Southern Appeal has an excerpt of Justice Scalia's review of Steven Smith's book, Law's Quandary. One part in particular that struck me from the excerpt:
try but fail to explain “how the law makes sense without ‘the law.’”
The uprising to get Miers to withdraw has been successful. While Bush saving face with the claim regarding confidential documents, our work is not done.
One of the blogs reminded of the need for prayer. I second that notion. I for one need to remember to call to "pray, fast and don't worry."
But some on the complete other side still don't get it. Not that it is surprising.
Fearing that Bush's next pick will be a darling of the right, Ralph Neas, president of the liberal People For the American Way, urged Bush to resist calls for an ultraconservative and pick someone with a mainstream legal philosophy."The president must not let the extreme right dictate his next choice, but instead choose a nominee who can bring us together and maintain a fair and independent balance on the Supreme Court," Neas said.
In an outreach program I could definitely get excited about in the Manchester diocese;
Ste. Marie Parish’s commitment to evangelization is taking them out to local bars.
In an effort to reach out to 20- and 30-somethings who don't go to church, the parish has booked four talks at the Strange Brew Tavern in downtown Manchester,
Has anyone stopped to ponder, why Harriet Miers? I mean really, was Bush merely looney? Did he want to divide his base? Why would Bush think his legal councel would make a good Supreme Court Justice?
If we dig a bit deeper, we see that Bush isn't stupid (sorry Mark), he merely plays one on TV. President Bush and his staff keep asserting that the know Miers very well. Since they have told us of their deep knowledge of her numerous times I will have to take their word. But if they know her so well, how could they think she would be a good judge in light of this.
Well, perhaps she is exactly what the NEED on the Supreme Court because of this and this.
As his councel, Miers worked to expand presidential powers on detaining terrorist suspects and the Patriot act. Bill Goodman of the Center for Constitutional Rights has sued the federal government over the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. He isn't the right-wing fringe type, but he too was concerned about the president filling the Supreme Court with cronies that share his desire to create a powerful executive branch without worrying about any check or balance from the Court. According to the Boston Globe, Miers was part of the legal crew that aided in the development of the Patriot Act and policy on detaining suspected terrorists.
The administration even admits this as a selling point on Miers. According to strategist Ken Mehlman in the October 4th issue of The Hill,
He said that as a former White House counsel Miers would know the importance of not letting the courts or the legislative branch “micromanage" the war on terrorism.
What matters to me is her judicial philosophy; what does she believe the role -- the proper role of the judiciary is, relative to the legislative and the executive branch. (Emphasis added)
As an example of what the VOTF/We are church movement is proposing, I would say their stance on the Eucharist puts them outside the Church. No bishop's pronouncement needed (but it sure helps to clarify anti-catholic groups).
we are more than puzzled by every form of devotion, which is usual in the Eucharistic cult (for example, Eucharistic adoration, processions, etc.) in which the sacralization of Eucharist has a plain role, making an idol of the Eucharist
My brother in North Dakota sent me this after the fierce winter storm passed through 3 weeks ago. Truth or fiction, it hammers the point home.
This Weather Bulletin came from the Emergency Manager of Eddy County in North Dakota concerning the winter storms that hit North Dakota on 4 & 5 Oct 2005. I thought it was a little funny. Maybe because it has a lot of truth in its description.
WEATHER BULLETIN
Up here in the Northern Plains we just recovered from a Historic --- may I even say a "Weather Event" of "Biblical Proportions" with a historic blizzard of up to 24" inches of snow and winds to 50 MPH that broke trees in half, stranded hundreds of motorist in lethal snow banks, closed all roads, isolated scores of communities and cut power to 10's of thousands.
George Bush did not come....FEMA staged nothing....no one howled for the government...no one even uttered an expletive on TV...nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.....no one asked for a FEMA Trailer House....no news anchors moved in.
We just melted snow for water, sent out caravans to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars, fired up wood stoves, broke out coal oil lanterns or Aladdin lamps and put on an extra layer of clothes. Even though a Category "5" blizzard of this scale has never fallen this early...we know it can happen and how to deal with it ourselves. Everybody is fine.
How in the world did we survive hurricanes before FEMA? I understand suffering and loss hurts, but stand up for yourself and be counted among the free.
Gov. Bush seems to think along these lines in retrospect
"People had ample time to prepare. It isn't that hard to get 72 hours worth of food and water," said Bush, repeating the advice that officials had given days before Wilma hit.
"This is like the Third World," said Claudia Shaw, who spent several hours in a gas line. "We live in a state where we suffer from these storms every year. Where is the planning?"
In the last few weeks, there have been a series of warning signs that the situation in Darfur, already horrific, is rapidly deteriorating.
Two weeks ago, Juan Mendez, the UN's Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, returned from Darfur and warned that the situation was worsening, stating frankly that "the situation much more dangerous and worrisome than I expected it to be." Shortly thereafter, the UN declared that, due to insecurity, large portions of the region were deemed "no go" areas, which in turn cut off aid access to at least 650,000 people. The UN also evacuated all non-essential personel from West Darfur.
All the while, attacks on the displaced continued and seven AU monitors were killed in an ambush. Not long after that, the New York Times reported that the Janjaweed militias, equipped and supported by the Sudanese government, were acting with complete impunity and were "now emboldened enough to turn their guns on the government."
That was followed by a frantic statement from Antonio Guterres, the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees, that "everything is getting out of control" and that the international community had just weeks to attempt to restore order in Darfur or risk "a very serious degeneration of the situation."
