A Story to Remember

Follow her work at www.jillstanek.com.

ATTENTION ALL MEN!

It comes as little surprise when published medical studies reveal in their research the great link that a strong relationship between a woman and their partner - and consequently the level of support provided by the father - has on the abortion decision.

The Knights of Columbus initiative for men, Fathers for Good, is both a primer for new fathers and a second coat of instruction for all men and fathers on the roles, challenges, and rewards associated with fatherhood. Thoughtful and deliberate, this site does what more sites should: it lays out in a very readable format the basics of what it takes and what it means to be a good man and a good father.

If you think you know it all...look again.

If you think that someone else should take a look at the site...share the link (http://www.fathersforgood.org) with them.

Talk with your married or unmarried father or father-to-be friends about the impact their life has had, should have, and will have on the lives of their children...born and unborn.

Talk about your own children. Talk about their children. Learn from others how to be a better man, a better husband, and a better father.

Do it now... you never know the eventual impact a few, short conversations can have on the lives of people and children you may never meet.

A CERTAIN LEGACY

From Medical News Today:

"Department of Justice nominee Dawn Johnsen -- President Obama's pick to head the White House Office of Legal Counsel -- is "superbly qualified and has fought for just the sort of change the office needs," a New York Times editorial says. According to the editorial, "Republican senators' harsh criticism of the nomination is groundless." The senators' "main complaint seems to be her opposition to torture and to extreme views on presidential power," it adds. Her critics also are "outraged that early in her career [she] worked for an abortion-rights advocacy group, but her views on abortion are hardly unusual," the editorial says."

Here's a bit of her background:

• Graduated Yale College summa cum laude with a B.A. in economics and political science
• Member of Phi Beta Kappa
• Article and book review editor of the Yale Law Journal at Yale Law School
• Acting Assistant Attorney General (1997-1998) and Deputy Assistant Attorney General (1993-1996), U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel, Washington, D.C.
• Legal Director, National Abortion & Reproductive Rights Action League (currently NARAL Pro-Choice America) (1988-1993)
• Staff Counsel Fellow, American Civil Liberties Union Reproductive Freedom Project, New York (1987-1988)
• Clerk, Hon. Richard D. Cudahy, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Chicago (1986-1987)

and a few of her selected works:

• Shared Interests: Promoting Healthy Births Without Sacrificing Women's Liberty, 43 Hastings L.J. 569 (1992)
• The Creation of Fetal Rights: Conflicts with Women's Constitutional Rights to Liberty, Privacy and Equal Protection, 95 Yale L.J. 599 (1986)

Perhaps the New York Times has it right: Her views on abortion are hardly unusual and it is not unusual at all to see the Obama administration lining it's walls with nominees and appointees that share such "usual" positions. The most "usual" comment in this editorial is the remark on the outrage that "early in her career" she worked for such groups. Yes, NYT, it is quite clear that she has moved on - as evidenced by her 2005 work Abortion: A Mixed and Uncertain Legacy, in THE REHNQUIST LEGACY (Craig Bradley, Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, (2005).

We should expect that this nomination and possible appointment generates more appointments of individuals with similarly "usual" pasts, presents, and futures. We should expect that unlike the above title, President Obama's legacy will be certain and sure. It will be a legacy which confirmed that - for four years - abortion rights and those who believed, and still believe, that abortion is good for mothers, good for fathers, and good for all, had it's place on every wall, in every corner, and all around the President's house.

Simple enough...

Return to St. Joseph Catholic Church by Sunday, March 29, 2009

ALL proceeds benefit the work of the Beatrice Pregnancy Resource Center 800 Ella Street, Suite A, Beatrice, NE

Intercession for Life - March 15th, 2009

Third Sunday of Lent

For those who are old and sick and in pain: that they might seek solace in the cross of Christ, and trust every day in our love and respect for the great gift which they are to us;

We pray to the Lord:

Response

Bishop: Obama’s Pro-science Rhetoric Conceals "Homicidal Research"

Phoenix, Ariz., Mar 12, 2009 (Catholic News Agency).- President Barack Obama’s explanations of his decision to end restrictions on the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research have been criticized by Bishop of Phoenix Thomas J. Olmsted, who has argued that the president’s pro-science rhetoric conceals “homicidal research” that violates the right to life.

