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A NEWSLETTER FOR OUR LADY OF THE HILLS COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES
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Sunday June 21, 2020
MEETING DAYS ARE 2ND AND 4TH WEDNESDAYS
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The next OLH council 5959 meeting
Wednesday, June 24, 2020 (this week)
Meeting joining information will be sent to members on Wednesday morning.
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Brothers, Sir Knights, Family, and Friends,
Happy Fathers Day!
Thank you Brother Al for the excellent article! Brothers, take a minute (or two) to read brother Al's article below.
Vivat Jesu!
Vincent Scafuto
Grand Knight, Council 5959
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Join Fr. Brian Nolan
Daily at 8:30 AM and Weekend Masses Sat at 4 PM and Sun at 10:30 AM all Masses are Streamed Live on Facebook
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It is with great joy and anticipation that we announce the re-opening of Blessed Sacrament Church at a limited capacity for weekend Masses. It is important that you review the frequently updated information on our Webpage, link is below. Note: Mass will continue to be live-streamed and communion will be offered in the parking lot for those watching at home and returning to the church.
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Civil and Religious Liberties
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When I gave my report on Religious and Civil Rights last Wednesday night, I spoke of the controversy surrounding remarks made by the Archbishop of Washington DC, Wilton Gregory. Given the hyped news accounts of the President’s visit to the church across from the White House and then again on his subsequent visit to the St. John Paul II National Shrine, I was rather surprised that the Brothers present at our meeting knew nothing about these events.
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I promised I would link anyone interested, to a source for information that they could read for themselves. When I poked around to find something to send, I randomly came across this one. I was saddened to discover that perhaps the problem is deeper than I reported. First reports expressed concerned that the Bishop had simply been a little intemperate with his criticism of the President by jumping into a political firestorm when Catholic Prelates — especially high ranking ones — traditionally avoid such quicksand. However, if the allegations you read here are true, it appears that the Bishop is not being truthful about his role in the controversy. After all the hurt and incredible damage caused by the abuse scandals, we do not need another cover-up to harm the credibility of our leaders and our Church.
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The Bishop has put our Order in an untenable situation. The Shrine of St. John-Paul II, originally the John Paul II Cultural Center that I had the privilege of visiting when it opened, was taken over by our Order when it ran into financial troubles and it is our Order that the Bishop has taken direct aim at with his remarks. What makes it especially troubling is that a major effort of our Order is to support our Priests and Clergy, and we need their support as well. A reasoned reply would normally come from an aggrieved party but Supreme is caught in a bind. It cannot get into a shouting match with a sitting Archbishop.
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On another note, I must express a concern of my own. I am 87 years old, and I am tired of pussyfooting around “sensitive” issues. We, as Catholic voters, are supposed to be informed voters, however you might interpret that. Every time I have reported on some outrage or other, leveled against we Catholics and our Church, it seems that I am one of very few who are aware of it. That does not augur well for the November election. How can anyone make an “informed” vote if they are uninformed? I have rightfully hesitated to bring politics into our discussions — we can't, but if you are honest in pointing out the direction from which almost every assault has come, it is the Left. I long ago documented the outrageous claims by two Democrat Senators who labeled our Knights of Columbus as an “extremist” organization and asked the nominee under questioning, if he would resign should he be approved for the office. This is not the only example.
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As I write this, I am watching two or more statues of Christopher Columbus being torn down, crowds cheering and political leaders not especially disturbed. If you choose to ignore where this is going and which party seems undisturbed by it, then I suggest you consider how you are going to handle the increasing assaults on our Fraternity and prepare to be told that Pro-Life speech is now “Hate Speech” at some point. We have already been told by NY Governor Cuomo that, as Pro-Lifers, we are “not welcome in NY”. The DNC (Democrat National Committee) has declared that there is no place in their organization for Pro-Life people. It is a very short walk to the point when upholding the “one man, one woman” concept of marriage will land us in trouble….personal and legal.
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Over recent years we have seen Columbus Day under siege by a fringe group, “Indigenous Peoples”, with a few timid city Mayors caving to their demands that the day be renamed. Today what we see is a wholesale assault with the complicity and tolerance of large segments of politicians. By all appearances it is now going mainstream. Last week St. Patrick’s Cathedral was vandalized with spray-painted graffiti. When a group of young people tried to clean it up, they were taunted, reviled, and shouted at. These are the forces that want to run our country. G.K. Chesterson said that “tolerance is the virtue of a man with no convictions”.
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The Left denies that there is media bias. A couple of days of checking in on the Catholic League's website will disabuse you of any of that nonsense.. Dr. Donohue's remarks are not opinion, they are mere reporting of facts....articles that have appeared in major newspapers, or talking heads on TV.
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We, as Catholics, don’t have to contend with just politicians who don’t especially like us, the mainstream media have a particular dislike for us….our traditional values are antithetical to their agenda, we must be taken down by any means. There are any number of studies that bear that out but if you want a particularly good one, one that is a little out of the current expected genre, try reading the works of Dr. Bernard Nathanson. Dr. Nathanson was the co-founder of what became NARAL, the National Abortion Rights Action League.
