform--and endorse--the latest secular agendas face discrimination and ridicule. They increasingly undermine parents' right to pass their Faith and values on to their children. They increasingly violate children's right to privacy and a safe environment for learning.

Conference Registration includes Live Conference attendance. On-demand archives and presentation notes (available for viewing at your convenience)are also available.

This will be a great resource for all teachers, and parents with children in Minnesota's public schools.

• COMPREHENSIVE S*X EDUCATION. --- Monica Cline

• HOW YOUR CHILD’S DATA IS BEING COLLECTED & SHARED. --- Joy Pullmann

• DOES EQUITY MEAN EQUALITY? --- Josh Mulvihill

• WHAT IS SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL)? --- Barb Anderson

• SCHOOL SEARCH ENGINES & ONLINE P**N. --- Dr. Robin Paterson

• EXEMPTING SCHOOLS FROM OBSCENITY LAWS. --- Michele Lentz

EVENT EMCEE. --- Tamara Scott

Certificates for Continuing Education Units are available upon request.

SPEAKER BIOS AND REGISTRATION

https://cdlmn.org/is-your-child-really-safe-virtual-conference

Paid for by Catholic Defense League

03/20/2020

Duty of stewardship remains when Mass attendance is not an option (Please Share)

The coronavirus pandemic has seriously affected many areas of our daily life. That includes attending weekly Mass on Sundays.

On March 12, Archbishop Hebda dispensed the obligation to attend Sunday Mass. On the 18th he suspended Masses for the next two weeks.

Parishes face an immediate and growing crisis without the gifts collected as part of the Mass itself. Even so, parishioners can continue at home with stewardship as a spiritual practice and in honoring the Church's precept regarding the duty of support.

This would be a great time (if you haven't done so already) to schedule a recurring gift, preferably online, to support your parish. It can be done using the Internet or the mail. It is a convenient, and consistent, way to support your parish in a time of quarantines and social distance. A monthly gift can even continue when regular Mass attendance returns. It then becomes a way to bolster your parish support, your almsgiving, and what you give in person each Sunday.

Online

The easiest way with Internet access is to set up an automatic payment with your checking account. Just add your parish as a new auto pay recipient. If you have access to the Internet but feel you are not familiar enough, call your bank. They will walk you through a few steps while you are online. They can even see the same screen you see during set-up if you allow it. Note: Banks cannot set up an auto-pay account over the phone unless they are assisting you in working with your account while online or using a mobile phone.

Mail

The easiest way with mail is by using your "Sunday Offering" envelopes. These envelopes cover the Offertory and every designated "second collection" purpose for each Sunday. Insert your gift and mail it in a standard letter-sized envelope.

'Bring the Mass Home'

If we cannot actively participate in the liturgy and sacraments, we can still set aside time every Sunday for reflection on the Mass and Eucharist. Archbishop Hebda encourages those not attending to "find a Mass on TV, the radio or online." He also encourages the faithful to make a Spiritual Communion, when it isn't possible to receive the sacrament. Saints down through the ages have recommended this simple practice. It also would be appropriate to pray the Liturgy of the Hours.

Part of reflection on the Mass and Eucharist can include (scheduled) offerings and almsgiving. These gifts also are acts of worship (2 Corinthians 9:10-15). They express our desire to help those in need and our gratitude to God for his many gifts to us.

Stewardship is a spiritual practice and a way of living. Again, it is also a precept of the Church. The faithful are obliged to "assist with the material needs of the Church, each according to his own ability." CCC 2041-3. More specifically, "so that the Church has what is necessary for divine worship, for the works of the apostolate and of charity, and for the decent support of ministers," Code of Canon Law 222 §1.

Please be generous in your support. Please continue to pray for those suffering from the pandemic and for a speedy end to its ravages around the world.

09/12/2019

Rally at the Capitol

Protect Kids From 'Comprehensive' S*x Education

The Catholic Defense League is part of a coalition working with the Child Protection League Action to stage a “Protect Kids” rally. It is being held on the steps of the State Capitol on Sunday, September 22nd at 1:30 pm.

We urge you to RSVP attending, or just indicate your support

The Rally grew out of opposition to a bill (HF1414), which passed the Minnesota House in April. It mandates “comprehensive” s*x education be taught in every pre-K to 12th grade public and charter school in Minnesota.

Former state representative Cindy Pugh from Chanhassen is Chairwoman of the Protect Kids Rally. She urges parents, grandparents, and taxpayers who fund Minnesota’s schools to show up on the Capitol steps. Legislators need to hear voices from every county in this state at this gathering.

If HF1414 makes its way into law, Minnesota’s families will be dealing with a brutal assault on their children and on their families’ values. Health education classes have been around for a long time. Kids need to know the basics. But what used to be s*x education has been hijacked to serve up a shocking agenda that Planned Parenthood calls “comprehensive” s*x ed.