Bishop Olmsted’s March 10 column in the Catholic Sun followed the president’s March 9 executive order expanding federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

According to the bishop, the decision means that American taxpayers will be funding “the killing of human beings at a very early stage in their lives” so that scientific research can use them for experiments that may or may not have positive results.

“We U.S. taxpayers will now be forced to pay, whether we wish to or not, for the killing of our youngest brothers and sisters on the dubious hypothesis that their murders might, in the future, benefit others. Why did President Obama make this decision?” Bishop Olmsted asked.

He criticized President Obama’s comments that science should trump ideology, suggesting that the president is implicitly dismissing as ideologues people such as Pope Benedict XVI and all faithful Catholics around the world; people of faith from all major religions who believe that human life needs to be protected; and all people of good will who “oppose the killing of one group of human beings in order to benefit another group.”

The idea that science should “trump ideology,” the bishop said, is a “code phrase” concealing the argument that science should trump the Fifth Commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.”

“It is contending that science should trump the right to life of a certain class of human beings, those who are at the embryonic stage of life,” he asserted. “Science, according to our president, does not need to be at the service of the human person or subject to morality.”

Bishop Olmsted questioned whether this position itself was influenced by an ideology.

“Is this what we Americans want our taxes to be used for?” he asked rhetorically.

He wrote that the president’s decision is not about overcoming a prohibition against stem cell research, because such research is “tragically” already legal. He reported that California taxpayers are now paying billions to fund “such heinous research.”

“What President Obama is doing is forcing all American taxpayers to pay for this homicidal research,” Bishop Olmsted charged. “He is forcing us who pay taxes to be complicit, in an involuntary yet real way, in this unethical enterprise. All of this is done so that ‘science can trump ideology’.”

The bishop then quoted Cardinal Justin Rigali, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, who called the president’s decision “a sad victory of politics over science and ethics” and a “morally wrong action” that encourages the destruction of innocent human life by “treating vulnerable human beings as mere products to be harvested.”

Bishop Olmsted said that Catholics must beg forgiveness for “this horrendous sin of our nation,” referencing a prayer of the Prophet Daniel:

“Lord, great and awesome God, you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love you and observe your commandments! We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws… Justice, O Lord, is on your side; we are shamefaced even to this day.”

The bishop advised that Catholics join with “others of good will” and make their voices heard at the White House, on Capitol Hill, in state legislatures and in the media.

“We must not stand by idly while our neighbor’s life is at stake,” he urged. “The dignity of a human person does not depend upon his or her age, developmental stage, or ability to function. Every human being has inherent dignity because God has created us with an eternal soul. No one has the right to extinguish this gift of life but God alone.”

Bishop Olmsted said that such “destructive research” is “especially pointless” in light of available ethical methods such as reprogramming adult cells into embryonic-like stem cells and the use of adult and umbilical cord blood stem cells.

Further, he urged, Catholics must pray and fast for an end to President Obama’s decision and an end to all attacks on human life. “Jesus told us that some evils can only be driven out by prayer and fasting,” he explained.

He closed by saying that Catholics must not lose hope, arguing that “false rhetoric” arguing that the notion that “science must triumph over ideology” is one that “will not stand the test of time.”

“Such counterfeit reasoning and slick cover-up of the truth will not have the last word,” he said.

Reminding his readers that Christians place their hope in Jesus, he said “this hope will never disappoint.”

From Congressman Jeff Fortenberry

Fortenberry: President’s Embryonic Stem Cell Support is Bailout of Bad Science

For Immediate Release, Monday, March 9, 2009

Contact: Josh Moenning (402) 438-1598

Washington, DC - Congressman Jeff Fortenberry commented on President Obama’s Executive Order, signed today, which lifts restrictions on embryonic stem cell research.

“I suspect this is a bailout for unsuccessful scientific ventures,” said Fortenberry. “Unfortunately, this decision revives the ethically divisive issue of the destruction of unborn human life for research purposes. Adult stem cell research is good science that is now helping to save American lives. This is where our limited federal taxpayer dollars should be invested.

