Ireland: Five Reasons to Vote YES in referendum on the European Stability treaty-2012

(1) If you want to help save the Euro Vote YES. A NO vote in Ireland will have serious implications for the value of the currency in your pocket. This is part of a process to save our currency-The Euro. It is essential that we vote YES.

(2) If we vote NO we will be unable to access funds from the EU in the likely event that we can’t borrow on the bond markets. If we vote YES we can access those funds if necessary. Remember we are running a huge BUDGET DEFICIT of 15 billion Euro. A No vote means that we will be cut off from EU funds and will result in horrific cuts ( up to 30%) in Pensions, Social Welfare, Salaries, Health and Education in 2014 as we will be short 15 billion Euro to fund them . The collapse in purchasing power would spill into retail and the general economy and lead to job losses in the HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS. I do not exaggerate. If 15 billion euro is taken out at the stroke of a pen its over for Ireland. The economy will collapse in a week when our current funding runs out in 2014. It is laughable to read where the leader of a retail union is urging his members to vote NO. A NO vote will cost his members thousands of jobs in 2014 as we will be unable to fund pensions, social welfare, public service salaries, health and education. Purchasing power in the economy will drop by one third overnight in 2014 unless we vote YES. The US Chamber of Commerce in Ireland has asked for a YES vote. It has emphasized that it is essential. I have no doubt that workers in multinational companies will vote YES to safeguard their jobs. They would be mad to do otherwise. Similarly ICOS which represents the agricultural co-ops has come out strongly in favour. They have been joined by the IFA and Tourist interests. The Small Firms Association is advocating a YES vote. They represent 200000 small businesses and 655000 jobs.

(3) Much has been made of the fact that we could vote NO and access funding from the IMF. This is not a solution in the event of a NO vote as the IMF would not be prepared to fully fund Ireland. In addition there would be currency complications in the event of a fall in the value of the Euro. The IMF requires a large EU contribution. This would not be available if we vote NO. Yet Sinn Fein and the ULA persist with this nonsense.

(4) This Treaty if adhered to will ensure fiscal discipline by Euro governments which has been sadly lacking in many cases. This is in Ireland’s interest.

(5) Sinn Fein and ULA have failed to provide a workable alternative. Polemics and scare mongering by the Left are no substitute for policy.

Totus Tuus Prayer

Totally yours,
Immaculate Conception, Mary my Mother,
Live in me, Act in me,
Speak in me and through me,
Think your thoughts in my mind,
Love through my heart,
Give me your dispositions and feelings,
Teach, lead me and guide me to Jesus,
Correct, enlighten and expand my thoughts and behavior,
Possess my soul,
Take over my entire personality and life, replace it with Yourself,
Incline me to constant adoration,
Pray in me and through me,
Let me live in you and keep me in this union always

Medjugorje Visionary Mirjana asks young people to follow Jesus

Tommaso Rossi reports:

Osimo (AN), -Hundreds of people came from all over Italy and gathered for the moment of encounter and prayer held at Palabaldinelli Osimo on April 25,2012 where visionary Mirjana Dragicevic gave her testimony on the apparitions of Medjugorje. This is a phenomenon that has lasted more than three decades and for which doctors and scholars have not been able to give a scientific explanation. It draws interest from all over the world. "Many young people are afraid to follow Jesus because they think that if they follow Jesus all that is fun is not allowed, but I always say that is not true that nothing is forbidden ONLY SIN." Mirjana's message was call to peace, to 'love, forgiveness, conversion and prayer, to create a better future for all humanity.

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) Statement blasts Obama's Decision to Politicize Osama bin Laden's Death

