Monday, May 31, 2004
Prison Abuse at Home
America's Abu Ghraibs, an editorial from today's New York Times, details the routine sexual humiliation that prisoners are subjected to in U.S. prisons. It does not even mention the well-known fact that guards often turn a blind eye to the rape and sexual slavery that occurs there.
Why all the outcry over chain gangs a few years ago but relatively little about this state of affairs? Could it have anything to do with the homosexual nature of the crimes committed in prison?
Eliminate the televisions and gyms found in prisons and instead provide inmates with labor, books and, more importantly, security from each other.
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America's Abu Ghraibs, an editorial from today's New York Times, details the routine sexual humiliation that prisoners are subjected to in U.S. prisons. It does not even mention the well-known fact that guards often turn a blind eye to the rape and sexual slavery that occurs there.
Why all the outcry over chain gangs a few years ago but relatively little about this state of affairs? Could it have anything to do with the homosexual nature of the crimes committed in prison?
Eliminate the televisions and gyms found in prisons and instead provide inmates with labor, books and, more importantly, security from each other.
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Fátima
Serge, of A conservative blog for peace, has an extensive post On the interfaith Fátima débàcle, in which he provides some insightful commentary.
Hindus and Muslims should be encouraged to go to Fátima. Mary and Jesus are a part of the faith of all Muslims and many Hindus. Going to Fátima will only bring them closer to the way God wants them to worship Him.
It seems that worries about Fátima becoming an interfaith shrine stem from the alarmism of some radical traditionalists (see the ZENIT News Agency's articles What Is Happening in Fatima? from January 1, 2003 and Fatima's New Church Moves Ahead from May 13, 2004).
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Serge, of A conservative blog for peace, has an extensive post On the interfaith Fátima débàcle, in which he provides some insightful commentary.
Hindus and Muslims should be encouraged to go to Fátima. Mary and Jesus are a part of the faith of all Muslims and many Hindus. Going to Fátima will only bring them closer to the way God wants them to worship Him.
It seems that worries about Fátima becoming an interfaith shrine stem from the alarmism of some radical traditionalists (see the ZENIT News Agency's articles What Is Happening in Fatima? from January 1, 2003 and Fatima's New Church Moves Ahead from May 13, 2004).
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Ridiculous Quote of the Day
Gay activist Greg Van Hyfte, 27, as quoted in Catholic Gay Activists Denied Communion in Chicago:
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Gay activist Greg Van Hyfte, 27, as quoted in Catholic Gay Activists Denied Communion in Chicago:
- "Who is the church to say who can and cannot get communion?"
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Sunday, May 30, 2004
His Apostolic and Imperial Majesty Charles I To Be Beatified
Beatification for Emperor Karl, Anne Emmerich
For more, read Charles of Asburg: The last Catholic Emperor.
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Beatification for Emperor Karl, Anne Emmerich
For more, read Charles of Asburg: The last Catholic Emperor.
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Saturday, May 29, 2004
The Dayaks
Re: Borneo: A new Church is born among the Dayak
I knew a few devout Christian Dayaks while living in Kuala Lumpur. It was interesting to meet people a few generations renmoved from cannibalism. It seems rather than losing their culture, they have found it in Christianity, just like so many peoples before them. Here's an extensive quote from the article:
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Re: Borneo: A new Church is born among the Dayak
I knew a few devout Christian Dayaks while living in Kuala Lumpur. It was interesting to meet people a few generations renmoved from cannibalism. It seems rather than losing their culture, they have found it in Christianity, just like so many peoples before them. Here's an extensive quote from the article:
- "Father Christopher Laden, of the diocese of Kuching (the capital of the State of Sarawak), explained why the Dayak are becoming Christians: 'It is because Jesus Christ and the Church explained who God is and promised eternal life. We Dayaks believe in God the Creator, but we don’t know who he is: if he is good or bad, if he loves us or cares at all for us. Our belief is that after death there is nothing. Christianity gives us hope. The second reason is sociological. By becoming Christians, we enter into a community that helps us and creates brotherhood, whereas the old tribal community is disappearing. We Dayak refuse Islam because it is too far from our mentality and does not fit in with our beliefs.'"
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Looks Like an Interesting Read
The Satirist Is Sincere: Tony Hendra talks about the monk who saved his soul.
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The Satirist Is Sincere: Tony Hendra talks about the monk who saved his soul.
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A Few Thoughts on Bill Cosby
Re: Cosby's Comments Bring Applause From Black Conservatives
Bill Cosby was the only comedian the sons of the conservative Lutheran minister I grew up next to were allowed to listen to. In his latest comments, he uttered some painful truths. I'm reminded of a white friend who descibed himself as "a black conservative."
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Re: Cosby's Comments Bring Applause From Black Conservatives
Bill Cosby was the only comedian the sons of the conservative Lutheran minister I grew up next to were allowed to listen to. In his latest comments, he uttered some painful truths. I'm reminded of a white friend who descibed himself as "a black conservative."
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God Bless You, JP2
Re: Relativism Demands Credible Witness of Church, Says Pope: "Word of God Must Not Be Chained," He Tells a Group of U.S. Bishops & Pope worries about 'soulless' life in America
The Holy Father has really been hitting the target with his latest exhortations.
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Re: Relativism Demands Credible Witness of Church, Says Pope: "Word of God Must Not Be Chained," He Tells a Group of U.S. Bishops & Pope worries about 'soulless' life in America
The Holy Father has really been hitting the target with his latest exhortations.
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La Virgen de Guadalupe
Here's is a nice article on an apparition of the Virgin whose shrine I visited twice, both tinmes as a non-Catholic: What the Virgin of Guadalupe Meant for Latin America: Interview With Historian Father Fidel González Fernández.
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Here's is a nice article on an apparition of the Virgin whose shrine I visited twice, both tinmes as a non-Catholic: What the Virgin of Guadalupe Meant for Latin America: Interview With Historian Father Fidel González Fernández.
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Friday, May 28, 2004
The Logical Progression from Contraception to Abortion to Gay "Marriage"
FIRST-PERSON: Full circle, to same-sex marriage
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FIRST-PERSON: Full circle, to same-sex marriage
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Thursday, May 27, 2004
Pro-life Democrats
Re: Pro-Life Democrat Says He's a Christian First
On the local level, for example in my hometown of Buffalo, NY or in Tennessee, where the above story is from, it's entirely possible to be a pro-life Democrat. Why is not possible on the national level? I guess this is because the abortion issue is not decided locally.
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Re: Pro-Life Democrat Says He's a Christian First
On the local level, for example in my hometown of Buffalo, NY or in Tennessee, where the above story is from, it's entirely possible to be a pro-life Democrat. Why is not possible on the national level? I guess this is because the abortion issue is not decided locally.
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Bishop Fulton Sheen on Fatima and Muslims
From Mark Shea's post Fulton Sheen on What Catholics (Should) Know About Reaching Muslims:
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From Mark Shea's post Fulton Sheen on What Catholics (Should) Know About Reaching Muslims:
- "Mary, then, is for the Muslims the true Sayyida , or Lady. The only possible serious rival to her in their creed would be Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed himself. But after the death of Fatima, Mohammed wrote: Thou shalt be the most blessed of all women in Paradise, after Mary. In a variation of the text, Fatima is made to say, I surpass all the women, except Mary.
"This brings us to our second point: namely, why the Blessed Mother, in the 20th century, should have revealed herself in the significant little village of Fatima, so that to all future generations she would be known as Our Lady of Fatima. Since nothing ever happens out of Heaven except with a finesse of all details, I believe that the blessed Virgin chose to be known as Our Lady of Fatima as a pledge and a sign of hope to the Muslim people, and as an assurance that they, who show her so much respect, will one day accept her divine Son, too.
"Evidence to support these views is found in the historical fact that the Muslims occupied Portugal for centuries. At the time when they were finally driven out, the last Muslim chief had a beautiful daughter by the name of Fatima. A Catholic boy fell in love with her, and for him she not only stayed behind when the Muslims left, but even embraced the faith. The young husband was so much in love with her that he changed the name of the town where he lived to Fatima. Thus, the very place where our lady appeared in 1917 bears a historical connection to Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed.
