Catholic Church to Display 600 Plastic Fetuses During Mass in Brazil

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peregrinus_WA

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Catholic Church to Display 600 Plastic Fetuses During Mass in Brazil
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Brazilian Catholics will receive a stark message on abortion when up to 600 plastic fetuses are put on display during Masses across the South American nation, according to Australia’s Herald Sun.
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Some 265 Roman Catholic parishes will receive the tiny sculptures, which resemble a fetus at three months old, the Herald Sun reported.
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Brazilian bishops are spearheading the effort as part of a campaign against pending legislation that would make it easier for mothers to seek abortions. The procedure is illegal in Brazil except in instances of rape or situations when a woman’s life is threatened by the pregnancy, according to the Herald Sun.
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This sort of cheap grandstanding hurts our cause in the long run. I really hope cooler heads prevail in this. This sort of thing is not like the Catholic church. Its above this…Roanoker
 
I would applaud any church that would dare to do this: Catholic or not. I have seen my pastor dressed from head to toe like a clown for the delivery of his Sunday sermon. He has decorated the sanctuary with pencil drawings on cheap newspaper, peppered the sanctuary with pumpkins, balloons, handcrafted dolls, banners, flags and war veterans uniforms to say nothing about a water fountain every Easter surrounded by potted flowers which overwhelms the altar and interferes with the communion line such a huge obstacle it is. If we can tolerate all this and more introducing a little model should be no problem.
 
This is an unbelievable case of sanctioned sacrilege in Brazil. Plastic models of fetuses are to be brought up to the Altar during Mass in hundreds of Churches, or otherwise left on permanent display.

news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23370554-663,00.html?from=public_rss

Abortion is a horrific crime, but there is no excuse for profaning the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in this fashion. The idea of displaying these things with the Precious Body and Blood of Christ is unbelievable to any Catholic who understands what the Mass is. What a state the church has fallen into…
 
mschrank said:
How is this a bad idea? :confused:
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The Mass is not intended to take the place of a biology class.

A more appropriate venue for these teaching models would be the parish hall, with a display showing the phases of child development in the womb, with a facilitator present to answer questions from the public, perhaps in conjunction with an event that includes speeches, breakout groups, and refreshments.
 
I wonder if any of the people on CAF that are well versed in the GIRM have anything that might point to this being, not a good or bad idea, but an idea that is or is not in line with the general instruction.
 
I would agree with Dauphin that it would be highly inappropriate to pose these displays on the altar particularly during the sacrifice of the Mass. It would also be preferable to use the church hall or entrance foyer to educate parishionners as jmcrae has said. Nevertheless, the original article was poor on details and clarification as to exactly where and how these fetal models will be used. It posed more questions than it answered. So I asked the president of Provida Familia in Brazil who works in conjunction with Human Life International. He replied that the National Conference for Bishops had selected the Defense of Life as the theme for Lent this year. A basic text was given and each diocese was allowed to address the issue. In the archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro the parishes presented these figurines during the Offertory as a symbol of the Christ Child along with a slideshow of aborted fetuses. He viewed it as necessary “shock treatment” in the face of pressure to legalize abortion.

news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?p=abortion&ei=UTF-8&datesort=1

Photograph #4 shows the priest holding 2 fetuses. One can readily see that one of them is the Infant Jesus.
 
I have purchased a quantity of these plastic fetal models called “The Precious One” and have been distributing them quietly to family and friends. My cousin received one and sometime later found himself in a discussion about abortion with a friend at work who had already fathered and lost 2 children through abortion. As a matter of fact, his girlfriend was set to go for another abortion but after my cousin pulled this model out of his pocket the debate was over. It was the most fruitful $50. I ever spent!

Maybe we will never see a priest dare to hold up one of these during a homily in church but there is nothing to stop us from carrying a few on our person to use them as the occasion allows.

I found them here at Heritage House for a very reasonable price in bulk order.

hh76.com/pro_life_products.asp?group_id=66
 
Dauphin said:
This is an unbelievable case of sanctioned sacrilege in Brazil. Plastic models of fetuses are to be brought up to the Altar during Mass in hundreds of Churches, or otherwise left on permanent display.

news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23370554-663,00.html?from=public_rss

Abortion is a horrific crime, but there is no excuse for profaning the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in this fashion. The idea of displaying these things with the Precious Body and Blood of Christ is unbelievable to any Catholic who understands what the Mass is. What a state the church has fallen into…
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My thoughts exactly:thumbsup:
 
Graphic yes. Needed even more so. Maybe at the entrance of the Church so everyone sees them and can not turn away from reality. Also, needed as most of our priests refuse to speak up on the subject of ABC and other life issues.
 
childofmary1143 said:
My thoughts exactly:thumbsup:
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We have to let the Pope decide. This isn’t a democratic faith we have. But, aren’t these only plastic? And are they not holy innocents who have been not only sacrificed but tortured and burned to death?