WASHINGTON - "Shame on Barack Obama for diminishing the memory of September 11th and the killing of Osama bin Laden by turning it into a cheap political attack ad. This is the same President who once criticized Hillary Clinton for invoking bin Laden 'to score political points.' "This is the same President who said, after bin Laden was dead, that we shouldn't 'spike the ball' after the touchdown. And now Barack Obama is not only trying to score political points by invoking Osama bin Laden, he is doing a shameless end-zone dance to help himself get reelected. "No one disputes that the President deserves credit for ordering the raid, but to politicize it in this way is the height of hypocrisy. "The Obama campaign asks whether Mitt Romney would have made that decision. Of course they want to focus on this one tactical decision because the other decisions this President has made have harmed our national security. "He turned his back on the people of Iran when they rose up to end their tyrannical, terrorist-supporting, Holocaust-denying government, giving them no assistance as they were crushed in the streets. "He has repeatedly thrown our ally Israel under the bus and jeopardized our shared security interests. "He tried to bring Khaled Sheikh Muhammed, the mastermind of 9/11, and other Al-Qaeda terrorists into the middle of New York City to stand trial in a civilian court. "He disregarded the advice of his military commanders and pulled all of our troops out of Iraq, and Al-Qaeda is making a comeback there as a result. "He disregarded the advice of his military commanders again by telling our enemies that we are leaving Afghanistan and then putting our mission and our troops at risk by short-changing our commanders on the ground. "He watches passively while the Assad regime in Syria, Iran's closest ally, kills thousands of its own people in an unfair fight, and his response to this mass atrocity is to create an 'Atrocities Prevention Board.' "With a record like that on national security, it is no wonder why President Obama is shamelessly turning the one decision he got right into a pathetic political act of self-congratulation."

US:Planned Parenthood’s three big losses in Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary elections

Marjorie Dannenfelser of the Susan B Anthony List Pro-Life Organisation outlines in RedState how Planned Parenthood suffered three big losses in last Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary elections – both in the Altmire/Critz Congressional race, and in the two state legislative races.

An untold story today following yesterday’s Pennsylvania primaries is what a bad, bad night it was for Planned Parenthood. In Pennsylvania’s 134th House district, they spent an eye-popping $100,000 on a TV ad campaign trying to sink the candidacy of Republican Ryan Mackenzie by linking him to ultrasound legislation that was before the legislature. As Politico noted, this was seen as a trial-balloon of sorts: Most state legislative races and ad campaigns don’t necessarily have any larger resonance, but Democrats have been working to make the ultrasound bill the kind of liability for Republicans in Pennsylvania that a related proposal became for Republicans in Virginia. That trial balloon popped when MacKenzie cruised to victory by an 18-point margin, 59 percent to 41 percent..Continue reading HERE

US: Anti Abortion Feminists Largely Ignored-Lila Rose

In the ongoing debate over women’s health care, one voice has been mostly absent: that of the anti-abortion feminist. Most cultural conservatives have correctly focused their attention on the constitutional issues at stake, in particular the threat to religious liberty posed by the Obama administration’s mandate that religious employers underwrite their employees’ abortion-inducing drugs, contraceptives and sterilization procedures.

Many liberal women, meanwhile, have eagerly embraced the role of victim, advancing the idea that women are casualties of a “war on women.” Women are now, as various cultural liberals have put it, “facing sexual McCarthyism” from “conservative cavemen” who want to return to the “Dark Ages.”

But women are not a monolith. And there is a growing group of passionate young women who are transforming what it means to be a woman. Allow me to introduce them to you. We are women who reject both the anti-male feminism of the 1960s and the “girls gone wild” mentality that’s pervasive today.

We are women for whom the idea of artificial birth control as “preventive care” is deeply insulting. We are women who view the intentional killing of children not as a constitutional right, a matter of privacy or a necessary evil but, rather, as profoundly anti-woman and the antithesis of love.

Read more at: Battle hymn of the anti-abortion feminist

Australia: Former Wallaby skipper Michael Lynagh suffers a stroke in Brisbane

There is very sad news from the World of Rugby Union:

There are fears for the sight of Michael Lynagh’s left eye after the former Wallaby skipper suffered a stroke in Brisbane early this week. He’s in a Brisbane hospital, showing all the same fighting qualities he showed as one of our greatest Wallabies. The 48 year-old had flown from his London base to attend a reunion of former St Josephs College students at Gregory Terrace when he complained of dizziness. Continue reading HERE

Good luck Michael in your fight to return to good health.

Michael Lynagh v Ireland 1991

Ireland: American Chamber call for 'Yes' vote in Referendum on EU Fiscal Stability Treaty

The  American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland today called for a "Yes" vote, saying that it will provide the certainty needed for a more robust, stable Irish economy.
The American Chamber's Campaign was launched today by Peter O'Neill, its
President and Managing Director of IBM Ireland, together with American Chamber
Board members, Louise Phelan, (Vice President, Global Operations EMEA at
PayPal), Peter Keegan, (1st Vice President of the American Chamber and Country
Executive of Bank of America Merrill Lynch Ireland) and Cathriona Hallahan,
(Managing Director of Microsoft EMEA Operations Centre ...