"The final evidence of the relationship of Fatima to the Muslims is the enthusiastic reception which the Muslims in Africa, India, and elsewhere gave to the pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima. Muslims attended the church services in honor of our Lady, they allowed religious processions and even prayers before their mosques; and in Mozambique, the Muslims who were unconverted, began to be Christian as soon as the statue of Our Lady of Fatima was erected."
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Toryism
Via A conservative blog for peace: The Tories are not jingoes:
Douglas Hurd believes there are better, more sober conservative approaches to foreign policy than interventionism
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Via A conservative blog for peace: The Tories are not jingoes:
Douglas Hurd believes there are better, more sober conservative approaches to foreign policy than interventionism
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Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Mushiness
INTERFAITH GATHERING IN S.F.:
Seeking common ground Christians, Muslims, Jews told spirituality, not religion, is key
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INTERFAITH GATHERING IN S.F.:
Seeking common ground Christians, Muslims, Jews told spirituality, not religion, is key
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Tuesday, May 25, 2004
A Jewish Defense of Catholic Bishops' Abortion & Communion Stand
Religious leaders rightly defend basic tenets
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Religious leaders rightly defend basic tenets
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Monday, May 24, 2004
Porn and Abu Ghraib
The sexual sadism of our culture, in peace and in war: The Abu Ghraib images have all the hallmarks of contemporary porn
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The sexual sadism of our culture, in peace and in war: The Abu Ghraib images have all the hallmarks of contemporary porn
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The Liberal Legal Mindset
From Divorce a Benefit of Gay Marriage:
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From Divorce a Benefit of Gay Marriage:
- 'The single most important thing you get with marriage is divorce, a predictable process by which property is divided, debt is apportioned and arrangements are made for custody and visitation of children,' said Jo Ann Citron, a Boston lawyer researching a book on same-sex breakups called 'The Gay Divorcee.'"
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The Best Article I've Read Thus Far on Abu Ghraib
Choice quotes from THE FACE OF AMERICA:
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Choice quotes from THE FACE OF AMERICA:
- "Torture and brutal indifference to the lives of prisoners may not be a new story in history, but the organized sexcapades of England, Graner, & Co. belong to the fantasy world of pornographic Nazi love-camp movies. They are lifted from Kraft-Ebbing and Sade, and not from the routine history of man’s inhumanity to man. I cannot imagine what kind of people we are breeding in this country and what kind of screening we have in the Armed Forces, if even two such people could end up as guards in a military prison. Under orders or not, no decent human being would perform public sex acts in the hope of humiliating simple people who preserve a shred of modesty and decency, and no one with a spark of humanity would set an attack dog against a naked woman. And if someone, in a moment of moral delirium, was sick enough to do any of these things, he would have to have reached a stage of terminal bestiality to gloat over the photographs of the victims....
"Almost a year ago, a young officer came up to be at a lecture and told me that he was just back from Iraq. What pained him the most, he said, was that, as a conservative Christian, he had to admit that the Iraqis were by and large morally superior to the Americans he had observed in an out of the Army....
"Post-Christian America is being judged and condemned, but where do the Christians stand? All too many of them are hiding their eyes. I am tempted to compare them with Germans who claimed, after the war, 'We did not know,' but in the German case, the government made effective efforts to cover up what was going on. The equally sick behavior of some of our soldiers—and soldierettes—is known to all, but still the Christians say nothing. No protests, no press conferences, no manifestos. When the Vatican did speak out, the Pope was roundly criticized, and not just by self-styled Protestants..."
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Christian Zionists and Christian Palestinians
From Forgotten Christians: Not all displaced Palestinians are Muslims:
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From Forgotten Christians: Not all displaced Palestinians are Muslims:
- "Christian Zionism is an odd thing on many levels. A key tenet of Christian Zionism is absolute support for Israel, whose establishment and existence, it is believed, heralds Armageddon and the second coming of Christ. The politically relevant upshot of this is that without Israel’s expansion there can be no redemption, and those who subscribe to this interpretation are only too eager to sacrifice their Palestinian fellow Christians on the altar of Zionism. They do not want to hear about coreligionists’ suffering at the hands of Israel."
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Islam a Christian Cult?
That was what a Methodist Malaysian-Chinese friend of mine contended. So, it seems, did one of Catholicism's greatest writers: Hilaire Belloc: Islam's a heresy of Christianity: Poet and historian saw continuing -- and dangerous -- vitality in the Muslim faith.
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That was what a Methodist Malaysian-Chinese friend of mine contended. So, it seems, did one of Catholicism's greatest writers: Hilaire Belloc: Islam's a heresy of Christianity: Poet and historian saw continuing -- and dangerous -- vitality in the Muslim faith.
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Paleoconservatives in the News
From It's right vs. right as war news sours:
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From It's right vs. right as war news sours:
- "Casse, who was a special assistant to President George H.W. Bush, says the dissent on Iraq comes from two distinct points on the conservative spectrum. 'Paleoconservatives,' as he calls them — along with libertarians and such anti-interventionists as Patrick Buchanan — have opposed the invasion of Iraq since the beginning. And they haven't changed. 'But more disturbing is a thoughtful group of conservatives, the group that thinks the war is not being well managed or has failed to meet anybody's expectations, and that runs from George Will to [novelist] Mark Helprin.'"
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"Christianity Lite"
From The Do-It-Yourself Doctrine:
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From The Do-It-Yourself Doctrine:
- "Call it Christianity Lite. It's the assertion — no, the insistence — that you can be a Christian in good standing though you reject all or significant parts of the brand of Christianity to which you formally adhere. Even Jesus Christ — and who he was — is negotiable, not to mention traditional teachings on sex, abortion and divorce. Who's to tell you what to think and do as a Christian — or to judge you wanting? It's a heresy nowadays to accuse someone of heresy."
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Sunday, May 23, 2004
For the Sake of These Righteous Men the Lord Hath Spared Sodom on the Bay
Re: San Francisco churches rally to defend traditional marriage
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Re: San Francisco churches rally to defend traditional marriage
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Bad History
Why the 'Lost Gospels' Lost Out: Recent gadfly theories about church council conspiracies that manipulated the New Testament into existence are bad–really bad–history.
The above article should be read by every Christian interested in defending orthodoxy.
There's something in our American culture that rejects all authority and accepts conspiracy theories. I once gave a Catholic friend a one-minute explanation of the "Gospel of Thomas" and why it was heretical. His response? "Well, I believe it." He had never even heard of it, let alone read it, but learning that it had been "supressed" by the Catholic Church was enough to convince him of its truth!
This is the "victim mentality" applied to ideas: Ideas that fail are true.
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Why the 'Lost Gospels' Lost Out: Recent gadfly theories about church council conspiracies that manipulated the New Testament into existence are bad–really bad–history.
The above article should be read by every Christian interested in defending orthodoxy.
There's something in our American culture that rejects all authority and accepts conspiracy theories. I once gave a Catholic friend a one-minute explanation of the "Gospel of Thomas" and why it was heretical. His response? "Well, I believe it." He had never even heard of it, let alone read it, but learning that it had been "supressed" by the Catholic Church was enough to convince him of its truth!
This is the "victim mentality" applied to ideas: Ideas that fail are true.
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When Stating the Obvious Is an Act of Defiance (or a Hate Crime)
Pope Says Marriage Is Between Heterosexuals
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Pope Says Marriage Is Between Heterosexuals
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Saturday, May 22, 2004
Communion of Saints
Roberta Ahmanson, as quoted in Conservative Group Amplifies Voice of Protestant Orthodoxy:
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Roberta Ahmanson, as quoted in Conservative Group Amplifies Voice of Protestant Orthodoxy:
- "The Christian community isn't just who is alive. Christians believe that we are in communion with the living and the dead. We pray each week for the living and the dead, and most of the previous generations are in disagreement with a lot of this stuff. If you take the weight of Christianity for 2,000 years, all that weight is on the orthodox side."