“Adult stem cell research, which uses umbilical cord blood, skin, and bone marrow, has yielded at least 73 successful clinical treatments for chronic conditions. However, embryonic stem cell research has shown no clinical success. Embryonic stem cell research poses an unnecessary ethical dilemma for persons of goodwill, while adult stem cell research avoids the destruction of human embryos.”

President Obama’s Executive Order overturns a 2001 Bush Administration policy that limited federal funding for embryonic stem cell research by the National Institutes of Health to the more than 60 embryonic stem cell lines existing at that time."

THREE SIMPLE ACTIVITIES

THREE SIMPLE ACTIVITIES

By Rev. Frank A. Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life

What simple pro-life activities can almost everyone do with very little effort, which bring the pro-life message to a large number of people who are not going to go out of their way to hear it, and which cost next to nothing?

Answer: the precious feet pin, pro-life bank checks, and pro-life bumper stickers.

1. The Precious Feet. Some 90% of abortions in the United States occur in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. Most people still have no idea how well developed the preborn child is at the time when these abortions occur.

The Precious Feet pin shows the exact size and shape of a preborn child's feet at ten weeks after conception. It is an attractive and instructive pin, showing people, in a single glance, that the victim of abortion is one of us. The pin provides an excellent discussion-starter. Children also love to wear it, and in this way can bring the pro-life message to their own parents.

These pins are available from Heritage House, 919 S. Main St., Snowflake, AZ 85937. Tel. 1-800-858-3040. Web site: www.heritagehouse76.com

2. Pro-life Bank Checks. Each time you write a check, about 15 people see it by the time it is returned to your bank. An average person uses 300 checks a year. That boldly puts the pro-life message in front of 4500 people, with no additional effort on your part. Order them at Promise Checks or call them at 1-800-977-6647.

3. Stickers on your car and mail. Bumper stickers not only provide something to read for the car behind you at the traffic signal; they also capture the attention of pedestrians out for a stroll, or shoppers walking past your car at the mall. A new magnetic product allows you to remove your sticker for cleaning or move your sticker from car to car. While bumper stickers may make a car look less attractive, what can be more attractive than the prospect of saving a child's life?

Pro-life bumper stickers come in a wide variety of messages, colors, and sizes. Some of the messages include, "Guess Which One ISN'T Protected" (showing protected animals and a baby), "Children are a gift from God" (with baby hand holding adult hand) and "If It's Not a Baby, You're Not Pregnant!" Some bumper stickers also contain the phone numbers of local or national hotlines for abortion alternatives or post-abortion counseling.

Placing envelope stickers on your bills and mail, bearing similar messages, is another activity which can save lives. A wide range of bumper stickers and envelope stickers are available from Victory Won, PO Box 101, Davenport, NE 68335 Tel. 1-800-767-7258. Web site: www.victorywon.com

Hearts have been changed and lives have been saved by means of each of these simple activities. None of them costs very much, and once you start to use them, they each have an "automatic" quality to them -- they keep speaking to people while your mind is on other things! They speak to them in a quiet and non-threatening way, and the people they speak to include those who do not want to hear the message! Yet unless the tragedy is faced, it cannot be ended! Help to break the silence about abortion by using these three simple activities, and by encouraging others to use them as well.

For more information on other things you can do to stop abortion, ask for our flier "You Can Save Someone's Life Today!"

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Abortion

2270 Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.⁷²

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.⁷³

My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.⁷⁴

Read the rest here.

WORTH CONSIDERATION...

The strong and sure voice of a 12 year old 7th grader has set the web a fire over the last month a a half because of a video posting on uTube.

By Chelsea Schilling
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

"Despite facing threats of disqualification, a 12-year-old girl took first place in a speech contest when she eloquently argued for the rights of unborn children – after an offended judge quit.

"What if I told you that right now, someone was choosing if you were going to live or die?" the seventh-grader begins in a video recording of her speech on YouTube. "What if I told you that this choice wasn't based on what you could or couldn't do, what you'd done in the past or what you would do in the future? And what if I told you, you could do nothing about it?"

