statistician and politicians

There could be a debate between which is a better liar. But I would have to say that statistician, as opposed to the politicians, are generally using numbers to work towards a solution. But when a politician turns statistician, you can generally turn the channel.

Looks like the pro-abortion crown doesn't even believe Giuliani. Abortion Advocate Says Rudy Giuliani's Adoption Claims "Unsupportable"

But Richards says the increase in adoptions Giuliani refers to is children in the city's foster care system and "not in the rate at which women were continuing unwanted pregnancies and placing their infants for adoption rather than having abortions."

So as the saying goes, there are lies, damn lies and damn politicians using statistics. Of course we could always go to the tape for the proof.

Earlier this month, Fordham University political science professor Bruce Berg reviewed all the tapes of Mayor Giuliani's press conferences dating back to 1996 and said he never once saw the mayor promote adoption.

acting accordingly

I can already hear the rants from the other side. Condemning people based on their belief, of how could they be so intolerant and hateful.
Imposing "Tolerance"

Vincent Matherick and his wife Pauline are registered as foster parents in Somerset County. They are also ministers at the non-conformist South Chard Christian Church. They were recently informed by authorities that they must obey laws that require them to treat homosexuality as equal to heterosexuality.

The couple told the Telegraph that they would neither condemn nor condone homosexuality, and that they could not actively promote it because of their religious beliefs.

Nevermind they were not being intolerant or condemning homosexuality, but merely not willing to promote it to the foster children. The brazen nerve of them Christians. Just who do they think they are having opinions and holding to their beliefs?

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor ... maintained that, "freedom of religion is much more than the freedom to worship; it is the freedom to act according to that belief in the service of others."

The obvious effect of weeding out good foster parents and forcing agencies to stop offering adoption services if they won't comply to the indoctrination is that more and more children will be left in the care of the State. Where they should be of course, because big brother is kinder, more loving and obviously more "tolerant" than any human parents would be.

shall-nots

Another marvelous post by Matthew at CMR. As someone who lived atheism and was one of the "enlightened", he is not impressed by it. But still, everyone know that Catholicism is about the “Thou-Shall-Nots" as he puts it. So what about The Theology of Yes

I laughed off everything and found myself dreadfully serious. That is the paradox of atheism. Oddly enough, when I was enlightened I felt burdened. I’ve come to decide enlightenment is a heavy philosophy, not suited to living.

My life was filled with thinking about death. I didn't take life seriously but I thought of death incessantly.

Read the entire article. His experience gives him a profound edge.

But how many of us still live in the "shall-nots"? We wade in the shallows of the shall-nots, afraid to venture into the deep waters of truth. We see the limits that are placed on us without recognizing the benefits. Once we embrace the "yes", our vision will change.

For those with large families, consider the children. In my case, I grudgingly accepted them. I knew in my heart my wife was right, but selfishly, I was unhappy. They were a drain on MY time and resources. To be blunt, my focus was on me. And I wasn't happy.

But the beauty of accepting the teachings of the Church in practice even when it isn't in your heart, is that your heart can change. If you are willing to walk the walk, God can change the heart. So slowly but surely, child by child, He changed mine. That is why I jokingly say I have 6.8 kids because I am a slow learner. Not slow to learn "how that happens", but slow to learn what a wonderful plan God has. Once I said yes in my heart, the scales have fell from my eyes. Life hasn't changed, I am not suddenly flush with cash nor are my children angels. In fact I am busier than ever.

But the big difference is that I am happy. I may be to busy to finish projects, watch all the football I would like to, pray as much as I should, read the books I bought... but I am happy. Happy because I am busy doing what I am supposed to be doing. Call it God's work, but more likely it is my work, work that God has give me to mold me into a better man.

No burdens, just joys. Not easy trivial joys like a good dark chocolate. Joys that can make a man cry. Or smile. Often at the same time.

Attention getters

Matthew at CMR has a couple posts worth noting. Actually all if his posts are worth reading, but first a comment on this one.

Atheists Host Pornographic Christian Art Exhibit.

...have you ever noticed that atheists nowadays tend to be more evangelistic than believers? Look at the comment boxes in religious blogs. You can't go too far without stumbling upon some atheist with something to say. I've never gone to an atheist site to yell at them.