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Conscience
Spec. Charles A. Graner Jr, of Abu Ghraib infamy, quoted in Punishment and Amusement: Documents Indicate 3 Photos Were Not Staged for Interrogation :
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Spec. Charles A. Graner Jr, of Abu Ghraib infamy, quoted in Punishment and Amusement: Documents Indicate 3 Photos Were Not Staged for Interrogation :
- "The Christian in me says it's wrong, but the corrections officer in me says, 'I love to make a grown man piss himself.' "
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"Israel: stop persecuting Palestine! Palestine: stop persecuting queers!"
Via Catholic and Enjoying It!: Gays Attacked At Palestinian Protest
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Via Catholic and Enjoying It!: Gays Attacked At Palestinian Protest
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A Conservative Dressing-down of Rush Limbaugh
Via A conservative blog for peace: Rush Limbaugh and Private England: The Odd Couple
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Via A conservative blog for peace: Rush Limbaugh and Private England: The Odd Couple
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News from my Hometown
Buffalo priest ordained as new bishop of Ogdensburg
I really wish I had been Catholic growing up in 80% Catholic Buffalo, NY! I'm sure the good, honest, working-class people of the "Queen City" had something to do with my later conversion.
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Buffalo priest ordained as new bishop of Ogdensburg
I really wish I had been Catholic growing up in 80% Catholic Buffalo, NY! I'm sure the good, honest, working-class people of the "Queen City" had something to do with my later conversion.
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All Children of Abraham Need to Condemn This
From Report Details Iraqi Prisoner Abuse:
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From Report Details Iraqi Prisoner Abuse:
- "[D]etainees told investigators they were forced to denounce Islam or force-fed pork or liquor, required to masturbate in front of female soldiers, threatened with rape, and made to walk on all their hands and knees and bark like dogs."
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Thank You, Lord
And thank all of you for your prayers. Joy's tests came back negative for anything more serious than anemia, which is very treatable and common.
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And thank all of you for your prayers. Joy's tests came back negative for anything more serious than anemia, which is very treatable and common.
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Friday, May 21, 2004
Prayer Request
Our eleven-month-old daughter, Joy Anastasia, was diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia today. Blood work is being done to rule out anything more serious. Please keep her in your prayers. We'll know the results on Saturday.
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Our eleven-month-old daughter, Joy Anastasia, was diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia today. Blood work is being done to rule out anything more serious. Please keep her in your prayers. We'll know the results on Saturday.
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PJB at his Best
From What Does America Offer the World? by Patrick J. Buchanan:
Amen.
(Thank you, Serge, of A conservative blog for peace, for bringing the above to my attention.)
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From What Does America Offer the World? by Patrick J. Buchanan:
- "If conservatives reject the "equality" preached by Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, NARAL and the National Organization for Women, why seek to impose it on the Islamic world? Why not stand beside Islam, and against Hollywood and Hillary?"
Amen.
(Thank you, Serge, of A conservative blog for peace, for bringing the above to my attention.)
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Thursday, May 20, 2004
Dark Days
I've been ignoring this issue. I guess I did so because of the news coming from Iraq. I might also have felt some "gay fatigue." I started my other blog, Katolik Shinja on August 8, 2003 with Some Thoughts on Recent Events in the Anglican Communion after the ordination of gay bishop Gene Robinson. Since then, a lot has happened and I've grown tired of the issue and wish it would just go away.
It's not going away, however, and the following article summarizes the devastaing effects that our civilization will soon experience:
What 'gay marriage' really means for America
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I've been ignoring this issue. I guess I did so because of the news coming from Iraq. I might also have felt some "gay fatigue." I started my other blog, Katolik Shinja on August 8, 2003 with Some Thoughts on Recent Events in the Anglican Communion after the ordination of gay bishop Gene Robinson. Since then, a lot has happened and I've grown tired of the issue and wish it would just go away.
It's not going away, however, and the following article summarizes the devastaing effects that our civilization will soon experience:
What 'gay marriage' really means for America
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A Must-Read for Anyone Concerned with the Future of the West
The Theologian, the Philosopher, and the Bishop. Three Lessons for the Church and the West: They are Ratzinger, Pera, and Caffarra. But the team includes Biffi, Ruini, Scola. Here’s how the “neoconservatives” are re-writing the major political views of the Church
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The Theologian, the Philosopher, and the Bishop. Three Lessons for the Church and the West: They are Ratzinger, Pera, and Caffarra. But the team includes Biffi, Ruini, Scola. Here’s how the “neoconservatives” are re-writing the major political views of the Church
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East Germany Vindicated
IOC executive board says 'transgendered' athletes can compete in Athens Olympics
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IOC executive board says 'transgendered' athletes can compete in Athens Olympics
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Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Bad Homilies and Acting In Persona Christi
From: Low Expectations and Catholic Preaching by Fr. Richard Neuhaus:
As in ex-Lutheran like Fr. Neuhaus, this article really struck home. A few months ago, I took my parents, still Lutherans, to a Mass at a beautiful Catholic Church in San Francisco. The homily was particularly boring and rambling, and I'm sure did nothing to convince my parents that this was the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. My parents' congregation is currently having triuble adjusting to a visting pastor who is not as good a preacher as the previous one had been, and I know they place a good deal of importance on a good sermon as I did as a Protestant. My feeling after a Sunday morning service as a Lutheran depended largely on the sermon. It was the sermon that nourished my soul: as a Catholic, it is the Real Presence that does so.
Protestants object to the Catholic doctrine that priests act in persona Christi, probably viewing it as placing a very human priest on a divine pedestal, as vesting to much importance on the priest. In reality, the opposite is true. That a priest acts in persona Christi actually deemphasizes the personal qualities of the priest himself while exalting his office. In Protestantism, it is the emphasis on the personal qualities of the pastor that elevates him (or her) to an all too important position.
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From: Low Expectations and Catholic Preaching by Fr. Richard Neuhaus:
- "Among all the qualities Protestants look for in their clergy, the one consistently rated highest is that he (or she) be a good preacher. With Catholics it is very different. First, they don’t get to choose the priest or priests assigned them by the bishop, so there is not much point in drawing up a list of the qualities they’re looking for. More important, the Catholic sensibility reflects a theology of the priesthood that accents the sacred office more than the talents of the person, or lack thereof. This is sometimes attributed to the “mystique” of the priesthood, but is more accurately understood as the mystery of the priest’s participation in the priesthood of Christ. He acts in persona Christi. Personal qualities are not unimportant, but they are secondary. Among the most valued qualities, it would seem, is that the priest be holy, kindly, and approachable. It is not expected that he be a fine preacher, and there are many wonderful priests who are not."
As in ex-Lutheran like Fr. Neuhaus, this article really struck home. A few months ago, I took my parents, still Lutherans, to a Mass at a beautiful Catholic Church in San Francisco. The homily was particularly boring and rambling, and I'm sure did nothing to convince my parents that this was the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. My parents' congregation is currently having triuble adjusting to a visting pastor who is not as good a preacher as the previous one had been, and I know they place a good deal of importance on a good sermon as I did as a Protestant. My feeling after a Sunday morning service as a Lutheran depended largely on the sermon. It was the sermon that nourished my soul: as a Catholic, it is the Real Presence that does so.
Protestants object to the Catholic doctrine that priests act in persona Christi, probably viewing it as placing a very human priest on a divine pedestal, as vesting to much importance on the priest. In reality, the opposite is true. That a priest acts in persona Christi actually deemphasizes the personal qualities of the priest himself while exalting his office. In Protestantism, it is the emphasis on the personal qualities of the pastor that elevates him (or her) to an all too important position.
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Adultery
Re: GI faces adultery, assault counts in prison scandal
Korea, where I live, and the US Army are two of the few places where one can still be tried for adultery. Given that, and the relative speed with which the Abu Ghraib trials have begun, one is almost tempted to call for military justice in all of society!