Mr. O'Neill said that the perspective of US multinational investors in 
Ireland is that a Yes Vote will promote stability, investment and growth in the 
Irish economy.
"By voting 'Yes', we will maintain our position as an attractive location for 
investment, continue to put in place necessary economic and budgetary reforms 
and preserve our strategically important place in Europe," he said.
A 'Yes 'vote will reassure international investors that Ireland is dealing with its fiscal problems and is stabilising its economy and it will help protect Ireland as a location for foreign investment," he said
( Continue reading HERE)

Ireland: Socialist Party in shameful effort to introduce Abortion

The Dáil has been debating a Socialist Party Private Members' Bill which calls  for abortion services to be introduced here - in line with the 1992 Supreme Court decision in the X-case.The 1992 Supreme Court ruling established the right of Irish women to an abortion if a pregnant woman's life was at risk because of pregnancy, including the risk of suicide. The Supreme Court decision  is at odds with the wishes of the overwhelming majority of the Irish people.   The use of suicide as grounds for an abortion is outrageous.
This amounts to  liberal abortion of the most extreme  kind.

Even  the UN accepts  that Ireland is the  safest  country world to have a baby. All  treatments necessary for a woman's physical well being are available where her life is at risk.  When  ANY medical condition arises during pregnancy, such as cancer or ectopic pregnancy, doctors in Ireland will ALWAYS treat the mother even if that gives rise to the unintentional death of their baby. That’s because the object of this treatment is to save the mother, not to kill the baby. These medical treatments are NOT abortion, and it’s dishonest and cruel to pretend otherwise.

People such as Claire Daly of the Socialist Party and Independents such as Mick Wallace mouth platitudes about human rights. The most basic and fundamental right of all is the right to life. Yet Trotskyites such as  Daly wish to  set that at nought.
They wish to declare war on the unborn.

Abortion is wrong because it is the  deliberate killing of the innocent unborn child. There is nothing more barbaric than abortion. Unborn children are not a commodity that can be disposed of at the whim of a parent. Daly and  the Socialist Party  with their pro- abort allies mouth platitudes about choice. They call themselves "pro-choice". They  seek to give abortion (the killing of an unborn child ) equal status with maintenance of  life.  What an abomination? Their  logic is deeply flawed. The unborn child has an  right to life. Just take a look at an ultrasound. Unborn children have perfectly formed  features of a human being.  Ms Daly argues for abortion which involves tearing the unborn child  to pieces. It is murder whether legalised by the state or otherwise. It is time for the unvarnished truth. Ms Daly and her Trotskyite Socialist Party speak about compassion. There  is nothing compassionate about executing an unborn child. It  is time for pro- life people drop the use of terms so beloved of pro -aborts such as "pro-choice" and "termination". These terms  are designed to camouflage the reality of abortion. The pro- aborts love the use of sanitised language. They claim that the woman should have the right to have a child aborted (killed) if she finds that the pregnancy discommodes her. There is not one word from them  about the innocent unborn child. It has a God given right to life. Of course the unborn child suffers great pain in the course of an abortion. These pro-aborts will condemn cruelty to animals but will justify the killing of the unborn.

They refuse to accept that adoption  is  the logical option for any woman who does not wish to keep the child. They  also fail to consider the severe physical and psychological damage done to many women by abortion.

“Abortion is advocated only by persons who have themselves been born.”-Ronald Reagan
 Thankfully this Private Members Bill will be voted down by the Government parties.

Medjugorje Visionary Marija Pavlovic attacks abortion at Brescello in Italy

Brescello (Reggio Emilia), April 16, 2012. The voice of Marija Pavlovic, one of the visionaries, suddenly disappeared while reciting the fifth and final mystery of the Rosary. The visionary as for the last thirty years  had begun  communicating  with  the Madonna.