That, in turn, was followed by a report that "more than 100,000 people are now believed to have died in the Darfur region of Sudan since the United Nations Security Council set a
30-day deadline last year for the Khartoum regime to begin to resolve the crisis in the area." That is on top of the several hundred thousand who had died prior to UN-issued deadline.
Amid all of this, and mostly ignored by the press, former Secretary of State Colin Powell told an audience that the world had failed to "fully face" the genocide in Darfur. That is something of an understatement, but considering that it was Powell himself who first declared that what was happening in Darfur was indeed genocide - more than one year ago - it is certainly worth noting.
One year ago, the world knew it was genocide and did nothing. One year later, UN officials are warning that "everything is getting out of control" and that Darfur risks descending into utter anarchy, bringing with it an untold loss of life ... and still the world does nothing.
Philippe Gaillard was head of the International Committee of the Red Cross mission in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide - and though the following quote refers to international community's failure to respond to the atrocities in Rwanda, it could just as well apply to the failure to respond to Darfur
In such circumstances, if you don't at least speak out clearly, you are participating in the genocide. If you just shut up when you see what you see -- morally, ethically you cannot shut up. It's a responsibility to speak out. It did not change anything, and it …[did not] move the international community. I justhttp://coalitionfordarfur.blogspot.com/2005/10/looming-catastrophe.html
can say that they cannot tell us or tell me that they didn't know. They were told every day what was happening there. So don't come back to me and tell me, "Sorry, we didn't know." No. Everybody knew.
We need married priests because of the priest shortage, right? Not in the diocese of Lincoln Nebraska under the watch of Bishop Bruskewitz. With their own seminary and good Catholic schools, their ratio of priest to Catholics is 1 to 737. That is about 4000 better than the national average of 1 to 4723.
So what is their secret? Not married priests, not groups like Call to Action; they are a forbidden group for Catholics in Bruskewitz's diocese.
Many point to the dioceses being faithfulness to the Magisterial teaching of the Church. When you have a good sheperd, you have healthy sheep. But don't read faithfulness as political stance, according to Fr Matya.
“It’s not that we try to be overly conservative,” he told the Daily Nebraskan, “but as a diocese, we do try to act how God wants us to be, and I think that is very appealing to a lot of these young men.”
Town Hall has a way out of the Miers mess and John Fund has a good article on what went wrong.
For parents of young girls that enjoy the "American Girl" doll and magazine, here is something you need to be aware of and take action on.
The American Girl company, owned by Mattel has partnered with Girls Inc., a group known for promoting abortions, contraception and lesbianism. The American Girl website had (since removed) a link to Girls Inc. and promoted the "I Can" bracelet.
See Pro-Life Action League's response
and World Net Daily
Was Lawrence v. Texas a setup? The landmark case that was a major step towards legal civil unions for homosexuals may have been a fraud. According to Judge Janice Law of Texas, the participants in the Lawrence case may have set the whole "crime" up to challenge the law.
Just the thought of a poorly acted fake crime could make its way to the Supreme Court is scary enough.
Dawn Eden of the Dawn Patrol is looking for input for her column in reaction to this Catholic school banning certain blog sites.
My take.
I had a much different stance on this ban, but then I looked at the site in question (myspace.com), wow is it rife with issues.
This isn't your typical "journal my thoughts" blogspace. This is "40 questions" on fetishes, favorite alcholic drinks, favorite anatomy on the opposite sex... Throw in addresses, IM identities, phone numbers and you have something I wouldn't let a teen go near.
As an IT manager, I think it is impossible for the school to actually monitor this. And I am not for any public or parochial entity trying to take the job of parenting away from the parents. But kudos to this school for alerting parents on this on. Parents should be more diligent in what the kids do online, but if a school becomes aware of something bizarre like this, they have the duty to inform parents to be vigilant.
SOME call them the "dust people", others the "people with no address".
President Robert Mugabe's government has a more graphic term: "Sniff
out the rats who have sneaked back in" is the name of the latest
campaign by police and soldiers against the city dwellers whose homes
they demolished earlier this year but who have refused to flee.
Thousands of Zimbabweans are now living like animals in the midst of
rubble, crawling in and out of hovels less than 3ft high, fashioned
from cardboard boxes and broken asbestos.
With no means of earning a living — and with aid agencies banned by
the government from helping them — they are forced to forage in
rubbish for rotten vegetables or prostitute themselves for the
equivalent of 10p to feed their children. A doctor who managed to get
in said tuberculosis was rife.
These are the victims of Operation Murambatsvina (drive out the
filth), Mugabe's so-called urban beautification campaign which,
according to a damning report by the United Nations, left more than
700,000 homeless or without an income.
Yet last week the United Nations flew Zimbabwe's president on an
all-expenses-paid trip to Rome to celebrate World Food Day in defiance
of European Union travel sanctions. Flanked by bodyguards, he
proclaimed that there was no hunger in his country and blamed its
problems on George W Bush and Tony Blair, branding them international
terrorists and likening them to Hitler and Mussolini.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1838506,00.html
As my wife and I talked about the article written on the SFGate site by Mark Moford, I figured out why the anti-family people can't understand those with many children. They see love as finite, as in love=time or love=money. But real Love is infinite. The more you love, the more love you have. So to those who think loving your children merely means spending 10 minutes of "quality" time with them, or means buying them the latest designer jeans; large families just don't make sense. Instead of 10 minutes with one child, you would only spend 1 minute with each of 10 children.