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Re: GI faces adultery, assault counts in prison scandal
Korea, where I live, and the US Army are two of the few places where one can still be tried for adultery. Given that, and the relative speed with which the Abu Ghraib trials have begun, one is almost tempted to call for military justice in all of society!
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Forum
The Catholic Answers Forums have opened. Registration is very easy. If you register as a result of reading this post, please be so kind as to enter "Joshua Snyder" as the referer.
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The Catholic Answers Forums have opened. Registration is very easy. If you register as a result of reading this post, please be so kind as to enter "Joshua Snyder" as the referer.
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A Prayer of the Holy Father
This came to me today in an email from Your Catholic Voice:
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This came to me today in an email from Your Catholic Voice:
- Oremus! Let us pray!
Today we will pray a very very special prayer of our Pope. He prays it every day!
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
I belong to you entirely
And all that I possess is yours.
I take you into everything that is mine.
Give me your heart.
Mary.
Amen.
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Ethnic, not Religious
Re: Nigerian archbishop says recent violence was ethnic, not religious
This is usually the case, whether it's Northern Ireland, Nigeria. or Indonesia.
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Re: Nigerian archbishop says recent violence was ethnic, not religious
This is usually the case, whether it's Northern Ireland, Nigeria. or Indonesia.
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Catholics, Evangelicals, Bush, Iraq
U.S. Cardinal Accuses Bush of Moral Failure in Iraq
Iraq War Weakens Bond Between Bush, Evangelicals
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U.S. Cardinal Accuses Bush of Moral Failure in Iraq
Iraq War Weakens Bond Between Bush, Evangelicals
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Tuesday, May 18, 2004
On the Mark
Serge, at A conservative blog for peace, found the following analysis of the Catholic Abuse Scandal at Ecclesia Anglicana. The article links the breakdown of orthodoxy and authority with the breakdown of morality, and can be summarized with this quote:
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Serge, at A conservative blog for peace, found the following analysis of the Catholic Abuse Scandal at Ecclesia Anglicana. The article links the breakdown of orthodoxy and authority with the breakdown of morality, and can be summarized with this quote:
- "The housewife who complained that Father skipped the Creed at mass and the housewife who complained that Father groped her son had remarkably similar experiences."
From What Went Wrong?
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Useless Idiots
Thanks to Mark Shea at Catholic and Enjoying It! for this link: Fools for Communism: Still apologists after all these years
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Thanks to Mark Shea at Catholic and Enjoying It! for this link: Fools for Communism: Still apologists after all these years
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Monday, May 17, 2004
50th Anniversary of Brown vs. the Topeka Board of Education
This following article to my attention via A conservative blog for peace.
From 'Court Order Can’t Make the Races Mix' by Zora Neale Hurston:
Years ago, I read Zola Neale Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, at the prompting of a certain (white) feminist, but until now had no idea what a political conservative she (Hurston) was! I'll have to search for more of her political writings.
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This following article to my attention via A conservative blog for peace.
From 'Court Order Can’t Make the Races Mix' by Zora Neale Hurston:
- "The whole matter revolves around the self-respect of my people. How much satisfaction can I get from a court order for somebody to associate with me who does not wish me near them? The American Indian has never been spoken of as a minority and chiefly because there is no whine in the Indian. Certainly he fought, and valiantly for his lands, and rightfully so, but it is inconceivable of an Indian to seek forcible association with anyone. His well known pride and self-respect would save him from that. I take the Indian position."
Years ago, I read Zola Neale Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, at the prompting of a certain (white) feminist, but until now had no idea what a political conservative she (Hurston) was! I'll have to search for more of her political writings.
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Sancta Gianna Beretta Molla, Ora Pro Nobis
From World Photos - AP:
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From World Photos - AP:
A view of the tapestry of Italian pediatrician Gianna Beretta Molla, who was named a saint with five others by Pope John Paul II in a canonization ceremony in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday May 16, 2004. The pontiff named six new saints Sunday including Beretta Molla who became a symbol for abortion opponents because she refused to end her pregnancy despite warnings that it could kill her. Beretta Molla died in 1962 at 39 a week after giving birth to her fourth child.
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The Times They Are A-Changin' Back
From Archbishop backs state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage:
And from Catholic Communion Controversy
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From Archbishop backs state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage:
- "When the Catholic Church takes a stand on public policy, it's not because it's something the church teaches. It's because it sheds light on and reinforces the truth present in the world. It is the natural law that transcends any differences in religious teachings or the teachings of any group."
- Archbishop Alfred Hughes of New Orleans
And from Catholic Communion Controversy
- "That's an age old teaching and discipline of the Church. I didn't make it up."
- Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs, Colorado
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The Christian Idea of a Martyr
Muslims torture Christian to death: Seminary students tried to force him to convert to Islam
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Muslims torture Christian to death: Seminary students tried to force him to convert to Islam
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Mushy-headed Relativistic Thinking
To speak of the "root causes" of terror or try to understand some brutal or barabaric act from a "cultural" point of view is itself a form of cultural chauvinism, holding the other culture in question to a lower standard because it is perceived to be deficiant in some way. For example, trying understand Palestinian suicide bombers is insulting to Palestinians, who are moral agants like anyone else.
David Aaronovitch's latest, 'Culture' is no excuse: Savage executions in the Arab world must be condemned as wrong by anyone's standards, has some fine examples of mushy-headed relatisvistic thinking:
Given the Zeitgeist, this seems like a perfectly legitimate question, Mr. Aaronovitch goes on to demolish this type of thinking with a simple rhetorical question:
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To speak of the "root causes" of terror or try to understand some brutal or barabaric act from a "cultural" point of view is itself a form of cultural chauvinism, holding the other culture in question to a lower standard because it is perceived to be deficiant in some way. For example, trying understand Palestinian suicide bombers is insulting to Palestinians, who are moral agants like anyone else.
David Aaronovitch's latest, 'Culture' is no excuse: Savage executions in the Arab world must be condemned as wrong by anyone's standards, has some fine examples of mushy-headed relatisvistic thinking:
- "A man from Maidstone had this letter published in the Independent last week. 'Why is it barbaric,' he asked, 'to decapitate an innocent man with a knife but civilised to do it with a laser-guided bomb?'"
Given the Zeitgeist, this seems like a perfectly legitimate question, Mr. Aaronovitch goes on to demolish this type of thinking with a simple rhetorical question:
- "[D]o we really believe that it is the same thing accidentally to kill a civilian with a bomb as it is to cut off his head on camera?"
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Six New Saints
Pope Canonizes 6 and Calls for Rediscovery of Family and Religious Life
St. Luigi Orione: "Only Charity Will Save the World"
St. Annibale Maria Di Francia: "Be Enamored of Jesus"
St. Josep Manyanet y Vives: "Apostle of the Family"
St. Gianna Beretta Molla: "Messenger of Divine Love"
St. Paola Elisabetta Cerioli: Children Need a "United Family"
St. Nimatullah Kassab Al-Hardini, "Enamored of the Eucharist"
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Pope Canonizes 6 and Calls for Rediscovery of Family and Religious Life
St. Luigi Orione: "Only Charity Will Save the World"
St. Annibale Maria Di Francia: "Be Enamored of Jesus"
St. Josep Manyanet y Vives: "Apostle of the Family"
St. Gianna Beretta Molla: "Messenger of Divine Love"
St. Paola Elisabetta Cerioli: Children Need a "United Family"
St. Nimatullah Kassab Al-Hardini, "Enamored of the Eucharist"
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Sunday, May 16, 2004
Ecumenism in India
Thanks to Santificarnos, for bringing this story to my attention: Hindus and Catholic celebrate feast of Our Lady of Miracles.
While I would never promote syncretism among Catholics, I am very encouraged by it in other religions. I once visited a Hindu home in Singapore, and noticed on a table a cricfix amidst the staues of Ganesh, Shiva, and other Hindu gods. I've read that some Shi'ites and other Muslims in Iraq and other places have a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. [It's important to remember that unlike many liberal protestants, Muslims recongnize the virgin Birth.] This kind of syncretism is a preparation for the Gospel.
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Thanks to Santificarnos, for bringing this story to my attention: Hindus and Catholic celebrate feast of Our Lady of Miracles.