Planned Parenthood claims to be the largest provider of s*x education in Minnesota. HF1414 allows them into the classroom as unlicensed teachers. The drawings for what Planned Parenthood considers good material for 10-year-olds are p**n. (Note: According to the FBI, s*xual predators "groom" children with p**nographic images and explicit s*xual instructions to remove natural defenses.)

The deceptively named “comprehensive” s*x education goes far beyond value-neutral biology. Instead, it aggressively s*xualizes young children by desensitizing them from all moral constraints. It normalizes aberrant s*xual practices and “non-conforming” lifestyles with on-going classroom exposure, calling it all “perfectly normal.”

Young people’s natural and protective boundaries are removed, encouraging early s*xual activity and making them vulnerable to predators. Children are taught that s*xual activity is their “right,” and that no one has the right to interfere if they choose to engage in such activity.”

Speakers at the rally include California’s Karen England, Director of Capitol Resources Institute. She will describe what Minnesotans can expect if HF1414 becomes law. California passed a similar mandate. Now California families are battling this degrading curriculum in their classrooms.

Again, we urge you to RSVP attending, or just indicate your support HERE bit.ly/2khbofc

We will be mapping and reporting to legislators the growing support across the state to protect our children from the proposed CSE mandate. Your RSVP either way is critical. (Note: Reporting is by County only. Limited identity is strictly confidential.)

06/23/2019

Call to Be Witnesses to Religious Freedom

The Catholic Defense League calls all Catholics to observe “Religious Freedom Week.” The goal of this U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops initiative is to strengthen Catholics' resolve to defend and ensure religious freedom in America. The 7 days of prayer, education, and action start today, June 22, and ends June 29.

Our Founding Fathers’ religious beliefs were not just privately held. They shaped their political thought and efforts. They believed the morality and order of religion showed the way to govern our nation.

Religious freedom was considered essential if we were to enjoy any other freedom. So they made religious liberty our first, and most cherished freedom, in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights.

Today religion is often seen as an enemy of secular virtues of choice, tolerance, and diversity. There is no freedom to deny blessing immoral or destructive choices. Yet the Supreme Court has ruled many times that freedom of religion is the most precious inalienable right next to life itself.

Religious freedom is not about worship. It’s about living our Faith and our Catholic identity in the public square. We are all called to join the public debate about the issues determining the future of America.

The Catholic Defense League also invites priests to take part by wearing clerical dress — certainly the Roman collar if not the cassock — as often as possible during this week.

In 1982 St John Paul II looked for "opportune initiatives" to promote the wearing of religious dress. He saw the external sign of clerical dress as part of the public witness required of all priests. This distinction from the secular world represents the primacy of spiritual values. It calls people to God in a secular world having little sense of the sacred. People see, and are inspired by, an affirmation of freedom to express these values in the public square.

In 2012 Pope Benedict XVI called for "explicit encouragement" in the daily use of clerical and religious dress by priests visiting Rome. He saw this as a reminder of the "duty of exemplarity" showing the extent to which Vatican offices are respected. In the same way, wearing the Roman collar or cassock during Religious Freedom Week draws attention to the Faith and its expression in daily life. It fosters respect for how religious freedom makes this possible.

Laypeople are called to be salt of the earth and light of the world. In responding they protect religious freedom by its exercise. A priest in clerical dress is a quiet reminder to the laity to answer the call.

For an informative Q & A review of Religious Liberty, see USCCB’s Frequently Asked Questions about Religious Liberty. bit.ly/2X63xU5

For an excellent discussion about the "Wall of Separation" between Church and State, (as traced back to Thomas Jefferson) see Gary Galles’ The Supreme Court's Dubious "Wall of Separation" between Church and State. bit.ly/2Y1hqiB

Jefferson’s view was, “blatantly inconsistent with current church and state interpretation, which allows the fact that government has been allowed to expand vastly beyond its delegated Constitutional limits to progressively crowd out the public influence of faith, supposedly in the name of defending the Constitution.”

Please share. For more info go to cdlmn.org

What do we mean by religious liberty? In Catholic teaching, the Second Vatican Council “declared that the human person has a right to religious freedom. This freedom means that all men are to be immune from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any human power. This means ...

04/17/2019

I was sad to hear about the fire of the Notre Dame Cathedral. It was a magnificent structure built for the glory of God. However, when it comes down to it each of us is more beautiful than the 100 greatest Cathedrals on earth combined. If we can as humans create art and architecture this amazing, then can you imagine the beauty of what God has made? I hope it gets rebuilt in thanksgiving for all that the Lord has done for us. Below is my drawing in tribute to it: ......... Chris Rogers, CDL Board Member. (Please Share/Like)

I was sad to hear about the fire of the Notre Dame Cathedral. It was a magnificent structure built for the glory of God. However when it comes down to it eac...