The girl, a student at a Toronto school identified only as "Lia," continued:

"Fellow students and teachers, thousands of children are right now in that very situation. Someone is choosing without even knowing them whether they are going to live or die.

"That someone is their mother. And that choice is abortion."

But what made the 12-year-old choose to speak about abortion?

"It was really a family thing," her mother explained on the blog Moral Outcry. "I saw Lou [Engle] speak at a conference several years ago. I came back to my family with the Life Bands, and we all wore them, made our covenant, and prayed the prayer for abortion to end. … We were invited to participate in a 'Life Tape Siege.' Once my kids heard of this invitation, they all agreed: 'We have to do that!' Since then, Lia's passion for seeing abortion end has continued."

Despite Lia's enthusiasm for her topic, her teacher "strongly encouraged" her to select a different one for her class presentation
or she would be considered ineligible for an upcoming speech contest.

"[S]everal teachers discouraged her from picking the topic of abortion; she was told it was 'too big,' 'too mature' and 'too controversial,'" her mother wrote. "She was also told that if she went ahead with that topic, she would not be allowed to continue on in the speech competition."

Lia's mother continued, "Initially, I tried helping her find other topics to speak on, but, in the end, she was adamant. She just felt she wanted to continue with the topic of abortion. So she forfeited her chance to compete in order to speak on something she was passionate about."

Lia's teacher was so impressed by the speech that she allowed her student to advance as the winner. Lia presented her speech to judges in front of her entire school on Feb. 10.

The school principal and teachers called Lia's presentation the "obvious winner" – but the judges suddenly disqualified her the following day "because of the topic and her position on abortion," her mother said.

Lia's father later revealed that the judges had a "big disagreement." One was offended by the speech and voluntarily stepped down while the others reversed their earlier decision – declaring her the winner.

Now Lia plans to take her message of life to a regional speech competition, and more than 130,000 visitors have viewed her presentation online.

"Why do we think that just because a fetus can't talk or do what we do, it isn't a human being yet?" She asks in the video. "Some babies are born after only five months. Is this baby not human?

"We would never say that. Yet abortions are performed on 5-month-old fetuses all the time. Or do we only call them humans if they're wanted?"

She continues, "No, fetuses are definitely humans – knit together in their mother's womb by their wonderful Creator who knows them all by name.""

CONSIDER THIS...

Ever wonder how America's abortion laws
compare to those of Europe or Asia?
Read...

Abortion Laws

Around the World

Send a Red One!

http://www.redenvelopeproject.org/

This is a spectacular story...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Christ Otto has spent the past 21 years of his life in ministry founding churches and working as everything from a pastry chef and worship leader to a hotel clerk and vocal coach. Little did he know he would become best known around the country as the founder of the Red Envelope Project.

Inspired during a prayer, Otto came up with the idea of sending red envelopes to President Barack Obama to protest his pro-abortion policies.

As he tells LifeNews.com, what started out as an email request to 120 of his ministry friends and supporters turned into a nationwide phenomenon that could result in hundreds of thousands of pro-life envelopes heading to the White House.

"Three weeks ago I was doing my usual routine of prayer, Bible study, and quietly listening to God. Usually I begin the day with 'Lord, what’s on your agenda today?'" he explained.

"That day, my mind wandered a little, and I imagined hundreds of red envelopes in the mail room of the White House. On the back, a simple message stating that each envelope represented an innocent life lost. I took that idea, and sent it in an email to my 120 ministry supporters. They in turn, sent it to their friends," Otto added.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Read the rest here.

Here is what I would like you to do:

Get a red envelope. You can buy them at Kinkos, or at party supply stores. On the front, address it to:

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.
Washington , D.C. 20500

On the back, write the following message.

This envelope represents one child who died in abortion. It is empty because that life was unable to offer anything to the world. Responsibility begins with conception.

Put it in the mail on March 31st, and send it. Then send this website to every one of your friends who you think would send one too. I wish we could send 50 million red envelopes, one for every child who died before having a a chance to live. Maybe it will change the heart of the president.

Warmly, Christ Otto

GO BACK TO http://www.redenvelopeproject.org/

to submit the number of envelopes that you sent.