But as members of healthy large families can attest too, more kids means more love. Mom and Dad learn to give of themselves more freely. Self sacrifice is a way of life and that gives the kids a valuable example. And if mom or dad are occupied, there is surely someone else that can help a younger sibling. And is that really asking too much of an older child to get a cup of water for a 3 year old? Heaven forbid they learn how to serve others! Jesus never taught us that. He only mentioned the empowerment of self as the way to salvation. He was such a glory seeker that he had to go and dramatically die on a mountain during an earthquake so for 2000 years HE would be all his followers can talk about.
The ACLU will stop at nothing to eradicate the US of any trace of Christianity. Witness in point, the small New Mexico town of Tijeras (population 500) is being taken to task by the communist ACLU. The issue? A small cross on their town seal. Never mind the much larger Native American religious symbol, the cross is the problem.
"Tiny cross inspectors are not permitted to fret about large non-Christian religious symbols, only undersized Christian ones," commented columnist John Leo about the case.
A modern look at the what the Sacra really ments.
An instant classic in my book. I won't spoil it with any excerpts, just read it. Thanks to the Jester for this tip.
Read this mindless diatribe and then forgive my screed for screed. I did try to remain a bit more charitable than this "I've run out of shock content, so I will just be insulting" twit from SF.
He does his best to insult about everybody this side of the pelvic left. Republicans, the father's name, the mothers vaginal dimensions? Get a clue you moron, if you have something to say, say it. If you just want to insult people, go write for the WWE (or whatever it is today.) And when he runs out of insults, he tries to infer that God is a "her." For which I have one question:
Isn't your feminine goddess supposed to be the goddess of fertility?
Bloated fool can't even follow his own logic. And in his dying last gasp, he tries to make a plea for the "poor gay couples" that can't even legally adopt in most states.
Whaaa freakin whaaa! Step out of your control freak box and get married, sacrifice a bit and have children the way everyone has back past the flood. It ain't the parents of 5+ children that are driving most huge SUVs and eating caviar. The worlds poor exist despite the charitable Christians. They exist because bigoted people like this fool think they are so damn smart and should control those poor stupid people who don't know any better. Look at your own selfish habits before trying to fit that square peg in a round hole. Baby-drunk people? If you have ever seen a mother of a newborn baby (whether number one or 16) look at their baby, you may just begin to understand why they are willing to do it all over again. Watch them fall in love again and again. There is nothing quite so humbling and uplifting as a 5 month old that knows how to give a hug.
But this poor sap does stumble on an acorn of truth:
Where is, in other words, the funky tattooed intellectual poetess who, along with her genius anarchist husband, is popping out 16 funky progressive intellectually curious fashion-forward pagan offspring to answer the Duggar's squad of über-white future Wal-Mart shoppers? Where is the liberal, spiritualized, pro-sex flip side? Verily I say unto thee, it ain't lookin' good.I have been saying this for years, these anti-family hacks had better get their licks in while they still exist. The are contracepting themselves right out of existence. And their 1.2 children are wanting to rebel so bad, they actually might look to faith. After all, how can you rebel against someone who stands for nothing?
Perhaps this the scariest aspect of our squishy birthin' tale: Maybe the scales are tipping to the neoconservative, homogenous right in our culture simply because they tend not to give much of a damn for the ramifications of wanton breeding and environmental destruction and pious sanctimony, whereas those on the left actually seem to give a whit for the health of the planet and the dire effects of overpopulation. Is that an oversimplification?
It couldn't get much more choreographed.
Cindy Sheehan has come out blazing away at the "pro-war" Hillary Clinton. What is amazing is that some of the words actually are true. Often misplaced or stupidly simple, but some are true.
First, speaking of Hillary, Cindy says:
But I don't think she can speak out against the occupation, because she supports it.
Who would have thought that Hillary's candidacy could be in trouble because she's not far enough to the left?"It all seems so choreographed. Hillary has been trying to move her image, not her views but how she is perceived, to the center. She is too far out on the radical fringe, so a makeover is needed. And what better to serve the purpose than a loudmouth peacenic whose 15 minutes of fame just expired.
On another blog, we are discussing proper material for sacred vessels.
One participant responded that he doubts the kind of container determines the depth of one's faith. Arguing that an imprisioned priest in Communist China could validly celebrate Mass with whatever container he could aquire.
Here is my response.
The container does not affect our belief. But the respect shown (or not) of those in charge, e.g. those who buy the vessels, does make a difference.
While using a thimble as a sacred vessel in Communist China may be worthy, we are not in China. We are in the most affluent country in the world. Do those priests and bishops who think it "humble" to use pottery vessels, drive humble old beaters or wear simple clerical clothes? I doubt it.
And look at it this way. What does a wedding ring symbolize? The love and commitment of the spouses. Would you find it appropriate if you wife to be bought you a pottery ring? And then how would you react when she buys herself a new diamond necklace? Would you say the lack of artistic merit has no bearing on the depth of her love? (credit to my wife for this well put analogy)
This week's post on Dafur is "Spotlight on Darfur 2" hosted by Live from the FDNF
In a rather different look at the UNICEF's Smurf film, Mark Steyn questions why this UN body didn't use machetes rather than bombers? After all, the UN has more experience allowing machete massacres rather than surgical strike air wars. And when he is finished with the Smurfamisms, he actually makes a convincing arguement for the war in Iraq.
I heard a blurb on EWTN radio today regarding this and now found an article (thanks to Mark.) A teacher in a Catholic school was fired for volunteering at Planned Parenthood.
For those wishing to convey their praises to Bishop Weigand, here is the page for Catholic Schools.