It's an odd thing to be so pushy about a negative which is what atheism is, though. The International Federation of Atheists is a group of atheists and they do what it seems atheists do -which is to speak incessantly of religion.
...
Rather odd. A bunch of people who supposedly want nothing to do with religion going to see an exhibit about religion. I suppose they want attention, the poor things. If they would just become Christians they'd realize that Someone is paying quite close attention and they wouldn't have to be so outrageous and silly.

Reminds me when the archbishop Fulton Sheen encountered a lady ranting against Christians in his church. He thanked her for confirming that Christ existed, much to her dismay. He pointed out that nobody rants against belief in some imaginary character.

To paraphrase both Matthew and Sheen, it has to be something real and significant to get this many people so worked up.

I was wrong

in assuming Giuliani wouldn't make a good president. Seems he is right on track with the big boys in politics. Giuliani's police chief could be problem.

Federal prosecutors in New York have spent more than a year pursuing criminal charges against Kerik, reportedly including bribery, tax evasion, obstruction of justice, providing false information and conspiracy to eavesdrop.

That laundry list matches up well with the necessary traits for a good president. Instead of bribery, tax evasion, obstruction of justice, falsification and eavesdropping, just consider them to be; delegation, tax cuts, commitment to a cause and properly studying the opposition. In fact I think most of those are covered as such under the Patriot Act.

Really though, this Bernard Kerik fellow can't be that bad. Bush nominated him to be the Homeland Security chief back in 2004. Too bad that slave/household servant had to be exposed and he withdrew.

The more I learn of Giuliani, the more he fits right in with the current administration. I could write his debate talking points, just repeat the one line mantra of how well he ran New York. I love this line in the article,

So far, Kerik's troubles haven't seemed to nick Giuliani's primary campaign narrative that he's a Republican who tamed a Democratic city and heroically led New York after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.[emphasis added]

A narrative to be sure. Too bad it is from the fiction section. But considering that the Attorney General appointee Michael Mukasey is another Giuliani friend, it all fits together like a well written book. Perhaps I wish it was all as fictional as his narrative.

Latin lovers and logic

A couple items on the recent flap over the U.N. saying the Catholic Church's stance on condoms is making the AIDS epidemic worse. The Curt Jester wonders how the Church holds so many people captive with its teaching against contraception while those same people freely ignore the teachings on fornication. But when logic fails, it is always easy to Blame the Church.

Jeff also offers a couple of case studies.

AIDS victims in 1987: Philippines 135 / Thailand 112

In 1991 the WHO predicted the Philippines would have 80,000 to 90,000 cases and Thailand 60,000 to 80,000 AIDS victims.

Thailand promoted the use of condoms in massive campaigns where Catholic Philippines promoted 'Abstinence' and 'Be faithful'.

The prognosis of the WHO was wrong for both countries:

1999: Philippines 1,005 / Thailand 755,000 AIDS victims

Source: British Medical Journal, volume 328, April 10th 2004

Here is another case:

Take for example a March 2004 article in the medical journal, Studies in Family Planning (cited by the Zenit News Agency, June 26, 2004). Titled "Condom Promotion for AIDS Prevention in the Developing World: Is It Working?," the piece was a meta-review of the scientific literature on the question.

The results shocked condom advocates. In the article, researchers Sanny Chen and Norman Hearst noted that, "In many sub-Saharan African countries, high HIV transmission rates have continued despite high rates of condom use." In fact, they continued, "No clear examples have emerged yet of a country that has turned back a generalized epidemic primarily by means of condom distribution."

No surprise, then, that Botswana, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and South Africa — the nations with the highest levels of condom availability — continue to have the highest rates of HIV prevalence ("The White House Initiative to Combat AIDS: Learning from Uganda," Joseph Loconte, Executive Summary Backgrounder).

While Patrick has a similar take on the disparity of influence by the Church in his Latin Lovers Conversation.

According to the United Nations, there are many conversations occurring in Latin America similar to the one below:

Sacred or scared

The delightfully witty Ironic Catholic has a Ponderous Question: Has Anyone Had A Sacred Family Meal In This Century?

Mealtime with kids is more running scared than looking for the sacred. I think we have had one(1). We spent the entire day working on a Seder meal. It actually turned out wonderful and I will cherish it for a long time. Easy to pick that one out because it stands alone.

The rest...yeah. 6 picky kids (paybacks are ...) so our meals are either bland or filled with complaints about "picy". One very slow eater, he is blind so he doesn't visually see how much food is left or how little he has eaten. Coupled with everyone enjoying a good tale, especially their own, meals shave time off purgatory at best. More often they likely add to purgatory if we make it there, yet leave us yearning for the day.