383,132
Sent or Pledged So Far!

Evil Resumes

Saturday, March 7, 2009, 9:37 PM

Killing Center Re-opens

"Saturday March 7th, 2009 marked the re-opening of Leroy Carhart's late-term child-killing center in Bellevue, NE., which was closed due to a fire at that facility a couple of months ago.

It was a dark and rainy morning, with a chill in the air ironically appropriate to the occasion. In terms of being ready to "serve" the twenty or so victims, they seemed to be "shooting from the hip". The staff spent much of the early morning dragging in medical equipment such as an ultrasound machine along with boxes and boxes of medical and office supplies.

I don't know how the inside looked, but the outside was as trashed out as ever, still carrying that touch of Carhart professionalism. For instance, practically blocking the main entrance to the parking lot was a large, rusted-out old truck. Both front tires were missing with the wheel on the driver's side resting inside a large pot hole, giving the mill that "salvage" look. Right next to it, connected to the mill by a long extension cord, sat a generator that purred away all morning making one question if they even had electricity.

I've often wondered how anyone could patronize such a junk yard posing as a "health clinic", but that never seems to matter much to mothers intent on destroying their children. Then there was another, much grander, opening today. Across the street from the abortion chamber is now a prayer chapel that pro-lifers have worked on for many months, fixing it up and preparing it for "spiritual battle" with the forces of darkness across from it. Now, not only will there be prayer warriors in front of the killing center, but also across the street, praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

And today, all their prayers paid off big time as there was at least one baby's life saved.

Today one sidewalk counselor talked with a young, Hispanic couple who were very receptive, agreeing with practically everything she said. They even agreed to accompany Mary to A Woman's Touch, the pro-life pregnancy center next door where they were given an ultrasound and positive, loving care in their time of need.

So, in the end, the sun did shine on that bleak, dismal morning in March as one tragedy was averted, a life was saved, and heaven rejoiced."

Larry Donlan, Rescue The Heartland

PRAYER

Prayer to the Virgin Mary

O Mary, Mother of Jesus and Mother of us all, we turn to you today as the one who said "Yes" to Life. "You will conceive and bear a Son," the angel told you.

Despite the surprise and the uncertainty about how this could be, you said yes. "Be it done unto me according to your word." Mary, we pray today for all mothers who are afraid to be mothers. We pray for those who feel threatened and overwhelmed by their pregnancy.

Intercede for them, that God may give them the grace to say yes and the courage to go on. May they have the grace to reject the false solution of abortion. May they say with you, "Be it done unto me according to your word." May they experience the help of Christian people, and know the peace that comes from doing God's will.

Amen.

(From Priests for Life)

NEWS FROM NEBRASKA

Electrician Quits Working on Abortion Center Repairs After Pro-Life Pressure

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 17, 2009

Bellevue, NE (LifeNews.com) -- A local electrician has quit working on repairs to a late-term abortion business outside of Omaha following pressure from pro-life advocates. The worker was repairing the abortion business run by late-term abortion practitioner LeRoy Carhart that was recently burned in an accidental fire.

The Nebraska-based center is one of the few in the nation to do late-term abortions and Carhart's name became famous when the Supreme Court ruled for him against a partial-birth abortion ban.

The unnamed electrician made the decision to quit assisting with repairs and cancel his contract after he was informed that abortions took place at the run-down medical office.

The electrician initially resisted efforts and said he had nothing to do with an abortion business, but after being told that the basement containing medical records he was working on was part of Carhart's abortion business, he quit immediately.

"He said he considered himself a good Catholic and didn't want to be an accessory to an abortion clinic," local pro-life advocate Larry Donlan explained.

Troy Newman, the president of Operation Rescue, which monitors abortion practitioners, applauded the good news and told LifeNews.com that the results of campaigns designed to protest the collaboration between construction workers and abortion centers work.

"Once people understand that their work is helping the abortion industry, they often want nothing more to do with it," he said. "It's a legal principle as well as a Biblical one. Those who aid and abet share in the guilt."