Mark Shea got gently taken to task by Tom Hoopes of the National Catholic Register.
I read the NCR article and I give NCR their due. I read it without thinking they were Bush puppets. But then again, I don't take most of Bush's respectable supporters as puppets. Some may not have considered carefully, others I just disagree with.
But here are my issues with the article. The step of logic between "which is she- unknown or overly known" doesn't make sense. To US (everyone other than the president) she is an unknown. The fact of that Bush knows her doesn't change the fact that she has no "paper trail" to verify her qualifications. Couple that with the "trust us" being the only qualification forwarded by Bush doesn't maker her a known commodity.
On cronyism? What about the fact that the Senate gives "advice" and "consent" to the nominations essentially to prevent cronyism, nepotism and other of that ilk. (see the Federalist Papers #76 )
On overturning Roe v. wade. I don't (I think I speak for many on this) wabt to know if she is going to overturn Roe v. Wade. I would care to know if she thinks that ruling was according to the constitution. She is not an electable politician. Her opinion doesn't matter. Her ability to rule without being influenced by her opinion does.
To paraphrase another commentor on Shea's blog, a confirmed originalist would likely rule against Roe v. Wade, but that isn't all. He/she would rule correctly on so many other important issues facing our nation today.
If there ever was a doubt about the two-party system not representing the working class citizens, this should remove all doubt. As I linked to yesterday, the Miers lottery scandal has so many tangled webs, we may never even hear about it. Sounds like the Dems and the GOP are both afraid of getting caught by this nasty spider. Will we hear about this in Miers' confirmation hearings? Doubtful.
According to a reliable source close to the Texas lottery scandals, the answer might be that no senator would dare ask the tough questions.
Ben Barnes, the former Texas lieutenant governor and the man at the heart of the National Guard controversy, is pressuring Democratic senators to avoid any references to the lottery scandal because they would jeopardize Democratic Party officials as well as Bush, reports WND columnist Jerome Corsi.
In other words, says Corsi, "the fix is in."
The UN isn't worth the concrete needed to cover its own grave and here is another perfect example. For those unfamiliar with the Ugandan sucess in fighting AIDS, they use the ABC method. A for Abstinence, B for Be faithful in Marriage and (a regrettable inclusion) C for Condoms if A and B don't work for you. The focus on chastity has driven the HIV infection rate from 18% to 5-7%. Compare that with the UN dominated Condoms campaign rate in the rest of Africa which are going the wrong direction. The UN despises the success of abstinence and is fighting to end the ABC program because it is "doing damage to Africa." Here are some thoughts from the Ugandan health minister:
Once the usual UN administration fee had been deducted from Bush's pitifully inadequate $15 billion, there could easily have been enough left over to buy, oh, twenty thousand bucks' worth of second-hand condoms from a rubber factory co-owned by a nephew of Kofi Annan and a cousin of Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
Peggy Noonan continues to do her part to help Bush down from the ledge he has walked onto.
And surprisingly enough, I agree with former conservative spokesman Rush Limbaugh in his article, Holding Court: There's a crackdown over Miers, not a "crackup." As much as I disagree with his inclusion in the "We", he is finally able to clear his head and criticize either party when is proves fitting.
The Curt Jester assures us this "New and improved" version of the Breakfast of Constructionist will be received much more warmly than the previous version. After all, we get what we really wanted:
Included in each package is her judicial philosophy (just keep digging it's in the box somewhere).Warmly received like warm milk on soggy cereal.
Children of Divorce: New Study Explores the Nasty Effects
Thus, children of divorced couples are forced to enter into an adult world of responsibilities and worries at a young age. Marquardt's survey revealed that even among those children whose parents had managed their divorce well (in terms of reducing the impact on the kids) around half agreed that they always felt like an adult, even when they were young. This proportion reached two-thirds among children whose parents' divorces were more problematic.The findings aren't that stunning. For those growing up in a traditional two-parent home and then raising children of their own, the study states the obvious; raising kids is a delicate, intense job that requires two people committed to the same task.
Following a divorce, many of the children felt they had a responsibility to protect their mothers, and a substantial number had to take on greater duties in caring for their siblings. This also happens in families where a parent dies or is seriously ill; the difference with divorce is that the children know it comes about as a result of a voluntary choice on the part of at least one parent.
What a tangled web Bush has woven with the Miers. As with all politicos, some of this is to be expected.
Miers' firm busted 3 times for aiding investment cheats
The White House is getting tired of the controversy
McClellan gets testy over Miers questions
And this web is so tangled, I don't even know which side Miers is on. But regardless, money and politics make bad bedfellows.
Tom DeLay prosecutortied to Miers-run lottery
Conservative, Liberal, Republican, Democrat…. Today in our society and Church, so much is made of what you believe, who you support and “where” you stand. These labels become our definition and as a result package everyone into one or the other stereotype. These stereotypes lead to friction and friction causes division. Some say that friction is good and necessary, leads to dialog and that without friction the three-legged stool would fall down. Friction can only be good if it leads us towards truth and ultimately God. Friction that causes division and directly opposes one another is not the type that holds up a stool, it is the kind that causes one or more legs to collapse from the misdirected pressure.
So what is in a label? Literally, the word conservative means opposed to change and liberal means in favor of change. The word Republican leads to thoughts of lower taxes, big business and the party of the wealthy. On the other side, Democrat evokes thoughts of bigger government, social change, welfare and abortion. But in reality, do these parties meet the desires of their supporters? Has the Republican party actually delivered on fewer taxes? Look at the numerous entries on the stub of your paycheck for that answer. Have the Democrats reduced poverty? Or do they more likely contribute to the rich getting richer and the poor poorer? Is there any evidence of a long-time politician from either party living moderately?