Kathie
 
Calling this “sanctioned sacrilege” is to accuse the entire National Conference of Bishops in Brazil on very flimsy evidence. Where precisely is the sacrilege if these models are at the foot of the altar or on a side table inside the sanctuary? The allegation is exaggerated.
 
For every person who is persuaded by plastic fetal models there a few more who think it’s annoying and stupid.

It’s just another way for the Church to look silly and out of touch to those on the outside looking in. Someone should try to remember we are trying to engage intelligent people. Tactics that produce eye rolls probably aren’t having the effect one wants.

ETA: this reminds me of when all of one kind of temperament/learning style approach a project.The group is missing someone there to suggest something that would really make it work or fix of some of the problems with the approach.
 
Bruised_Reed said:
For every person who is persuaded by plastic fetal models there a few more who think it’s annoying and stupid.

It’s just another way for the Church to look silly and out of touch to those on the outside looking in. Someone should try to remember we are trying to engage intelligent people. Tactics that produce eye rolls probably aren’t having the effect one wants.

ETA: this reminds me of when all of one kind of temperament/learning style approach a project.The group is missing someone there to suggest something that would really make it work or fix of some of the problems with the approach.
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In a country where they are not allowed to see the “baby” when at the abortion clinic, allowing people to see the development at each stage is certainly a good idea. Should anyone roll their eyes at that…plastic or not…they probably don’t give a hoot about abortion.

Kathie
 
kathielee said:
In a country where they are not allowed to see the “baby” when at the abortion clinic, allowing people to see the development at each stage is certainly a good idea. Should anyone roll their eyes at that…plastic or not…they probably don’t give a hoot about abortion.

Kathie
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I think what people are rolling their eyes at, or worrying about, is upstaging Jesus on the Altar; not the models themselves.

I still say that an educational display in the Church hall would be much more appropriate.
 
Well it looks like the Pope is well informed about the Brazilian bishops campaign to defend life. He sent a message of support last month. (Granted this short article in Catholic World News is short on details too.) The scandal however is not that the clergy in Brazil are taking such bold action but the conspiracy of silence from so many pulpits in North America. Priests have a duty to educate, instruct and inspire the laity to action. As long as the pastors ignore this issue Catholics will feel comfortable in their apathy and continue to be indifferent to the daily slaughter of innocents. It smacks of hypocrisy that priests will preach about the rights of farmers, the environment and the poor yet neglect all the pressing pro-life issues. I hope the shepherds of Brazil do light a fire before their country slinks into the same laissez-faire mode we have known here for two generations.

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The Pope’s message-- released at the start of the annual Fraternity Campaign conducted by Brazilian Catholics during Lent-- strong supports the efforts of the Brazilian hierarchy to counteract new drives for the acceptance of abortion, the distribution of condoms, and the availability of the morning-after pill. In a letter addressed to Archbishop Geraldo Lyrio Rocha of Mariana, the president of the Brazilian bishops’ conference, the Pope stresses that “all threats to life must certainly be resisted.” He applauds the bishops’ choice of this year’s Fraternity Campaign theme: “fraternity and defense of life.”
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cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=56476
 
I missed this article at LifeSiteNews a couple of days ago. Here is the story with more details and a fuller picture than any other of the news sources. It is a lengthy article but here are a few paragraphs:
…The General Secretary of the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops, Dimas Lara Barbosa, led the opening ceremonies, and proceeded to state that the purpose was not merely to stop new anti-life legislation, but to eliminate all exceptions in Brazil’s penal code regarding abortion.

He said the bishops in the following months would “confront” politicians and pro-abortion organizations for “manipulating information” to promote their cause, and would work to educate the public about the dangers of legislation to legalize abortion, euthanasia, and embryonic stem cell research.

Following the announcement, the bishops held a pro-life conference in Aparecida, home of Brazil’s most important shrine, and issued a thundering declaration in defense of human life, denouncing pro-abortion groups as tools of a new kind of imperialism that seeks to impose a racist population-control agenda on the “third world”.

"We denounce the implantation of a culture of death that destroys the sense of life, of ethical values, and natural rights from which all human laws are derived…
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Matthew Cullinan Hoffman has done an excellent job addressing our concerns. 👍

lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/mar/08032010.html
 
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