Although the electrician has stopped work, Newman's group continues to call on pro-life advocates to contact NBD International, an Ohio-based fire restoration company that is currently heading up the damage repair.

Newman tells LifeNews.com that the reconstruction is going slowly, but it could stop altogether if pro-life advocates contact NBD and ask it to stop work on the facility.

"It is unknown when Carhart's abortion mill will be reopened, but judging from the photos, it will not be any time soon, and maybe never if NBD International stops construction," Newman said.

"Operation Rescue calls on NDB International to immediately halt repairs on the Carhart clinic in the interest of saving lives," he added. "Please contact them and ask them to stop collaborating with the abortion industry."

ACTION: Contact NBD International at 1-800-929-3398 and ask the company to stop work rebuilding the Carhart abortion business in Nebraska. You can also send an email message by going to http://www.nbdint.com/MoreInfo.html

_________________________________________________________________

You may wonder, what do remote material cooperation in evil and formal cooperation in evil mean? How do these traditional, theological terms and concepts relate to the above story? How do they relate to our moral responsibilities in the voting booth? Are our responsibilities always easily understood and easily practiced?

Follow these links for more information:

Ioannes Paulus PP. II
Evangelium vitae

Vatican dismay: Memo on politicians touches nerve in U.S. campaign

Pope John Paul II, John Courtney Murray, and the Relationship Between Civil Law and Moral Law: A Constructive Proposal for Contemporary American Pluralism

Not letting up...as promised

Obama Expected to Reverse Restrictions on Stem Cell Research Funding Monday

[March 9, 2009]

"Under President George W. Bush, federal money for research on human embryonic stems cells was limited to those stem cell lines that were created before Aug. 9, 2001. "

WASHINGTON -- "President Barack Obama is expected to sign an executive order on Monday reversing restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

The long-expected move is likely to stir up not only the promise of scientific breakthrough but also the controversy over where government crosses a moral line.

Obama will hold an event at the White House to announce the move, a senior administration official said Friday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the policy had not yet been publicly announced."

Read the rest of the AP/Fox News report here.

So what does this signal?

Well, for one, it signals that President Obama CAN and DOES keep some of his pre-White House promises (apparently he was unable to do so with the line-by-line pork-watch thing he promised). He's much more detailed...it's now at the stem-cell level.

Secondly, this signals to the informed that Obama's administration is able to ignore science to promote science. It is common knowledge that science itself can manifest the same quality research and product from the resource of the adult stem cell. Others rightly suggest that this process carries great advantages, one being that the host body will not likely reject anything made from these adult stem cells because they wouldn't be recognized as foreign by the immune system as embryonic stem cells would be.

Thirdly, this "move" demonstrates President Obama's endurance to continue to throw money at things that promise no real advantage nor a real future for the lives of America's most vulnerable - or for anyone for that matter. This is NOT the change we should HOPE or pray for.

So what can you do? Pray. Pray. Write your Congressman. Pray. Pray. Pray.

Here is a Novena that was created prior to last year's election. Day 9: a prayer for "Good Stewardship and Preservation of God's Creation."

In Christ,

Vita Pulchra Est

BELLA

Here is the official trailer for the award-winning film, Bella which opened nation-wide on Oct. 26, 2007! For more information on this movie visit http://www.bellathemovie.com.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, DO SO.



You may know that the USCCB (United State Conference of Catholic Bishops: Film-and Broadcasting) offers their own reviews of both current and 20th century film.

Here is the short review that they offer for Bella:

Sweetly sentimental story about an unmarried New York waitress (an especially fine Tammy Blanchard) who loses her job after becoming pregnant, and her restaurant's empathetic chef (Mexican soap favorite Eduardo Verastegui) -- an ex-soccer star whose career ended after his car fatally struck a child -- who gives the young woman emotional support, takes her to visit his loving family, and gently tries to persuade her to keep the baby. Director and co-writer Alejandro Monteverde's impressive feature film debut is sometimes dramatically slack and implausible, but the sensitive performances, positive depiction of the chef's warm Latino family, and most of all, its affirmative pro-life message -- along with themes of self-forgiveness, reconciliation and redemption -- should resonate with Catholic viewers.