More often these loyalties lead to blindness of faults.
Some Democrats were so enamored with their allegiance; they couldn’t even see the moral depravity or crimes of our former president. Now some Republicans are so caught up in loyalty, they fail to see the abuses of power and failures of our current president. These absolute positions, or stereotypes, leave your position open to attacks from the other side. And many times, the opposition may have some truth to their complaints, but due to our strict adherence to position, we cannot accept the truth lest it expose our position.
And concerning these stereotypes of liberal, conservative or progressive; where do we stand? Again these labels don’t do justice. On one hand you have people who want strict adherence to the law. It is so strict, we shouldn’t even discuss it. On the other, you have rebellion, a desire for freedom FROM the law. If we live our life in chains, we are not free to love. If we live our lives in rebellion, we do not value our freedom. The truth is God designed us so the law would be written on our hearts so we could live in union with him. If we truly understand God’s rules (law), we will see it is not so much a rule as His desire, His desire for our good. If we understand and live out his will, we are no longer bound by the law, we are truly free. It is no longer law, but now love.
Within the Church, strict adherence to an absolute stereotype leads to division. Rather than seeking unity and the blessing of strength that come with unity, we seek to tear down the other position. Somehow by tearing down the other, we imagine ourselves to be higher and stronger. Would not the nation and Church be stronger by building together on truth? On the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Often it is more a case of obedience versus dissent. How can we teach our children obedience if we are not obedient ourselves? And how can our priest teach us obedience if they are not? And how can our bishops instruct the priests in obedience if they themselves are not obedient to the teachings of the Church? How can our Church proclaim obedience to the world if She is not obedient to Jesus her savior? It is not about “this is the way it has always been done” or “the community” being more important than the Church. It is about God loving us, loving us enough to send His own Son to live and die for us. And then in His infinite wisdom, giving us the Holy Spirit to guide the Church in ALL Truth. Not in all truths up UNTIL Vatican II. Not to finally be enlightened enough to NEED the input of the laity. All Truth.
If you accept the Council of Jerusalem, Nicene Creed and the Council of Trent, then you accept the Council of Vatican II, Humanae Vitae, Ecclesia de Eucharistia ant the latest changes on liturgy from Rome.
So what will it be, conservative – liberal – or Truth? Law is rule – freedom from law – or the conversion of the heart to the will of God and true freedom?
Dale Price asks and interesting question in Calling all apologists. Jesus wasn't married (opposed to the speculations of the Da Vinci Code) but Dale wonders if there is deeper meaning to why not. I offered a comment on it and it got me thinking. So here is his question followed by my thoughts.
My question to all of you apologists is, how to explain this stuff to a non-Christian? Sex is a natural thing. True. It's a very good thing. It's God's invitation to create the best He's done with Him: another human being. I know it's not a right, it's a gift or privilege.So how to explain that it's not unnatural not to have it?
The rad trads will likely take up issue with this comment by Arinze. I sort of agree, but the statement may not sit well with those that feel so strongly about the Tridentine Mass. His point is that it must not be much of an issue because no one brought it up at the synod. I do however really like the last part of his comment.
"It is not a priority for the synod, as no one has spoken about it," the cardinal concluded. "The problem we have discussed is that many people don't go to Mass, and those that come don't understand -- they go to Communion but not to confession, as if they were immaculate."
Perhaps we would have the iPod, but would it be worth listening to? Perhaps only a rabid LINUX lover, pro-abortion, hip-hop artist would answer no, but the question remains; Would you have allowed Bill Gates to be born?
Althought the rumor about Beethoven being born deaf, blind and mentally retarded and was the eight child is not true; Gates does fit the profile for mild Asperger's syndrome which is itself a mild form of Autism.
So if you said no, I assume you are reading this on a Mac?
In the article called, Help Catholics live pious, robust faiths, Synod observer tells bishops, Leonardo Casco, President of the Honduran, "Alianza Para la Familia" group, urged priests and bishops to joyfully encourage the faithful to live lives of "demanding and robust faiths", particularly in this time of overwhelming ignorance of Church teaching.
Myself and most men I know agree that we need to be challenged. Without a faith that demands our love, our attention, most men will slowly (or quickly) wander off the path. Compare, as St. Paul does, the Church as the bride of Christ to marriages. Show me a solid, happy marriage, and I will likely be able to show you a wife that patiently but firmly reminds her husband of the need to stay tuned into their relationship, to spend time working on it, to communicate with her, to say sorry when needed.
A Faith that doesn't demand some sacrifice is not a faith that men will stick with. Men, if allowed, will look for the easy path. I know from my experience, I can work and sacrifice and be what my family needs. But the moment I get a bit selfish, think I need a little time for myself or that I deserve it, soon I find myself falling into lazy habits.
So, a rousing Amen! to this call to the bishops.
The first is How Activists Crafted Law Used to Kill Terri Schiavo which details the legal loopholes the Hemlock Society and other created to make it "legal".
The second is 100,000 Back Bill to Curb ACLU and is related because the ACLU was involved in the murder of Terri.
For all those looking to help the church move toward a change in policy on celibacy, head on over here to sign a petition on changing the discipline of priestly celibacy to the Holy Father.
For those that don't know the Curt Jester, the madman is on a wickedly funny binge.
Senator Specter and others are knocking down a straw man in the Case for Miers.