I must say "Eat!" about forty times a meal. I sometimes find myself saying "eat!" when I mean other things like "do your homework" or "hurry up."

So, yeah, sacred mealtimes happen about once a decade for us. But this is supposed to make us holy, right? Perhaps that is why I find my wife "off in her own little world" when I get home from work.

Unbelievable

I find this rather unbelievable. Volleyball Team Finds Deer Carcass On Bus - San Antonio News Story - KSAT San Antonio

Members of the Comfort High School Whitetail Deer volleyball team came across the remains of a dead deer after playing a game against Blanco High School.

Not the dead deer, but that a school could be named Comfort High School Whitetail Deer. Rural American humor isn't always well understood by the urban folks. My nephew had a similar incident that ended with the police being involved.

Seems someone decided to tie a dead deer on the back of his pickup truck. He didn't notice until he stopped in town and some young gal went off on him, blaming him of course and threatening to call the police. He pretty much ignored her and when talking to the police about it later, they got a chuckle out of it and asked him to dispose of it.

New (to me)

The CUF, Catholics United for the Faith has a blog, and here is a good topic to introduce it. Iggy’s Top Ten

In honor of St. Ignatius, I will now give a “top ten” list of some of my favorite quotes from this great bishop and martyr.

At the center of it all

A friend referred me to this wonderful piece on the state of the Church. Fr. Martin Fox lets us know What's Going on in the Church? It is rather long but worth it. For the teaser I will give you the Chesterton quote he gave.

This is the thrilling romance of Orthodoxy. People have fallen into a foolish habit of speaking of orthodoxy as something heavy, humdrum, and safe. There never was anything so perilous or so exciting as orthodoxy. It was sanity: and to be sane is more dramatic than to be mad. It was the equilibrium of a man behind madly rushing horses, seeming to stoop this way and to sway that, yet in every attitude having the grace of statuary and the accuracy of arithmetic.

The Church in its early days went fierce and fast with any warhorse; yet it is utterly unhistoric to say that she merely went mad along one idea, like a vulgar fanaticism. She swerved to left and right, so exactly as to avoid enormous obstacles. She left on one hand the huge bulk of Arianism, buttressed by all the worldly powers to make Christianity too worldly. The next instant she was swerving to avoid an orientalism, which would have made it too unworldly. The orthodox Church never took the tame course or accepted the conventions; the orthodox Church was never respectable. It would have been easier to have accepted the earthly power of the Arians. It would have been easy, in the Calvinistic seventeenth century, to fall into the bottomless pit of predestination. It is easy to be a madman: it is easy to be a heretic. It is always easy to let the age have its head; the difficult thing is to keep one's own. It is always easy to be a modernist; as it is easy to be a snob.

To have fallen into any of those open traps of error and exaggeration which fashion after fashion and sect after sect set along the historic path of Christendom -- that would indeed have been simple. It is always simple to fall; there are an infinity of angles at which one falls, only one at which one stands. To have fallen into any one of the fads from Gnosticism to Christian Science would indeed have been obvious and tame. But to have avoided them all has been one whirling adventure; and in my vision the heavenly chariot flies thundering through the ages, the dull heresies sprawling and prostrate, the wild truth reeling but erect. —G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, Chapter 6.

Q&A

Zenit's liturgy column poses an interesting question today. Arriving After the Gospel: No Communion?

Put that finger back in its holster son

When the ludicrous gets out of hand.Boy suspended for stick-figure drawing

A New Jersey second-grader's drawing of a stick figure shooting a gun has earned him a one-day school suspension.

Funny thing is, I think many "intellectuals" consider this a dangerous sign that the boy may be violent. Rather that seeing it as natural, they think it should be repressed, but of course any sort of sexual deviancy should be encouraged.

And then you have the young man writing violent poetry and that gets a pass by academia. When there is no moral compass, people just make it up as they go. Where does that lead? Chaos.

And now...

Paul at Alive and Young on Introducing . . . Jesus

I think I'm going to watch this everyday just before I go to mass.

I would agree wholeheartedly.


In fact, no only that, but as Catholics, we get to meet Him every week in the Eucharist.

As Homer would say, MMM, Donuts

If I didn't eat it first, I might be brave enough to try the Anti-Ticket Donut

Everyone’s been caught speeding at some point in their driving career. Now there’s an exciting new way to try and barter your way out of a stiff fine and some black marks on your license.