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A Jew, an avid abortionist who performed over 60,000 abortions including one on his own child. At some point, he had a St. Paul conversion, became adamantly pro-life, and a Catholic. He was honored with a funeral Mass at St. Patrick’s in NYC. He wrote that the goal and thrust of the pro-choice forces was to discredit the Catholic Church because it, almost alone, stood in the way of their agenda. Much of the data that supposedly supported the claim that illegal abortions were killing untold numbers of women, were totally fabricated to make the public more sympathetic to abortion. (It was called propaganda in WWII).
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Dr. Nathanson gave a talk at Princeton Univ. in which he alluded to all the lies that the pro-choice and Leftists floated to achieve their ends. When he was asked following the talk if he would lie to save babies he pondered that and then answered, “No, I wouldn’t lie, even to save babies.” At the dinner he had with students afterward, he explained himself further: “You said that I was converted to the cause of life; and that’s true. But you must remember that I was converted to the cause of life only because I was converted to the cause of truth. That’s why I wouldn’t lie, even in a good cause.”
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I have been asked many times after I have given a report at a Council meeting “what can we do?”. I have had to accept the fact that our Brothers are not into writing letters or calling their elected representatives. However, the very least I would ask of you is to check in on the Catholicleague.org website. You don’t need a subscription. Ironically, the full name of the organization is “Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights”, the same title and charge that was given me in our Council when the role was created a few years ago.
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Brothers, if you are wondering why I have gone off the deep end, I refer you to the paragraph above, beginning with “I am 87 years old and tired of pussyfooting around sensitive issues”.
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One last thought. We can become too complaisant in the face of dangers to our Freedom of Religion...we think that we are protected by the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights. If it were that open and shut a case the Bishops of America would not have seen the necessity of asking for prayers for Religious Liberty, nor declare Freedom of Religion Week in June. (Recall the Little Sisters of the Poor or the Bakers who suffered huge fines for refusing to bake a cake for a Gay wedding).
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Thank you for giving me this chance to put things out there that we never have time to really kick around at meetings. I feel free to indulge my frustration as this is not a “formal” or “official” communique within our Council and is not to be generally distributed. Consider it an attempt to educate.
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I welcome a fuller discussion of issues that this email may have raised.
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There is absolutely no reason why a vaccine for COVID-19 should be connected to abortion. But that is exactly what may happen in the coming months.
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Among the dozens of vaccines currently in development, some are being produced using old cell lines that were created from the cells of aborted babies.
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There is NO NEED to further exploit the bodies of aborted children.
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Other cell lines or processes that do not involve cells from abortions are available!
In fact, they are regularly used for producing vaccines and are being used by some drug companies to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.
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The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) along with leaders of many healthcare, bioethics, and pro-life organizations, is urging the Trump Administration to make sure that vaccines for COVID-19 are developed ethically and are free from any connection to the exploitation of abortion.
Click here to take action on this important issue.
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Your prayers are requested for:
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For all people suffering due to the Corona Virus
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For all those that have to continue to get in harms-way to provide our essential services
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For First-Responders, Medical Professionals and all those caring for the ill
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PGK F Joseph Beotsch
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Brother Dave Martin
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Brother Ralph Manfredi
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Brother Robert Riggio
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Foodbank Network of Somerset County
Click Picture to Donate to the
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As a member of the United States Coast Guard assigned to the USS Samuel Chase, Frank served as a gunner’s mate third class and crewed a Higgins boat on 15 D-Day landings. Frank was a part of the first wave, on June 6, 1944, that brought the Big Red One into Omaha Beach, and to this day still wonders how he survived.
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Contact Information for Council Members and Family
Brothers,
We know not when, we know not where and we know not how! Please make it a point of specifically providing our council's contact information to your loved ones! This information is relevant not only for you, but also for your loved ones, as they may need to contact one of us.
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Field agent for insurance information and questions Cell: 917-589-1252; Charles.Gardner@kofc.org (Br. Bud)
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Financial Secretary for dues and council related information; fs@kofc.ws (PGK Bob)
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Council's phone number, 929-459-5950, leave a message and one of us will call you back as soon as possible.
We have many electronic resources available to us,
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www.kofc.org, for our Orders global organization
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At the top of this newsletter, you will always find our social media links to Twitter and Facebook as well as a link to our page
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Knights of Columbus Insurance
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Charles Bud Gardner, Field Agent
917-589-1252 - charles.gardner@kofc.org
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Exemplification Ceremony
The Knights of Columbus has revised the degree program; it is now one Exemplification Ceremony which combines 1st. (Charity) 2nd. Unity and 3rd. Fraternity, our Orders' principles. The 4th (Patriotism) continues to be a distinct event.
The link below, includes a video of the ceremony.Take the time to view this video as a refresher as to what the nights are about and why your joined and to help you explain to your family who the Knights are, what we stand for and what we do.
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Held every 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month, except as periodically announced. All members of the Knights of Columbus in good-standing are invited to attend, please arrive no later than start time.
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Meeting Time: 7:30 PM for the meeting, or 7:10 PM to pray the Holy Rosary
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Meeting Location: We meet at Blessed Sacrament Parish, in rooms 1&2 (off the church lobby).
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Publisher: Knights of Columbus, Our Lady of the Hills Martinsville NJ Council No. 5959
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Phone number: 929-459-5950
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USPS Mail to: Blessed Sacrament Parish
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1890 Washington Valley Rd
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