They want more information on whether she would vote to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.
"I'm really sorry that on doctrinal grounds they don't understand that she cannot tip her hand on Roe. I really think ... they're failing to understand a very basic constitutional principle of judicial independence,"
For example, committee lawyers said, the White House has told senators and conservative activists that Ms. Miers, as White House counsel, deserves credit for helping Mr. Bush select many strongly conservative federal judges. But lawyers for the committee say Ms. Miers, who became White House counsel last year, had no role in the most significant nominations.And the fact that it was Cheney who spouted the "trust us" mantra. The same Cheney that was caught on C-Span telling his fellow Council on Foreign Relation members that he was proud to have hid his CFR membership from his constituents.
...speaking before the CFR where he stated, " It's good to be back at the Council on Foreign Relations…I've been a member for a long time and was actually a director for some period of time. I never mentioned that when I was campaigning for re-election back home in Wyoming". That final statement brought quite a laugh from the CFR audience."Trust us." Yeah right.
In a fun look at Catholicism, Joe McDonough brings us the first of the Humorous Mysteries.
Another must read item from the Curt Jester. Playing off the UNICEF-Belgium's anti-war ad that featured the smurf villiage getting bombed, the Jester came up with his own ad.
I prefer the latter ad.
Maybe I am hyper-sensitive to the current trend of calling a pet your son or daughter. But then again, many of these same people feel free to vocalize their views on my large family. Perhaps they are misplacing the nuturing of children with a pet. I have long held that another child in many lives would cure many ills, but I am a bit biased.
Believe me, I understand the lonely elderly people with pets and I can only image the suffering of those couples unable to have children. I know some of them and their affection for our kids and helping hands are appreciated.
Okay enough of my soapbox, but here is what got me there. There is a new trend for excessive pet owners, religious ceremonies for their dogs. This one called a 'bark mitzvah' is for male dogs who are "coming of age." To quote the article:
"Dogs bring us so much joy,'' added proud mom Edie Rudy. "Why not celebrate them."
Get Religion's post of Why is the bush burning is another excellent article on the firestorm over Bush's nomination of Miers for SCOTUS. He links to several other articles including John Fund's column in the WSJ that I linked to several days back.
The MSM is confused by the new division lines in politics. They were happy to lump everyone right of John Kerry into one big radical group and stereotype them as a mixture of Buchanan, Perot and abortion clinic bombers. The MSM is confused and doesn't get it. But Get Religion does.
From the Coalition for Darfur.
When Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast last month, theAmerican public was privy to 'round-the-clock media coverage of thedisaster, especially of stories relating to the extraordinarilydifficult living conditions faced by those who had been unable toevacuate. Thousands of people were left without food or water fordays; their homes and cities destroyed, they were left to fend forthemselves, trapped in squalid conditions and at the mercy of rovinggangs of well-armed criminals.
As it turned out, many of the more horrific stories were later foundto be false. Yet for the people of Darfur, the horrors that befell the people ofNew Orleans have become a way of life.
For more than two years, nearly two million people have been relegatedto displacement camps across Darfur, with limited access to food,water and medical attention. They live in makeshift tents that providelittle shelter from the elements, and in constant fear of rape,looting and death at the hands of the Janjaweed militia.
An aid worker and blogger known only as Sleepless in Sudan, who has been working in Darfur for six months, has been kind enough toprovide this assessment of the conditions in which the displaced arenow living ("Sleepless" has chosen to remain anonymous in order to protect herself and the agency for which she works from the very realthreat of retribution from the Sudanese government)
People are living inside temporary shelters, covering their branch or woodenhuts (those who have been there longer have built mud brick ones) with plastic sheeting from the aid agencies, and even this has often already been torn apart by the rains. Everyone sleeps on the floor,sometimes in puddles - 10 people in a little shelter is not unusual, more is common.While the United States government was blamed for a poor response to the Katrina catastrophe, the governmentof Sudan is directly responsible for the catastrophe in Darfur. And whereas the state and federal government are now in the process ofcleaning up, and will soon begin the process of rebuilding, the devastated Gulf Coast, the people of Darfur currently have no prospects of ever being able to leave the camps because insecurity is still rampant.
Now that the aid agencies are operating in many camps there is regular water supply, there are latrines, there are medical clinics and most importantly, there is a monthly food distribution of staple grains and things like oil - but this does not mean people have it easy. This season has brought many floods and people have lost their belongings or even shelters, huts and latrines sometimes collapsed in the rains,and the food is never enough (and people have to scramble for things like fresh vegetables themselves anyway, as these are not included in the distribution). Malnutrition inside the camps is still high.
Overall, I would say conditions are adequate for survival - though some camps (especially the ones further away from big cities) are alot worse off than others (Abu Shouk, for example, has dozens of aid agencies, while places just a few hours outside of it have 1 or 2).Whether they are adequate for what you would consider a normal life is debatable - I would say absolutely not, and I have no doubts anyAmerican would find them a lot more "unacceptable" than New Orleans.
I suppose the worst part of living in the camps is having absolutely no idea how much longer you will be there (many people have alreadybeen there for 2 years) and also constantly having to worry that youwill be attacked - Aro Sarow showed us that even large scale attacks and killings inside IDP camps are still a threat. In many camps -Kalma, Tawila, etc. - it is part of everyday life to hear shooting at night, and in nearly all of them it is still very dangerous to wander outside and carry out chores like collecting firewood. Knowing thatyou are constantly at risk of looting and assault is be an easy thingto live with.
