Thursday June 30: The impact of illegal immigrantion...with Michael Bargo, author....click to listen..... https://t.co/dQCp5tibj8— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 30, 2016
Dr. Oscar Elías Biscet is a physician, winner of numerous human rights awards, including the 2008 Presidential Medal of Freedom, and president of the Lawton Foundation for Human Rights, which peacefully promotes human rights and the rule of law in Cuba. In reprisal for his human rights activities, Dr. Biscet was sentenced to 25 years in prison and has been held in some of the harshest conditions experienced by any prisoners in Cuba, including in punishment cells and solitary confinement. This is Dr. Biscet’s second stint in prison. Biscet first ran afoul of the Castro regime in the 1990s, when he investigated Cuban abortion techniques — Cuba has by far the highest abortion rates in the Western Hemisphere — and revealed that numerous infants had been killed after being delivered alive. The report was sent to Fidel Castro with un-official statistics and testimonies from mothers who described the infanticide. Biscet was arrested and served three years in a prison camp after publishing this article condemning abortion. Officially, Biscet was imprisoned for the crime of “disrespect.” After he was released in 2002, Biscet was again arrested, after only a month of freedom, during Cuba’s Black Spring.Biscet’s prison cell is the stuff of a Victor Hugo nightmare: tiny, filthy, and shared with an almost uncontrollably violent cellmate. He has no windows and hasn’t seen sunlight in weeks. He’s afforded no medicines or toiletries. Other than a 2-hour visit from his wife every two months, he’s permitted no visitors, correspondence, or other reading materials. Currently, Dr. Biscet suffers from chronic gastritis, hypertension and recurring infections and is reportedly losing his eyesight; his poor health has been severely aggravated by unhygienic prison conditions and harsh treatment. At one point, Dr. Biscet was reported to have lost more than 60 pounds while in prison. Nonetheless, he inspires others with his repeated acts of defiance against his persecutors.Recently, in a letter smuggled from his prison, entitled Civil Disobedience, Biscet urged all Cubans to continue to pray and fast until the government signs the international human rights treaties that have been established by the United Nations. Biscet wrote, “The people of Cuba have been suffering the scorn of a totalitarian tyranny, Communism, throughout four decades. Due to this inhumane treatment whereby the decorum of a people is violated, many Cubans are indignant and have risen up to pray and fast, beseeching the God of the Bible…we must expedite the achievement of these basic rights through civil disobedience and by putting into practice all methods to obtain our humanitarian aim.” Biscet pledged, “Here, in this dark jail where they force me to live, I will be resisting until the freedom of my people is obtained.”
"The structure of priestly formation in the seminary is often governed by the academic coursework needed to be completed each semester. That said, the daily schedule is always configured based on the times of prayer, especially the Holy Mass. Once the spiritual schedule is determined, the other parts of the day — classes, ministry, exercise, homework, chores — are slotted into their appropriate times.Perhaps for your own personal reflection, you may want to determine what in your life is demanding priority in your daily schedule. How can you maintain the needs and wants of family and work while making prayer time the priority each day?Now that summer is upon us, the seminarians are each off to their various assignments, and they are working to arrange these days beginning with the spiritual life, ministry tasks, and other work as necessary. Many of our seminarians are in parish assignments where they are assisting with summer activities like Vacation Bible School, youth activities, and Bible studies. While serving during Mass at the altar, they are helping the young servers learn more about the Mass and how to be more engaged in the celebration. Our two newly-ordained transitional deacons are serving in parishes, where they are growing in the experience of preaching homilies.Some of our senior seminarians are serving in the Tribunal Office, where they are learning the process of a marriage case seeking an annulment. This will greatly aid in their ability to serve parishioners who unfortunately find themselves with this need. A group of seminarians are serving our community through their summer assignments at Catholic Charities of Fort Worth. They are experiencing the array of services offered through Catholic Charities, including the Street Outreach Services, which seeks to aid the homeless of Fort Worth. The opportunity to live the social teaching of the Catholic Church in a direct manner will aid these men as they serve those in great need.One of our seminarians, Pedro Martinez, was selected by Catholic Relief Services to spend part of the summer in Kenya to learn about the Church’s social teaching in action throughout the world. Pedro said, “The Kenya Catholic Relief Services (CRS) experience was awesome and powerful. CRS is doing wonderful work to help our brothers and sisters with many different projects: water sanitation, peace building, empowerment, schools, orphanages, etc. We