While I would never promote syncretism among Catholics, I am very encouraged by it in other religions. I once visited a Hindu home in Singapore, and noticed on a table a cricfix amidst the staues of Ganesh, Shiva, and other Hindu gods. I've read that some Shi'ites and other Muslims in Iraq and other places have a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. [It's important to remember that unlike many liberal protestants, Muslims recongnize the virgin Birth.] This kind of syncretism is a preparation for the Gospel.
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Saturday, May 15, 2004
The Royals
Serge of A conservative blog for peace shares his thoughts on the royals today. Fascintating stuff for a Yank like me.
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Serge of A conservative blog for peace shares his thoughts on the royals today. Fascintating stuff for a Yank like me.
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Why I Disagree with Pat Buchanan about Immigration from Latin America
A Catholic country?: SURGE OF MEXICAN IMMIGRANTS BRINGS PROSPECT OF HUGE INCREASE IN U.S. CATHOLIC POPULATION
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A Catholic country?: SURGE OF MEXICAN IMMIGRANTS BRINGS PROSPECT OF HUGE INCREASE IN U.S. CATHOLIC POPULATION
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"Little Saigon"
This comes to my attention from El Camino Real and Otto-da-Fe:
City Declares 'No Communist' Zone, saying Graden Grove, California "does not welcome, or sanction high-profile visits, drive-bys or stopovers by members or officials of the Vietnamese Communist government."
I knew a lot of Vietnamese folks in Buffalo, NY. Most of them were families of former South Vietnamese officers who had spent years in "re-education" camps. Many of them were Catholics, Vietnam being the most Catholic Asian country outside the Phillipines (South Korea is third).
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This comes to my attention from El Camino Real and Otto-da-Fe:
City Declares 'No Communist' Zone, saying Graden Grove, California "does not welcome, or sanction high-profile visits, drive-bys or stopovers by members or officials of the Vietnamese Communist government."
I knew a lot of Vietnamese folks in Buffalo, NY. Most of them were families of former South Vietnamese officers who had spent years in "re-education" camps. Many of them were Catholics, Vietnam being the most Catholic Asian country outside the Phillipines (South Korea is third).
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Friday, May 14, 2004
Catholic PM for India?
Re: Sonia Gandhi Appears Likely to Take Office.
There is, however, a conspiracy theory that suggests "[s]he was assigned by the Pope himself in the Vatican to seduce Rajeev Gandhi with the help of CIA." Conspiracy theories aside, some trouble for Indian Christians could follow, as happened in 1999 when Mrs. Gandhi became head of the Congress Party (see Suddenly Christians are targeted in India Violence follows Sonia Gandhi's success).
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Re: Sonia Gandhi Appears Likely to Take Office.
There is, however, a conspiracy theory that suggests "[s]he was assigned by the Pope himself in the Vatican to seduce Rajeev Gandhi with the help of CIA." Conspiracy theories aside, some trouble for Indian Christians could follow, as happened in 1999 when Mrs. Gandhi became head of the Congress Party (see Suddenly Christians are targeted in India Violence follows Sonia Gandhi's success).
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Behasa Melayu
I spent a year living in beautiful Malaysia, but unfortunately did not pick up enough Malay to read this article, which looks quite interesting: PAS kutuk keganasan terhadap umat Islam Nigeria . It's about the reaction of Malaysia's Islamist party, PAS, to the ongoing inter-religious violence in Nigeria.
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I spent a year living in beautiful Malaysia, but unfortunately did not pick up enough Malay to read this article, which looks quite interesting: PAS kutuk keganasan terhadap umat Islam Nigeria . It's about the reaction of Malaysia's Islamist party, PAS, to the ongoing inter-religious violence in Nigeria.
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Extreme Partisan Ugliness
Shame on you, Rep. Peter King! Following your twisted logic, no one save the sinless Christ Himself has a right to criticize anything or anyone.
From: King Calls Vatican Criticism Hypocritical:
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Shame on you, Rep. Peter King! Following your twisted logic, no one save the sinless Christ Himself has a right to criticize anything or anyone.
From: King Calls Vatican Criticism Hypocritical:
- "A Republican congressman who is Roman Catholic said Thursday the Vatican has no right to criticize the United States for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners because of the Catholic Church's history of abusing children and covering up its actions....
"'Whatever the United States has done to prisoners in Iraq is nothing compared to what priests and nuns did to Catholic kids for decades while the Catholic hierarchy covered it up," King said. "Think of the thousands of kids in the U.S. and Ireland who were abused by priests and nuns - you wonder where the Vatican's moral compass is.'"
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Pro-life News
A Pro-life Icon to Be Canonized: Gianna Molla Gave Her Life for Unborn Daughter
Science Backs Up Humanity of the Unborn: Dr. Carlo Bellieni Tells of Prenatal Suffering and Development
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A Pro-life Icon to Be Canonized: Gianna Molla Gave Her Life for Unborn Daughter
Science Backs Up Humanity of the Unborn: Dr. Carlo Bellieni Tells of Prenatal Suffering and Development
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For Joy!
I received an email from the Oremus Network with the subject line "For Joy" and the beautiful picture and prayer below. Since Joy is my eleven-month-old daughter's name, it's all the more special. I post the picture and prayer for her.
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I received an email from the Oremus Network with the subject line "For Joy" and the beautiful picture and prayer below. Since Joy is my eleven-month-old daughter's name, it's all the more special. I post the picture and prayer for her.
Let's Pray!
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Sweet Jesus!
We love You
We adore You
Heaven, You are the Way to heaven!!
Teach us to love all Your Ways. Teach us to be close to You, to want only Your Will. We bow to You. We hope for You. We love You.
Jesus.
Amen.
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Machiavellian Mr. Rogers?
I got an email with the subject line "Our most dangerous ex-President," which was an ad for a book called The Real Jimmy Carter. I'm not interested in reading the book, but found this line from the email absurdly intriguing, or perhaps intriguingly absurd:
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I got an email with the subject line "Our most dangerous ex-President," which was an ad for a book called The Real Jimmy Carter. I'm not interested in reading the book, but found this line from the email absurdly intriguing, or perhaps intriguingly absurd:
- "[Author] Steven F. Hayward reveals [h]ow Carter’s political persona amounts to little more than an odd combination of Machiavelli and Mr. Rogers."
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Thursday, May 13, 2004
"A Feast for the Spirit"
That is how the Decent Films Guide ratesThe Song of Bernadette (1943), which tells the story of Saint Bernardette of Lourdes. It was a great Catholic and very Marian film.
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That is how the Decent Films Guide ratesThe Song of Bernadette (1943), which tells the story of Saint Bernardette of Lourdes. It was a great Catholic and very Marian film.
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For Once Ted Rall is Right
From BEHOLD THE TORTURE APOLOGISTS:
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From BEHOLD THE TORTURE APOLOGISTS:
- "Liberals don't have a monopoly on moral relativism."
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Young Catholic Martyr from Pakistan
From Killing of Christian boy sparks condemnation:
Javed Anjum, resquiat in pace.
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From Killing of Christian boy sparks condemnation:
- "Ghulam Rasool allegedly killed Javed Anjum when the latter refused to convert to Islam."
Javed Anjum, resquiat in pace.
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Stewardship
Re: Conference focused on how Christianity relates to environment
The words we use carry important underlying assumptions that are often never questioned but nevertheless affect our perception and implementation of ideas. "Environmentalism" subordinates Man to Nature. Man is another animal, no better or worse than any other. Man's salvation is found in harmony with Nature. This un-Biblical and un-Christian view of Man inevitably leads to an anti-human viewpoint. Man is seen as a cancer, a pest, vermin. The solution to the problem of Man is Zero Population Growth, enforced by sterilization and abortion, particularly of those fecund and darker races in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
"Stewardship," on the other hand, or "Conservationism," puts Man at his proper place as the crown of creation. We are not part of Nature, it belongs to us. As spiritual souls with material bodies, we are at the crux of the Divine and the Mundane. We are thus alien to this world, sojourners. Nevertheless, we have been given the duty not only to to use but also to care for Nature, a task we must perform with the utmost of responsibilty.