Some in the comboxes have expressed their disappointment on the not-so-hard-line ban of homosexuals in the seminary. Initially, I too felt some disappointment, but we must remember; Justice is God's, Mercy is ours. And as I pointed out earlier, we are the Church Militant, not the Church Triumpant.
We must trust that God will work for our good through the Church. Hard to do for the individualistic type like me; but then He is God, not me.
Even in affirming that mothers are the best at caring for their children, National Childminding Association has to make it a back handed compliment. While assuring that the findings ... should not be interpreted as a condemnation of daycare centers, Care provided by others is "definitely less good."
Definitely less good? Is that the same as "Worse" but doesn't sink to the level of "sucks?"
I must say I don't have much for coherent thoughts today. I have the start of a sinus cold and well, it is dulling my thoughts. But I am enjoying reading about the Synod discussions. I don't know much about the Synod and how much of the discussion will turn into action, but vocalizing issues regarding the Eucharist is definitely worth the effort.
Cardinal Herranz: Faithful deserve access to confession, Blessed Sacrament, reverent liturgy
I came across the JoeCatholic blog and he was writing about the lack of bells at the Consecration. He makes an excellent point, how we need something to signify the miracle that is taking place. And it led me to thinking about our parish and how I wish the liturgy would include the bells, the incense and whatever might appeal to our senses other than sight. I usually bend down and whisper to my blind son what is happening at the Consecration, but I wish for his sake we hadn't stripped our liturgies of all the sensual (appealing to the senses) imagery.
We worship with our bodies, this is the purpose for which they are made. We genuflect, we listen, we see, we smell and we taste. How can the super-sensitive, don't-want-to-offend-anyone type overlook such an obvious shortcoming?
No shock to most, but the media didn't get it right, nor did it seem they cared. As long as they were "reporting" and kept you watching or tune in, they were happy. WorldNetDaily has a good article on the misreporting in the Shavio case with many of the facts that most people never heard.
- Strange timing on Michael's case and how his position changed after the he won the $1.5 million settlement.
- Loaded polls by the MSM.
There are excerpts from the book that WND is plugging, but it is very comprehensive in the details.
For those about to ... have a coronary over the as-yet-unseen Vatican document that issues asupposed ban on homosexual in the seminary, you might want to sit down and take a drink of water. John Allen writes in his National Catholic Reporter (no bastion of those blindly-loyal-papist Catholics) article, the Vatican will not issue an absolute ban. Those not to be admitted are
- If candidates have not demonstrated a capacity to live celibate lives for at least three years;
- If they are part of a "gay culture," for example, attending gay pride rallies (a point, the official said, which applies both to professors at seminaries as well as students);
- If their homosexual orientation is sufficiently "strong, permanent and univocal" as to make an all-male environment a risk.
But here are some well worth reading articles for those mired in the Miers controversy. A flavor for all tastes; a well-timed baseball analogy by Bainbridge,
Accordingly, and unabashedly, I wanted George Bush to hit a home run; i.e., a young, committed movement conservative possessing one of the greatest legal minds of his/her generation. Based on everything George Bush had said about appointing judges, going back to the 2000 Presidential campaign, I expected Bush to hit a home run or, at least, go down swinging for the fences.
What I got was a single. Or maybe a double. But no home run.
Maybe the president has simply concluded he has no more elections to face and no longer needs his own troops to wage the ground war and contribute money. Maybe with no more elections to face he's indulging a desire to show them who's boss.
George Bush has again and again called on conservatives to sacrifice for the success of his presidency. Whether it was McCain-Feingold or racial quotas or immigration or "Islam is peace," conservatives were urged not to let petty personal considerations distract them from the big picture.
But when it was the president's turn to make the biggest domestic-policy decision of his presidency, to fill the swing seat on the US Supreme Court, did he sacrifice? Did he point the general good ahead of his own petty personal considerations? He did not. He abandoned his principles, his party, his loyal followers all to indulge his personal favoritism.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re has spoken out against the practice of General Absolution.
Thus bishops must see to it that general or collective absolutions not be carried out except for very justified exceptions, as contemplated in Pope John Paul II's letter "Misericordia Dei," the Vatican prefect said. "The bishop has the obligation not to allow in his diocese abusive recourse to general or collective absolution," he stressed.Legionary of Christ Father John Bartunek, an English-speaking reporter for the synod, said that Cardinal Re explained that "many dioceses have introduced general absolution and have seen that this has only caused harm to the spiritual life and a loss of the sense of sin."According to Father Bartunek, the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops added that "the faithful themselves realize that this practice does not move them to conversion."
Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, head of the group Human Life International, added his thoughts on the Miers nomination for SCOTUS. And he wasn't ambiguous in his stand.
"We know very little about Miers, but her nomination revealed a lot about President Bush. It has become clear he is afraid to fight for the values on which he campaigned."
Fr. Euteneuer recalled that "Last year Bush asked faithful Catholics to fight for him, campaign for him and vote for him and they did in record numbers; now the President lacks the stomach to fight for the values of those who put him in office.”
It was a pig-shaped stress reliever that offended the suddenly ultra sensitive Muslims and led to the recall on pork products. But obviously all offenses are not created equal.
[other members of the] staff said they were offended by the products in the run up to the Islamic festival of Ramadan.
[However] a decision will be taken after the festival ends about whether the items are allowed back.
This little pig goes to market,And I am going to start an airline that will be completely safe from Terrorists. Each plane will be named after a famous pig and be painted as such. Plus a live pig mascot will greet all passengers to ensure their safety.