The parish church of Brescello was packed with at least seven hundred people and a  crowd of nearly twice  as many  were in the  the square to follow the ceremony from a giant screen and speakers. For just over five minutes, the visionary looked at the statue of Our Lady in front of her. Around in the crowd, the silence was total. Even the timid cry of a baby stopped  within seconds. Marija was silent, occasionally moveing her  lips to communicate. But without a word.

Prayer resumed after the vision had concluded . Marija said  "To her I relayed  your intentions, your requests. "The Madonna had  a smile and stretched out her hands and began to pray. She prayed so long for us all. She  did not leave a message, but looked to everyone and gave her  blessing. When I see her I feel a great desire for Paradise. It 's so  sweet  and beautiful. She smiled and said: "I am beautiful because I love." God has not forgotten and is   here in our midst. "

THEN, in her  speech, Marija Pavlovic took the opportunity to send messages on behalf of families and against abortion. Our grandparents, great grandparents had several children. They did not think of  the economic aspect:.. Now there are so many abortions, separations, divisions in families, because we do not pray anymore. Our Lady invites us to return to the Mass and confession, but not before the psychologists, but before the priests. "
(Translated from QN)

Vulnerability in the life of Edith Stein: Address by Sarah Borden Sharkey, associate professor of philosophy at Wheaton College

Conference reflects on twentieth century convert and martyr

Sarah Borden Sharkey, associate professor of philosophy at Wheaton College and author of two books on Edith Stein, delivered the keynote address for the seventh annual Edith Stein Conference. The Edith Stein Conference, sponsored by the Identity Project of Notre Dame, is the largest student-organized conference on campus, In the words of the co-chairs of the project, “the Edith Stein Project provides a forum for the discussion of our dignity as men and women and as college students preparing for the future.”

Students and professors from Notre Dame and around the country gathered to begin the discussion of this year’s theme, vulnerability. In preparation for the event, Fr. Jenkins released a statement in which he wrote, “This year’s conference hopes to accomplish two objectives: (1) to offer hope and healing to those who have been harmed by the exploitation of their vulnerability, and (2) to examine the positive role of vulnerability, particularly within relationships.”

In her address, Sharkey examined the role of vulnerability in the life of Edith Stein, from her birth in Germany in 1891 to her death at the hands of the Nazis in 1942.
According to Sharkey, Edith Stein’s life was full of disappointments and challenges, though neither of these broke Stein’s spirit.  Continue Reading HERE

Pro Life Organisation Susan B. Anthony List endorses Mitt Romney for President.

Since President Obama’s election in 2008, we’ve painfully witnessed:

• passage of OBAMACARE, the biggest expansion of abortion on-demand since Roe v. Wade;
• reversal of the Mexico City Policy, which prevents our tax dollars from funding abortions overseas;

• the nomination and confirmation of pro-abortion justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court;
• refusal to see even ONE PENNY cut from Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer funding, which totals over $487 million every year;
• the violation of conscience protections for religious institutions, health care workers, and people of faith and conscience with the radical HHS mandate;

• the STRONG-ARMING of states whose elected legislatures have defunded abortion providers;
• restoration of funding for the UNFPA, which funds abortions abroad and supports China’s abusive one-child policy.

This unprecedented attack on Life has led to the deaths of an untold number of unborn children both at home and overseas – every single one a unique human being, meant for this world.

Now is the time to unite behind a leader who will stop the attack on Life. Someone who will defeat the most driven pro-abortion president our nation has ever seen.

That’s why the SBA List has made the decision to endorse Mitt Romney for President.

Video: A visit to Medjugorje - documentary by Natasha Beliaeva - 2010

This video tracks a young woman from Russia who visits Medjugorje with no expectations. She visits not as a believer in the visions, but as an observer.  Among the highlights;

1. Ascent up cross mountain

2. Testimonies by members of community Cenacolo

3. Talk by Fr. Svet

4. Visit to "the Castle" (retreat house for priests and religious, owned by Patrick and Nancy Latta).

5. Testimony of ex-drug addict

US Distance Runner Alberto Salazar: Medjugorje for me was just a time of returning to the Catholic Church

The spiritual part of your life obviously is very important. You tell the story of making a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, a Bosnian village where some believers say the Virgin Mary appeared to six children in 1981. Explain the importance of the trip for you.