The incredible anti-ticket donut will cost you a mere $9.95 and certainly prevent your next ticket. Available in chocolate or sprinkle flavor, these imitation donuts make a great addition to your glovebox or cupholders. For what it’s worth, the inventor claims to ship 75 percent of his creations to police officers.

Counter-counter cultural

Got quite a link fest here. Patrick at CMR found out he is Counter-Cultural, Who Knew? Now, I can relate, but I say it is counter-counter cultural. I have commented often in the past about how bizarre and uncivil that people feel free to comment on such intimate details of their life to complete strangers.

Patrick's column leads to
Danielle Bean on being open to life. As both say, trust is probably the biggest reason we keep having more. Danielle links to a veritable meme going around the feminine side of the blogosphere 40 Reasons to Have Kids My favorite is

26. Do something to change the world. Have a child. Raise a saint.

Amen to that. I will do my best to add forty from a father's perspective, but reserve the right to stop before I reach forty. After all I am of the less creative gender.

1. My answer to those intrusive commentors, I enjoy making them.
2. Better than sex cake? I don't think so. (and I am a chocolate freak)
3. Sleep better.
4. (okay, enough about making them)
5. Kids make you a better man.
6. The first taught me to value the weak.
7. The second taught me the value of prayer (remind me to post his miracle story)
8. The third teaches me the value of Guardian Angels (notice the present tense)
9. Number 4 finally brought me out of my selfishness.
10. The fifth, well lets say my fifth is a good reason for a good fifth. A spitting image of me, but how different they can be.
11. #6 is the beauty following the beast. As collicy and feisty as #5 was, #6 is sweet and mellow.
12. The seventh (on the way) brought home the value of trusting God. Put away the charts and enjoy the married life. (thank you St. Joseph)
13. The one that died before getting here taught us the fragility of life.
14. Kids teach a guy he doesn't know everything (even before they become teenagers.)
15. I don't have to leave the house to clothe the naked
16. Comfort the sorrowing,
17. Feed the hungry. (at all hours of the day)
18. Kids teach men how to delegate, you fill the bottle, you get some diapers, you get in the car, I'll grab the baby and perhaps we can get to Mass before the 1st reading.
19. Baby nap time, what better excuse to spend a Sunday afternoon watching football that to have a sleeping baby on your chest.
20. Halfway there
21. (okay I am cheating a bit)
22. (remember the bit about the being less creative)
23. (that doesn't pertain to excuses)
24. Kids help us understand why our parents would laugh at something that wasn't funny.
25. Like a knife tempered in the fire and sharpened on a steel, kids provide both for a man's character.
26. We learn discipline starts with ourselves.
27. The family is like a small church, and what is a church without members?
28. Or a church that doesn't grow?
29. Being a man means passing on important traits to your children. Like which football team to root for (Vikings of course) and which green and gold team from cheeseland to despise.
30. Wrestling time. When can getting beat be so much fun. Some day they will be able to beat me for real. I will have to give it up a year before that.
31. Games on a winter afternoon.
32. Having more than 2 really irks the liberals.
33. Large families have much more influence on a community.
34. Listening to Theology from the back seat. I just love listening to kids talking about religion and "getting it." or even when they don't quite grasp it yet.
35. Watching young men emerge from the boys you once held.
36. Pondering which gun to clean the first time a young man comes courting.
37. Never having to wonder what lessons God couldn't teach me through my children.
38. Siblings.
39. Knowing your kids will learn by example that eternal souls are worth more than things.
40. Having kids teaches a man to be just that, a man. Me? I am a slow learner.

Whew! Got through it. Number 25 and 40 about sum it up. Kids are a blessing that sometimes don't feel like a blessing. But when you stop to count, (blessing not kids) a man realizes how much he has grown. How much God has instructed him while he was instructing the children.

Brown down

Looks like the pretenders are going to start dropping off. I always get a chuckle when they "announce" they will withdraw in the coming days. Why not withdraw now?
Brownback to withdraw from GOP race

WASHINGTON - Republican Sen. Sam Brownback, the Kansas conservative who struggled to raise money and gain recognition in the 2008 presidential campaign, will drop out on Friday, people close to him said Thursday.

I had high hopes for Brownback, but after watching only a few debates, I saw too many shortcomings.