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Re: Conference focused on how Christianity relates to environment
The words we use carry important underlying assumptions that are often never questioned but nevertheless affect our perception and implementation of ideas. "Environmentalism" subordinates Man to Nature. Man is another animal, no better or worse than any other. Man's salvation is found in harmony with Nature. This un-Biblical and un-Christian view of Man inevitably leads to an anti-human viewpoint. Man is seen as a cancer, a pest, vermin. The solution to the problem of Man is Zero Population Growth, enforced by sterilization and abortion, particularly of those fecund and darker races in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
"Stewardship," on the other hand, or "Conservationism," puts Man at his proper place as the crown of creation. We are not part of Nature, it belongs to us. As spiritual souls with material bodies, we are at the crux of the Divine and the Mundane. We are thus alien to this world, sojourners. Nevertheless, we have been given the duty not only to to use but also to care for Nature, a task we must perform with the utmost of responsibilty.
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Good News from Home (Buffalo, NY)
Re: Lexington Co-Op raises money for food store
I worked there in 1990 and '91. I will never forget the smell of the herbs, spices, and organic produce and grains, nor the cast of characters that were its customers: young eco-punks, aging hippies, liberals and radicals of every shade, and even a granola conservative or two. If you're ever in Buffalo, check it out; it's a great place.
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Re: Lexington Co-Op raises money for food store
I worked there in 1990 and '91. I will never forget the smell of the herbs, spices, and organic produce and grains, nor the cast of characters that were its customers: young eco-punks, aging hippies, liberals and radicals of every shade, and even a granola conservative or two. If you're ever in Buffalo, check it out; it's a great place.
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Vatican Astronomer
Thanks to Mark Shea, of Catholic and Enjoying It!, for the link to this Interview with Brother Guy Consolmagno, Vatican Astronomer.
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Thanks to Mark Shea, of Catholic and Enjoying It!, for the link to this Interview with Brother Guy Consolmagno, Vatican Astronomer.
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Moratorium
E. et M. is hereby dec/aring an indefinite moratorium on commentary about Abu Ghraib and the murder Nick Berg. So horrific were the events of the past week that it seems impossible to write about them in the dispassionate and charitable manner reguired by the Gospel, as evidenced by the posts below. Links to relevent articles by better authors than myself may be posted.
From Litaniæ Sanctissimi Nominis Iesu:
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E. et M. is hereby dec/aring an indefinite moratorium on commentary about Abu Ghraib and the murder Nick Berg. So horrific were the events of the past week that it seems impossible to write about them in the dispassionate and charitable manner reguired by the Gospel, as evidenced by the posts below. Links to relevent articles by better authors than myself may be posted.
From Litaniæ Sanctissimi Nominis Iesu:
- Kyrie, eleison Kyrie, eleison.
Christe, eleison Christe, eleison.
Kyrie, eleison Kyrie, eleison.
Iesu, audi nos Iesu, audi nos.
Iesu, exaudi nos. Iesu, exaudi nos.
Pater de cælis, Deus, miserere nobis.
Fili, Redemptor mundi, Deus, miserere nobis.
Spiritus Sancte, Deus, miserere nobis.
Sancta Trinitas, unus Deus, miserere nobis.
Iesu, Fili Dei vivi, miserere nobis.
Iesu, splendor Patris, miserere nobis.
Iesu, candor lucis æternæ, miserere nobis.
Iesu, rex gloriæ, miserere nobis.
Iesu, sol iustitiæ, miserere nobis.
Iesu, Fili Mariæ Virginis, miserere nobis.
Iesu, amabilis, miserere nobis.
Iesu, admirabilis, miserere nobis.
Iesu, Deus fortis, miserere nobis.
Iesu, pater futuri sæculi, miserere nobis.
Iesu, magni consilii angele, miserere nobis.
Iesu potentissime, miserere nobis.
Iesu patientissime, miserere nobis.
Iesu obedientissime, miserere nobis.
Iesu, mitis et humilis corde, miserere nobis.
Iesu, amator castitatis, miserere nobis.
Iesu, amator noster, miserere nobis.
Iesu, Deus pacis, miserere nobis.
Iesu, auctor vitæ, miserere nobis.
Iesu, exemplar virtutum, miserere nobis.
Iesu, zelator animarum, miserere nobis.
Iesu, Deus noster, miserere nobis.
Iesu, refugium nostrum, miserere nobis.
Iesu, pater pauperum, miserere nobis.
Iesu, thesaure fidelium, miserere nobis.
Iesu, bone pastor, miserere nobis.
Iesu, lux vera, miserere nobis.
Iesu, sapientia æternæ, miserere nobis.
Iesu, bonitas infinita, miserere nobis.
Iesu, via et vita nostra, miserere nobis.
Iesu, gaudium Angelorum, miserere nobis.
Iesu, rex Patriarcharum, miserere nobis.
Iesu, magister Apostolorum, miserere nobis.
Iesu, doctor Evangelistarum, miserere nobis.
Iesu, fortitudo Martyrum, miserere nobis.
Iesu, lumen Confessorum, miserere nobis.
Iesu, puritas Virginum, miserere nobis.
Iesu, corona Sanctorum omnium, miserere nobis.
Propitius esto, parce nobis, Iesu.
Propitius esto, exaudi nos, Iesu.
Ab omni malo, libera nos, Iesu.
Ab omni peccato, libera nos, Iesu.
Ab ira tua, libera nos, Iesu.
Ab insidias diaboli, libera nos, Iesu.
A spiritu fornicationis, libera nos, Iesu.
A morte perpetua, libera nos, Iesu.
A neglectu inspirationeum tuarum, libera nos, Iesu.
Per mysterium sanctæ Incarnationis tuæ, libera nos, Iesu.
Per nativitatem tuam, libera nos, Iesu.
Per infantiam tuam, libera nos, Iesu.
Per divinissimam vitam tuam, libera nos, Iesu.
Per labores tuos, libera nos, Iesu.
Per agoniam et passionem tuam, libera nos, Iesu.
Per crucem et derelictionem tuam, libera nos, Iesu.
Per languores tuos, libera nos, Iesu.
Per mortem et sepulturam tuam, libera nos, Iesu.
Per resurrectionem tuam, libera nos, Iesu.
Per ascensionem tuam, libera nos, Iesu.
Per sanctissimæ Eucharistiæ institutionem tuam, libera nos, Iesu.
Per gaudia tua, libera nos, Iesu.
Per gloriam tuam, libera nos, Iesu.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, parce nobis, Domine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, exaudi nos, Iesu.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis, Iesu.
Iesu, audi nos.
Iesu, exaudi nos.
Oremus;
Domine Iesu Christe, qui dixisti: Petite et accipietis; quærite et invenietis; pulsate et aperietur vobis; quæsumus, da nobis petentibus divinissimi tui amoris affectum, ut te tot corde, ore et opere diligamus et a tua numquam laude cessemus.
Sancti Nominis tui, Domine, timorem pariter et amorem fac nos habere perpetuum, quia numquam tua gubernatione destituis, quos in soliditate, tuæ dilectionis instituis: Qui vivis et regnas in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.
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Pornography and Abu Ghraib
From Prisoner abuse and the rot of American culture:
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From Prisoner abuse and the rot of American culture:
- "[W]ith the non-judgmental, sex-crazed, anything-goes culture that we have become at home, it seems that America has set herself up for international humiliation."
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Savagery
It can be argued that linking to these images is wrong. Traditional Catholic Reflections & Reports's editorial Time to Get Out of Iraq, the article that told me the The Drudge Report had posted them, argued that position, saying that doing so "seem[ed] calculated simply to incite more hatred."
Maybe precisely what is needed here is more hatred: not of Islam, not of Muslims, but of the sin that causes someone to cut off another human's head. Was it wrong to hate Nazism? Was it wrong to hate slavery?