are called to not be indifferent to the needs of all our human family.”Back home, the Fort Worth seminarians served all of Texas recently this summer as they provided much-needed assistance at the Steubenville Lone Star Conference for youth. This three-day conference with 3,500 attendees was a faith-filled weekend, and the seminarians were there to help all along the way. They served at the liturgies (Mass and Adoration), were members of the prayer team, helped with security, and even assisted at the bookstore. Their visible witness to the love of Christ was terrific.As we head to press, seminarians will serve at the Vocation Awareness Program (VAP), which is a weekend for young adults to discern God’s call to the priesthood or religious life. In addition, a great group will be hosting high school men for the Quo Vadis? retreat. This three-day retreat allows young men to explore the priesthood and seminary life. The seminarians are planning the activities: spiritual, athletic, contemplative, and discursive. Finally, late this summer a small group of seminarians will join the large group of Catholics from Fort Worth on the World Youth Day pilgrimage to Krakow with Bishop Olson. The seminarians will aid in small group discussions and will offer some reflections to the entire group at some of the pilgrimage sites.There appears to be much doing through the summer months for our seminarians. However, the emphasis is always on being. In each assignment, the men are working to be witnesses to the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. They are striving to be instruments to bring people closer to God. They seek to be examples to young people seeking to know God’s will in their lives, especially as they discern priesthood and religious life. The doing is important, but it is only effective if the being is primary. These men seek to be men of Christ and, God willing, priests of Christ.Through all of these activities, the seminarians are diligent in focusing on their prayer life and on their relationship with Jesus Christ. It is in that relationship and in conversation with God that these men hear the Word of the Lord and are confirmed in their call to serve in the priesthood of Jesus Christ.Please continue to pray for our seminarians. Please pray for the new men who will enter seminary in August. Please pray for men to hear the call to priesthood. Please pray for women to hear the call to religious life. Let our lives be structured by prayer, and may God, our Father, bless us. "
Thank you Father James!
Rio de Janeiro’s acting governor warned Monday that the Olympic Games could be a “big failure,” because of budget shortfalls that threaten to compromise security and mobility during the games.In an interview with Rio’s O Globo daily, Francisco Dornelles said the state is still awaiting a 2.9 billion Brazilian real ($860 million) payout from the federal government aimed at shoring up state coffers ahead of the Aug. 5-21 event. The funds were allocated last week but have not yet reached the state, and Dornelles warned that without them, police patrols may grind to a halt by the end of the week, for lack of gas money.“How are people going to feel protected in a city without security,” Dornelles was quoted as asking.“I’m optimistic about the games, but I have to show reality,” he said. “We can have a great Olympics, but if some steps aren’t taken, it can be a big failure.”
Tuesday June 28: The latest Supreme Court decisions & the GOP weeks before Cleveland......click to listen...... https://t.co/7JFaLITc1P— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 28, 2016
I never saw the Texas abortion law as a means to restrict services available to women or put limitations on a patient’s right to choose.I saw it as a way to ensure that quality standards were being met at the clinics and centers offering this complicated, delicate procedure.It seems to me that while we have no trouble in naming the various issues we face in health care, like medical errors, patient injury, lack of transparency and cost of care, every time we put a solution on the table to address a problem, it becomes poisoned by political correctness and marred by biased motivations.
Monday June 17: The week in review with Bill Katz, the editor of Urgent Agenda.................https://t.co/IHRPXT9hic— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 27, 2016
“At a time when the Obama Administration is rolling out the red carpet for Havana, the Cuban government refuses to be open and transparent with the peoples’ Representatives,” McCaul said in a statement on Friday.“Sadly, it appears to be easier for Cubans to come to the United States than for Members of the House Homeland Security Committee to get to Cuba.”Other lawmakers who were planning to visit Cuba include Reps. John Katko (R-N.Y.), Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas).“The Administration is eager to have as many people as possible visit Cuba — except for those who are attempting to examine Cuban security infrastructure,” said Katko, chairman of the transportation security subcommittee.“We still don’t know if Cuba has the adequate body scanners and explosive detection systems in place, whether it has the technology to screen for fraudulent passports or ID, whether or how aviation workers are screened, and if Federal Air Marshals will be allowed to fly missions to Cuba on commercial flights.”