A stiff and un-inspiring demeanor coupled with being big-government didn't separate him from the field. As I have said before, there is more to being conservative than being pro-life. Being big government on the right issues isn't conservative, it is just simply being for big government. And that is one of the biggest issues right now. We need someone with a libertarian streak right now. Someone like Ron Paul.

Irrationally Dilusional

Paul at Alive and Young has a great video. Make sure your Notre Dame friends see this one.
Fake Men of Genius: Hopeless Irish Fan

Up, up and away

I think I am about fed up. With what you ask?

Thanks for asking, cuz here is my rant. I think it is about time for Christians to stop the whining. Man up to the central item of Christianity and step away from the whiner line.
Speak softly and buy your big stick somewhere else.
Christmas is approaching and another year of avoiding the "C" word for some retailers. And then the fire and brimstone from the "watchdog groups" calling for boycotts, or better yet, to buy their "solution". Kinda seems like the coin changers in the temple to me. Don't let them mock you, buy our cheap trinkets.

I am all for using your dollars wisely. If a merchant wants to be politically correct and this bothers your, don't shop there. Better yet, stop by and let them know they lost your business. Stand up and be counted as a Christian. Speak up in public to defend the faith.

But I am tired of the constant drivel of whining. Most Christians expect to be mocked by Hollywood. Has it changed any buying patterns? Do we still line up for the latest Disney movies and video games? So what if the talking dunderheads on "The View" slobber all over themselves to be the most insulting to Catholics. Like the spoiled child, are we enabling their behavior with all the attention?

Whose watching the watch dogs
Watch dogs serve an important role. But it seems some have grown to think they are a bit more than watch dogs. And like the dog that starts to bark too often or things it owns the porch, a swift kick might be in order.


Central to the Faith Jesus didn't complain that he was treated poorly. No boycotts of the Sanhedrin, no email chain letters to his disciples. His terms were simple.

Pick up your cross and follow me.

And look where that got him.

Not impressed? Well consider where it might get us if we just do as he commanded. Shoulder, meet the cross. Now zip it.

Hope for America, and hope for Ron Paul

Dave Kopel on National Review Online gives some glowing praise to Ron Paul and gives him a chance in the primaries.Could Dr. Paul really surprise us all? via Catholics for Ron Paul

The Republican Revolution of 1994 promised substantial shrinkage of a bloated federal government. The Republicans who were swept into Congress in 1946 had promised the same thing, and they delivered a great deal. The 1994 Republicans delivered much less, were out-maneuvered by President Clinton, and eventually became part of the problem.

But deep down there’s still a hunger among much of the Republican base for someone who will shrink the Leviathan, rather than merely attempt to use it for conservative ends.

Like the Ronald Reagan message (and unlike the Pat Buchanan message), the Ron Paul message is fundamentally positive. There may be some anger about the depredations of huge and aggressive government, but the campaign’s theme is “Hope for America” and its premise is that the American people are good people who can achieve the best for themselves, their families, their community, and their nation when the federal government gets out of the way and stops behaving like a helicopter mother.[emphasis mine]

That is the kicker right there. The Republican politicians see their support as freedom to spend on their pet projects. But the conservatives are looking for someone to stop the spending. It isn't about "getting mine", but about freedom and keeping the government in check.

The media loves to play the Republican versus Democrat, right versus left.... That angle excites the passions and makes for good copy, and good copy makes for good business in the media world. But the Republicans better recognize the media doesn't portray the base the way the base sees issues. Sound bites aren't as effective in the bits and bytes world. We don't have to rely on Jennings or Couric or the anchor of the month, nor is the information limited to the 5 seconds of edited jargon.

Real opinions on real issues may cause some discomfort to the politician, but perhaps that is why Dr. Paul is doing so well when no one gave him a chance.

Political question

Franklin raises the question over at Catholic Dads. Sound Off: Giuliani Vs. Clinton

A lot has been made lately of a potential Giuliani nomination for President by the Republican party. I know that Thoughts of a Regular Guy has been quite vocal about it. Recently I posted some thoughts at FrankPeach.Com - A Vote For Giuliani Is A Vote For Hillary, as to why we cannot support Giuliani even in the general election. EyeHacker Blog responded why he disagreed and would instead Hold his Noise and vote for Giuliani.

I wanted to know what other Catholic Dads thought. So here's a chance to sound off, please keep the discourse civil, and grant that there is room for disagreement on the issue.

As I have watched most of the GOP debates, I have looked hard into the candidates from a solid Catholic perspective.