We should know the true nature of the enemy we face, whether it is ourselves at the Abu Ghraib prison, or Al-Qaeda's henchman in Iraq.
Here's the link: **GRAPHIC IMAGES** AMERICAN SHOWN MURDERED ON ISLAMIC WEBSITE.
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It can be argued that linking to these images is wrong. Traditional Catholic Reflections & Reports's editorial Time to Get Out of Iraq, the article that told me the The Drudge Report had posted them, argued that position, saying that doing so "seem[ed] calculated simply to incite more hatred."
Maybe precisely what is needed here is more hatred: not of Islam, not of Muslims, but of the sin that causes someone to cut off another human's head. Was it wrong to hate Nazism? Was it wrong to hate slavery?
We should know the true nature of the enemy we face, whether it is ourselves at the Abu Ghraib prison, or Al-Qaeda's henchman in Iraq.
Here's the link: **GRAPHIC IMAGES** AMERICAN SHOWN MURDERED ON ISLAMIC WEBSITE.
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Wednesday, May 12, 2004
The 21st century Final Solution?
That's the phrase Abid Ullah Jan seems to use to describe the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal in Iraqi Abuse: G.I.s Not Directly Responsibe [sic]. [I write "seems" because the article is so poorly written it's hard to infer exactly what he's writing about.]
Six million Jews on the one hand, a few abused (but alive) prisoners on the other. Moral equivalents!
Abid Ullah Jan descibes the soldiers accused of the crimes at Abu Ghraib "onward marching Christian soldiers." There were only still photos, but I can't imagine Lindsie England making the sign of the cross or reciting the Lord's Prayer while forcing Iraqi detainees to commit homosexual acts. What Abid Ullah Jan, writing from Pakistan, cannot understand, is that in the West, not eveyone is a Christian. You can even apostasize and not receive the death penalty!
The U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib were acting as perverts, not as Christians. The terrorists who cut off Nick Berg's head while praying, were trying to act as faithful Muslims.
That's the gulf between us.
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That's the phrase Abid Ullah Jan seems to use to describe the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal in Iraqi Abuse: G.I.s Not Directly Responsibe [sic]. [I write "seems" because the article is so poorly written it's hard to infer exactly what he's writing about.]
Six million Jews on the one hand, a few abused (but alive) prisoners on the other. Moral equivalents!
Abid Ullah Jan descibes the soldiers accused of the crimes at Abu Ghraib "onward marching Christian soldiers." There were only still photos, but I can't imagine Lindsie England making the sign of the cross or reciting the Lord's Prayer while forcing Iraqi detainees to commit homosexual acts. What Abid Ullah Jan, writing from Pakistan, cannot understand, is that in the West, not eveyone is a Christian. You can even apostasize and not receive the death penalty!
The U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib were acting as perverts, not as Christians. The terrorists who cut off Nick Berg's head while praying, were trying to act as faithful Muslims.
That's the gulf between us.
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30 Seconds
That's how long it took to decapitate Nick Berg, according to FIENDISH SPECTACLE. How can a human being do that to another? Really. How?
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That's how long it took to decapitate Nick Berg, according to FIENDISH SPECTACLE. How can a human being do that to another? Really. How?
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Some rhetorical questions...
after NICK BERG'S MURDER:
1. Will Osama bin Laden apologize to Mr. Berg's family and the American people?
2. Will Abu Musab al-Zarqawi be court-martialed by Al-Qaeda?
3. Will Ayman al-Zawahiri be called to testify before an Al-Qaeda committee?
4. Will there be calls for Ayman al-Zawahiri to step down?
5. Will an Al-Qaeda general lead an investigation to find out where the chain of command broke down?
6. Will Al-Qaeda give all of its soldiers instruction on the Geneva Convention?
7. Will there be outrage and self examination on the Arab Street?
8. Will imams condemn Nick Berg's murder as loudly and unanimously as the did the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison?
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after NICK BERG'S MURDER:
1. Will Osama bin Laden apologize to Mr. Berg's family and the American people?
2. Will Abu Musab al-Zarqawi be court-martialed by Al-Qaeda?
3. Will Ayman al-Zawahiri be called to testify before an Al-Qaeda committee?
4. Will there be calls for Ayman al-Zawahiri to step down?
5. Will an Al-Qaeda general lead an investigation to find out where the chain of command broke down?
6. Will Al-Qaeda give all of its soldiers instruction on the Geneva Convention?
7. Will there be outrage and self examination on the Arab Street?
8. Will imams condemn Nick Berg's murder as loudly and unanimously as the did the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison?
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Sick Redemption
NICK BERG'S MURDER has been on my mind all day. Seeing a murder on video has a way of sticking with you and ruining your day. His life was ruined, though. The least I can do is pray for his soul. I pray that he had a holy death.
My better angels have even allowed me to momentarily pray for his murderers' repentance, although I've spent the bulk of the day seething with hatred and disgust. I even thought that I'd like to run in to the local guy who wears the Islamic clothes and give him a piece of my mind, or more. I've thought how nice it would be if this were a thousand years ago and the Holy Father would declare a New Crusade.
Perhaps I need to go to Confession. Unlike Nick Berg's murderers, my religion is a religion of peace. It's not a pacifist religion, but it is a religion of peace.
The kind of revenge allowed by the religion of Nick Berg's murderers', or at least their interpretation of their religion, is not an option to us as Christians. Speaking of revenge, the murderers said this:
This kind of redemption they mention is Satanic. The Old Testament's "eye for an eye" was a limitation on retribution. No comparison could possibly be made between the redemption these murderers speak of and that that Christ offers us.
If Abraham, Moses, and Christ were Muslims, as Islam claims, Nick Berg's murderers cannot claim to call themselves Muslims. Will the imams the Islamic world over raise their voices as loud as they did after Abu Ghraib to say that? Don't hold your breath.
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NICK BERG'S MURDER has been on my mind all day. Seeing a murder on video has a way of sticking with you and ruining your day. His life was ruined, though. The least I can do is pray for his soul. I pray that he had a holy death.
My better angels have even allowed me to momentarily pray for his murderers' repentance, although I've spent the bulk of the day seething with hatred and disgust. I even thought that I'd like to run in to the local guy who wears the Islamic clothes and give him a piece of my mind, or more. I've thought how nice it would be if this were a thousand years ago and the Holy Father would declare a New Crusade.
Perhaps I need to go to Confession. Unlike Nick Berg's murderers, my religion is a religion of peace. It's not a pacifist religion, but it is a religion of peace.
The kind of revenge allowed by the religion of Nick Berg's murderers', or at least their interpretation of their religion, is not an option to us as Christians. Speaking of revenge, the murderers said this:
- "So we tell you that the dignity of the Muslim men and women in Abu Ghraib and others is not redeemed except by blood and souls. You will not receive anything from us but coffins after coffins ... slaughtered in this way."
This kind of redemption they mention is Satanic. The Old Testament's "eye for an eye" was a limitation on retribution. No comparison could possibly be made between the redemption these murderers speak of and that that Christ offers us.
If Abraham, Moses, and Christ were Muslims, as Islam claims, Nick Berg's murderers cannot claim to call themselves Muslims. Will the imams the Islamic world over raise their voices as loud as they did after Abu Ghraib to say that? Don't hold your breath.
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SS?
Ted Rall, in his delicately titled rant AN ARMY OF SCUM, says the folliwng:
One item short, huh? What about medical experimentation? Starvation chambers? Mass executions? The Holocaust claimed 12,000,000 lives. I've heard of one or two alleged murders carried out by rogues within the U.S. military. In Ted Rall's moral, or rather amoral, universe, the U.S. is just a wee bit less worse than the Nazis.
Did the SS ever once convene any hearings about their own atrocities? Did the nazis ever produce a General Taguba?
Ted Rall crosses a serious line in his article. He doesn't let logic get in the way of his self-hating anti-American arguments. It's no wonder this hothead got fired from the NY Times.
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Ted Rall, in his delicately titled rant AN ARMY OF SCUM, says the folliwng:
- "Now it's official: American troops occupying Iraq have become virtually indistinguishable from the SS... The U.S. military is short just one item to achieve moral parity with the Nazis: gas chambers."