Sunday June 26: The UK vote about the EU.......click to listen........ https://t.co/lLVyxk8xwb— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 26, 2016
The one-sentence ruling was the latest defeat for Mr. Obama in the courts, which recently have stymied some of his administration’s top policy goals.A federal judge in Wyoming on Tuesday blocked a rule setting stricter standards for hydraulic fracturing on public lands. And in February, the Supreme Court suspended the Obama administration’s cornerstone climate-change regulation limiting carbon emissions from power plants while litigation proceeds.
— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 22, 2016Wednesday June 22: Brazil before the Olympics and other stories from Latin America....click to listen...... https://t.co/5ijBVnitjP
Saturday June 25: A look at the GOP..........click to listen......... https://t.co/mh9l3pG529— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 25, 2016
Monday June 20: The latest in Trump vs Clinton & the aftermath of Orlando....click to listen....... https://t.co/jzbbFyKXwz— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 20, 2016
A look at the Trump campaign with Rick Moran of American Thinker & PJ Media....Listen in now at https://t.co/ivGUzRgSev. #BlogTalkRadio— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 21, 2016
Thursday June 23: Venezuela with Jose Alberto Niño and the vote in the UK with Michael Prada......https://t.co/psPKo5rO7f— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 23, 2016
Exports from Spain amounted to US$283.3 billion in 2015, down by -5% since 2011 and down -11.1% from 2014 to 2015.Spain’s top 10 exports accounted for 57% of the overall value of its global shipments.Based on statistics from the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook Database, Spain’s total Gross Domestic Product amounted to $1.636 trillion in 2015.Therefore, exports accounted for about 17.3% of total Spanish economic output.
As Spain emerged, under-developed and economically weak, from the isolation of the Franco dictatorship, the EU was seen as its benevolent benefactor.Now, six years into an economic crisis which has left 27% of the population unemployed, it is viewed as the belligerent bully which is forcing Spain to its knees with austerity measures.Since 2007, Spanish approval of the EU has almost halved.
“Today we made progress. We have come a distance,” declared Lewis.Lewis said he had to walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge “three times” before he had completed the march to Selma, Ala. The Georgia Democrat suggested this was the first step on firearms.“We have other bridges to cross. And when we come back in July, we start it all over again,” intoned Lewis.
Those agitating for firearms restrictions now should understand that the precedent they set is a dangerous one that extends far beyond the realm of the Second Amendment.If the government’s say-so is sufficient to block a gun sale — thereby abridging a right enumerated in the Constitution, with little or no ability for redress — what right wouldn’t be at risk of arbitrary deprivation, particularly among the powerless?
Wednesday June 22: Brazil before the Olympics and other stories from Latin America....click to listen...... https://t.co/5ijBVnitjP— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 22, 2016
Four years ago, Team Obama made then-UN Ambassador Susan Rice tour all the Sunday shows to blame the deadly Benghazi attack on an internet video, rather than on the terrorist plot they all knew it was.She looked a fool once the administration finally admitted the truth, just as Loretta Lynch does now.It makes you wonder: Who at the White House feels compelled to send women of color out to humiliate themselves on national TV?
Monday June 21: A look at the Trump campaign with Rick Moran of American Thinker and PJ Media...click to listen.... https://t.co/eMubOKmXxy— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 21, 2016
“Socialism, failing to work as it always does. This time in Venezuela. You talk about giving everybody something free and all of a sudden, there’s no food to eat. And who do you think is the richest person in Venezuela? The daughter of Hugo Chavez. Hello.”
With delivery trucks under constant attack, the nation’s food is now transported under armed guard. Soldiers stand watch over bakeries. The police fire rubber bullets at desperate mobs storming grocery stores, pharmacies and butcher shops. A 4-year-old girl was shot to death as street gangs fought over food.Venezuela is convulsing from hunger.