I had high hopes for Brownback, but as solid as he is on life, he is just as committed to big government. Pro-life amendments and pro-marriage amendments at the federal level isn't the answer.

Huckabee is a bit more charismatic version of Brownback. More likeable, pro-life but still big government.

Giuliani is anti-Catholic in most of his stances. And he is simply a slimy politician in my book. No better than Romney or Clinton in their changing appearances.

Ron Paul is the only one I could support right now. He speaks honestly rather than looking for that 6 O'clock news sound bite.

It wouldn't save the world and make all the wrongs right, but it sure would shake up the political establishment in Washington.

One for the dads

Making waves

Jennifer over at "Et Tu" posts a good summary of the tainted vaccine issue; Vaccines and aborted fetal tissue

Seems I have been remiss

In my duty. No not blogging duties, but duties as a Catholic parent.

Seems many good Catholics still don't know about some vaccines that were created using aborted babies.

Subvet over at Catholic Dads asked Does anyone have information on this? earlier today.

I feel like I'm opening a can of worms but here goes.

Anybody know about the use of fetal tissue for the generation of vaccines for common childhood ailments? When I first heard of it I asked my wife (pediatric RN) and was told she'd never come across anything about it. The diseases mentioned included those I got vaccination for back in the '50's, long before our culture of death got up and running in a serious way. For that reason I was willing to write it off as one more conspiracy theory, probably on the same level as the one stating we never made a Moon landing. But it keeps cropping up on various Catholic sites I go to, some of them are fairly solid in their approach to things.

The Children of God for Life site has great factual information about this topic. And the un-tainted alternatives.

As noted above, it is easy to write this off as a wacko conspiracy theory, but it just ain't so. Difficult as it is to come to grips that your child may have received cells from an aborted baby, it doesn't negate the truth. We didn't find out until after our fourth child had been injected with tainted vaccines. My wife was about sick when we found out. It has been a rough road trying to convince doctors (even Christian ones) that this was true, but it is as simple as looking at the product insert.

And the COG site isn't some off the wall avoid all vaccinations site. They have worked (we participated) to get a Japanese version of the Rubella vaccine authorized for use in the US. There is no approved Rubella vaccine that is not tainted.

So, so true

I love it when humor strikes subtly at reality.

Non Sequitur

A mom's day in less than 3 minutes

Bravo!

Two Marinis

In a move that will likely be applauded by fellow blogger JD Carriere the Vatican's top liturgical liberal steps down.

This has long been a sore spot for many good Catholics, a point of contention for some, a blemish on Pope John Paul II's good name and at the least, something of a large elephant in the sanctuary.

In a noteworthy change of personnel, if not of surname, the Vatican announced today that Monsignor Guido Marini will replace Archbishop Piero Marini as the pope’s Master of Ceremonies, meaning the official in charge of how the pope celebrates the Mass and the other rites of the church.

The outgoing Marini was long seen as a more permissive counterpart to the strong traditionalism at the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Vatican’s policy-setting agency on liturgical matters. Experts have noted the irony that large-scale papal liturgies organized on Marini’s watch are sometimes more innovative than a strict reading of official policy might permit.

One of the many stumbling blocks was the frequency of liturgical dancers in papal Masses.

The Congregation for Divine Worship officially frowns on dance in the liturgy. In 1975 it issued a document titled Dance in the Liturgy, which concluded, “[Dance] cannot be introduced into liturgical celebrations of any kind whatever. That would be to inject into the liturgy one of the most desacralized and desacralizing elements; and so it would be equivalent to creating an atmosphere of profaneness which would easily recall to those present and to the participants in the celebration worldly places and situations.”

In 1998, the congregation wrote to the bishop of Honolulu to ban the use of hula dancing in any liturgical context, a custom that had become common among Catholics in Hawaii. Yet when John Paul visited Brussels in 1995 for the beatification of Father Damien DeVeuster, the famous saint of the Hawaiian lepers, a hula dance was performed smack in the middle of the ceremony.

Not sure that the official frowning is an official function of the Congregation for Divine Worship, but it was difficult to defend the good Pope against traditionalists whenever this topic would arise. So quietly, yet surely, Pope Benedict is cleaning up one of the neglected areas of his predecessor.

And I rather like the quiet method. Rather than throwing around anathemas and excommunications, the gentle reproofs and cleaning up one's own house first wins more souls in the long run.

Accurate

It is an accurate depiction if nothing else. The American sign language ASL sign for abortion

via Spirit's Sword