Medjugorje for me was just a time of returning to the Catholic Church and returning to my commitment to Christ. I guess the No. 1 thing Medjugorje did was to illuminate that all my injuries and sicknesses and the fall from running success were again a part of God's plan. I think my running had become so important to me that God at some point just said, "You know what? You're getting too far out there. You're forgetting about me." And I look at my running now just like the heart attack. My running going poorly was a blessing. Because I was just becoming this guy who believed in himself and his running and had no time for God.

While you were there, you write about how your rosary beads changed overnight from silver to gold. Do you think that happened because you believed, or did it happen so you would believe?


I think it was because I believed. The first couple days, we were waiting to see if it would happen. When it didn't, I realized we shouldn't be asking to be shown a miracle in order to believe. It's like the story of St. Thomas, the one apostle who wasn't there when Christ first appeared. He said, "I won't believe it until I can put my finger in the holes in his hand and his side." And the next time Jesus appeared Thomas was there, and he said: "My lord, my God." And Jesus said, "You believed because you saw. Blessed are those who believe without seeing." And so I realized that anyone can believe in miracles you see. We weren't looking for it to happen. But then it did. Read Salazar puts faith over the finishing line

Beautiful Easter Song: Matt Maher - Christ is Risen

Easter Song-Matt Maher sings Resurrection Day from the Overflow Album

Peter Hutley, Medjugorje and his recreation of Christ’s crucifixion in Trafalgar Square on Good Friday

His  (Peter Hutleys) own upbringing was, he says, broadly Christian, but he’s not keen on denominational labels. “In 1944, when I joined the Army, my sergeant said I had to put something in the box for religion, and told me I was Church of England.” It was only after he had started staging the nativity plays at Wintershall that he found himself challenged to deepen his commitment.

Encouraged by his family, in 1994 Hutley travelled to Medjugorje, the small town in Bosnia-Hercegovina where the Virgin Mary is reported to have been appearing since 1981.

The apparitions have not yet received the imprimatur of the Vatican, but Hutley was sufficiently moved to become a Catholic the following year. He has returned there more than 20 times and remains close to the Franciscan priests who run the parish in Medjugorje. Ever practical, he has expressed his commitment to the shrine by sorting out its town planning issues, which became more pressing as visitor numbers grew. Peter Hutley explains what inspired him to recreate Christ’s crucifixion in Trafalgar Square tomorrow in THE TELEGRAPH

Medjugorje: Video of Apparition to Mirjana on April 2, 2012

Message to Mirjana - April 2, 2012

"Dear children, As the Queen of Peace, I desire to give peace to you, my children, true peace which comes through the heart of my Divine Son. As a mother I pray that wisdom, humility and goodness may come to reign in your hearts – that peace may reign – that my Son may reign. When my Son will be the ruler in your hearts, you will be able to help others to come to know Him. When heavenly peace comes to rule over you, those who are seeking it in the wrong places, thus causing pain to my motherly heart, will recognize it. My children, great will be my joy when I see that you are accepting my words and that you desire to follow me. Do not be afraid, you are not alone. Give me your hands and I will lead you. Do not forget your shepherds. Pray that in their thoughts they may always be with my Son who called them to witness Him. Thank you."

Ireland: €100 House Tax-Hard Questions for Sinn Fein and the Socialist Party

Sinn Fein has played a major role in stirring up opposition to this €100 tax. Yet Sinn Fein is in government in Northern Ireland and has no problem with an average annual house tax(rates) of €1,500. Gerry Adams will pay a house tax in Northern Ireland and yet stirs up opposition against a similar tax -in the South- which is miniscule by comparison. The amount of publicity accorded to the anti campaign from the day of its inception has been incredible and has helped fuel opposition. Yet nobody in RTE or elsewhere (as far as I  am aware)  has challenged Sinn Fein on its duplicity.

Thousands have been duped into believing that the money was going to bondholders.   This is of course utter nonsense. This was an important plank in the Sinn Fein/Socialist Party campaign of misinformation. Not a word from Joe Higgins, Ruth Coppinger or Sinn Feiners like Gerry Adams about the €15 billion budget deficit which must be bridged. Why have economists, politicians and the media failed to pin down the hard left on the issue?
Quite frankly I have never seen such nonsense over a €2 per week tax.