This little pig stays home,
This little pig has roast beef,
This little pig has none.
And this little english pig gets blown to smithereens.
I am very pleased by the reports from the synod on the Eucharist. This one from CNA touches on two items that are especially important in my mind; reception in the hand:
"Communion in the hand", he said, "is spreading and even prevailing as being easier, as a kind of fashion. ...
Bishop Rimantas Norvila of Vilkaviskis, Lithuania agreed. "Without the will or the possibility of sacramental reconciliation," he said, "it becomes impossible for Catholics to experience the most profound union with Jesus Christ and the Church, favored by the Eucharist.
...
"At the same time," he pointed out, "without the practice of reconciliation, subjectivism tends to increase, and it becomes more difficult to evaluate personal behavior and religiosity."
Two items from Southern Appeal. First is a direct link to the original article by David Frum. And yes, David pretty much nails it.
This cartoon pretty much sums up why so many conservatives are so angry. Perhaps we bought the lie because we were holding out in hope, but it was still a lie.
All signs point to England already being conquered by the radical Islam. It was hardly a fight, the British welcomed them and then handed the country too them.
Evidence? The continued capitulation to them, the "we don't want to offend them" mentality. First, the pigs, 
now the flags. (warning, warm and fuzzy quotes in this article may lead to vomiting)
The red cross is an insensitive reminder of the Crusades, said Chris Doyle, director of the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding.
More and more people are starting to reach the tipping point. The Southern Appeal blog has, and details some of the issues with the GOP (Going Overboard Promptly)
The Democrats are perfectly capable of giving us No Child Left Behind, Medicare Prescription Drug entitlements, expansion of the AmeriCorps program, and an increase non-military spending at over twice the rate of Bill Clinton's administration. No need to vote GOP to receive such an agenda.
The lesson of other Republican nominees without such fixed views -- Harry Blackmun, Mr. Souter, Anthony Kennedy -- is that they always drift to the left once they get on the Court."Senator John Cornyn, who knows Miers well, has been quoted as saying that "She is obviously not a Scalia or a Thomas." Isn't a Scalia or Thomas precisely what Bush promised us? I'm starting to lose track of the number of promises Bush made to his base and has now broken.
Do you do Eucharist? Well Catholics don't. Try as they may, those trying to tear down the priesthood can't turn the laity into priests. Funny thing is many priests are guilty of trying to destroy their vocation. This article at Catholic Exchange offers some insight on one who would destroy what he is. But the article also reminds us to pray for our priests and that, in the words of St. Catherine of Siena
because of the blood Christ shed to establish the priesthood, “The reverence belongs not to the ministers, but to Me...and just as the reverence is done to Me, so also is the irreverence.”
Super blogger, Mark Shea says it so well in regards to the disappointment/frustration/anger at Bush's latest nomination for the Supreme Court.
I think this will go down in history as the moment when the pro-life movement finally sez "Go to hell" to Republicans who have played them like fiddles, kept them at arms length, made empty promises and lied them onto the reservation for 25 years.
A good friend infomed me that EWTN/Sacred Heart Radio is now in Spokane. For the locals, tune your radio to 970 to hear solid Catholic commentary and talk.
It leads me to consider the value of talk radio. I often listen to conservative talk radio, but for the last week have been listening to Ave Maria. I find great value in Catholic radio. It can help form your faith, answer questions, solidify faith and in general draw you closer to God through the Church.
But does conservative talk radio help our country just as Catholic radio helps the Church. It touches many of the same areas, informing the mind, exposing the truth and answering questions. But I see that it fails for some reason. While Catholic radio helps form our minds, strengthen our hearts and live our lives in faith; political talk radio seems to be more of a gripe session. It can inform our minds, but because it is politics, it doesn't touch our hearts and change our country.
To change our country, we need to vote rationally at the ballot box rather than rely on emotion. Emotions often fade by the time elections come around and with the limited choices, we choose what we consider the best, worst option. So talk radio can whip up the troops; but without that tug on the heart, the emotion fades away and we keep electing the same sold out politicians that serve themselves rather than their country.
***Update***
Thanks for the correction Eric. I believe it is EWTN radio on the Sacred Heart stations in the Northwest.
Here is a bit of loonieness to lighten up your Monday. From Lark news, a church in Arkansas prepares their congregation for the Rapture. They are so concerned about "Rapture preparedness" that they have a safety card that the ushers hold up and go through a demonstration of the proper positions to be "raptured." My preference would be the superman pose.
And the safety concerns don't end with those being taken, the exits are pointed out for those who are left.
When the Rapture happens we want saved and unsaved people alike to get through the experience safely," says Eckers. "We're especially concerned that no one get trampled, because, of course, the ushers will be gone.
Our priest had an excellent homily yesterday to kick off Respect Life month. I like his humility too, when I compliment him on his homilies, he always replies, "pray for the preacher." I always say, "I do." and it looks like it is working.
He wove the readings about the vineyards into his preaching and then turned to respect life. He even mentioned abortion, which in our parish is quite a shock. He preached life with gentleness honesty. I know many of us would like more hard hitting truths, but I like his ability to preach without driving many of the lukewarm away. Perhaps a call to conversion will bring them around.
Other pro-life thoughts: Is there a more obvious Biblical example of life before birth than the second Joyful Mystery? The Visitation always seems to remind me of life in the womb. How can any Christian not believe this, when Elizibeth is filled with the Spirit and calls Mary the "mother of my Lord" and when John leaps for joy in the womb at the prescense of God in Mary's womb? Good meditations for the month of October.