One item short, huh? What about medical experimentation? Starvation chambers? Mass executions? The Holocaust claimed 12,000,000 lives. I've heard of one or two alleged murders carried out by rogues within the U.S. military. In Ted Rall's moral, or rather amoral, universe, the U.S. is just a wee bit less worse than the Nazis.
Did the SS ever once convene any hearings about their own atrocities? Did the nazis ever produce a General Taguba?
Ted Rall crosses a serious line in his article. He doesn't let logic get in the way of his self-hating anti-American arguments. It's no wonder this hothead got fired from the NY Times.
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Hurt Feelings
Re: Priest denies gay couple communion, which came to my attention via Catholic and Enjoying It!
To many, religion is nice as long as it doesn't impose any rules or standards of conduct. As sinners, we all fail to live up to the standards Christ asks us to live up to. With our failings in mind, Christ instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
The gay couple weren't denied communion because they were homosexuals but because they were living a homosexual lifestyle. Someone who commits a homosexual act, repents, and goes to confession can and should receuve communion. Someone who unrepentantly persists in a life of sin, any sin, cannot and should not receive communion.
Hats off to you, Rev. Larry Wieseler, for standing up for the Truth,
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Re: Priest denies gay couple communion, which came to my attention via Catholic and Enjoying It!
To many, religion is nice as long as it doesn't impose any rules or standards of conduct. As sinners, we all fail to live up to the standards Christ asks us to live up to. With our failings in mind, Christ instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
The gay couple weren't denied communion because they were homosexuals but because they were living a homosexual lifestyle. Someone who commits a homosexual act, repents, and goes to confession can and should receuve communion. Someone who unrepentantly persists in a life of sin, any sin, cannot and should not receive communion.
Hats off to you, Rev. Larry Wieseler, for standing up for the Truth,
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Heroic?
From Abandoning Gaza won't end terrorism:
The woman was eight-months pregnant. I read she was shot in the abdomen. At the memorial service for the five victims, more Palestinian "heroes" were responsible for the look of terror on this little girl's face, from World Photos - AP:
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From Abandoning Gaza won't end terrorism:
- "The Voice of Palestine radio praised the quintuple murder as a 'heroic' operation against 'five settlers,' not bothering to mention that the victims were an unarmed pregnant woman and four children or that their bodies had been riddled with bullets fired at close range."
The woman was eight-months pregnant. I read she was shot in the abdomen. At the memorial service for the five victims, more Palestinian "heroes" were responsible for the look of terror on this little girl's face, from World Photos - AP:
"An Israeli settler protects his daughter during an attack by Palestinian militants on the road linking the Gush Katif settlement block in the Gaza Strip with the Kitsufim crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip Sunday May 9, 2004. Palestinian militants fired on a group of settlers holding a memorial ceremony at the spot where a pregnant woman and her four young daughters were killed by militants last week. Settlers armed with assault rifles and soldiers returned fire, the army said. Writing in the background reads, in Hebrew, 'Rooting Out Settlements,' at right in blue, and 'Victory For Terror,' at left in red. (AP Photo/Edi Israel)."
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Not That Evil
According to the gematriculator, "http://www.eetm.blogspot.com is
27% evil, 73% good."
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According to the gematriculator, "http://www.eetm.blogspot.com is
27% evil, 73% good."
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Allahu Akbar?
Re: Killers: Beheading Avenges Prison Abuse
I've written a lot about the horrendous abuses at Abu Ghraib. The story above gives little much needed perspective and illustrates the gulf that exists between the US Military and its enemies in Iraq; the murderers of civilian Nick Berg invoked the name of God before committing their heinous crime. There will be no apology from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who apparently ordered the beheading (the video is entitled "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi shown slaughtering an American"). There will ne no hearings, no courts-martial, no investigative reports, no mea culpas, and no human justice.
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Re: Killers: Beheading Avenges Prison Abuse
I've written a lot about the horrendous abuses at Abu Ghraib. The story above gives little much needed perspective and illustrates the gulf that exists between the US Military and its enemies in Iraq; the murderers of civilian Nick Berg invoked the name of God before committing their heinous crime. There will be no apology from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who apparently ordered the beheading (the video is entitled "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi shown slaughtering an American"). There will ne no hearings, no courts-martial, no investigative reports, no mea culpas, and no human justice.
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Nick Berg, Resquiat in Pace
I don't expect the murderers in the photos above or their superiors to ever be called before any hearings (apart from the Day of Judgment) to answer for their crimes.
For more information about Nick Berg, read Beheading Victim Lived Life of Adventure and Slain Man Thought He Could 'Help'.
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I don't expect the murderers in the photos above or their superiors to ever be called before any hearings (apart from the Day of Judgment) to answer for their crimes.
For more information about Nick Berg, read Beheading Victim Lived Life of Adventure and Slain Man Thought He Could 'Help'.
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Tuesday, May 11, 2004
From Lutheran, to Muslim, to Would-be Al Qaeda Agent
Re: Accused soldier faces panel
The subject of the above story and I started out in the same place, the Lutheran Church, but he ended up facing "four counts of attempting to pass on military and other information to the al-Qaida terrorist network" and I ended up in the Catholic Church.
"There but for the grace of God go I."
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Re: Accused soldier faces panel
The subject of the above story and I started out in the same place, the Lutheran Church, but he ended up facing "four counts of attempting to pass on military and other information to the al-Qaida terrorist network" and I ended up in the Catholic Church.
"There but for the grace of God go I."
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God Bless the Bishops of America!
From Communion crisis-Catholic bishops get confrontational about abortion:
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From Communion crisis-Catholic bishops get confrontational about abortion:
- "Some bishops have taken the radical step of declaring that officials who are pro-choice shouldn't receive Holy Communion, and one has even said he'd personally refuse Kerry at the altar. "
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Irony
From Ironic Difference:
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From Ironic Difference:
- "It's ironic that at a time when the whole world is disgusted by pictures of Iraqi prisoners being abused by thugs and sluts in American uniforms, an American doctor in Germany reports that Thomas Hamill was reasonably well-treated by his Iraqi kidnappers..."
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"Our Boys Over There" on Abu Ghraib
Military newspaper blames Rumsfeld, Myers for "professional negligence"
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Military newspaper blames Rumsfeld, Myers for "professional negligence"
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On Fallujah, Abu Ghraib, Al-Jazeera, Al-Qaeda, and Much More
A conervative critique of the War in Iraq: Tutwiler's mission impossible.
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A conervative critique of the War in Iraq: Tutwiler's mission impossible.
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Frightening Utilitarian Logic
From Abortion link to crime, and family month:
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From Abortion link to crime, and family month:
- "In 2001, a Stanford law professor, John Donahue, and a University of Chicago economics professor, Steven Levitt, published a paper entitled, 'The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime.' The two scholars claimed that the legalization of abortion by the Supreme Court in
"1973 was largely responsible for the crime reduction.
Their theory was simple. They said that among the women who decided to have an abortion, many were unmarried or poor and could not provide an adequate environment to raise a child. Those children born to mothers in difficult situations are more likely than better-off children to become a criminal when they are between the ages of 15 and 25."
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World Catholic Stats
Percentage of Catholics in the World Slips: Diocesan Priests Increase Since '78; Religious Decrease
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Percentage of Catholics in the World Slips: Diocesan Priests Increase Since '78; Religious Decrease
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Apostates
Al-Qaeda 'converting Christians for militant work': Recruitment through charities helps affiliates tap their knowledge, access to Christian-dominated areas in Philippines
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Al-Qaeda 'converting Christians for militant work': Recruitment through charities helps affiliates tap their knowledge, access to Christian-dominated areas in Philippines
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Calvinist Commentary on Abu Ghraib
Original Sin in Abu Ghraib: I am horrified by the images from Iraq--but not because the evil is unfathomable to me. I see it lurking in my own deep places.
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Original Sin in Abu Ghraib: I am horrified by the images from Iraq--but not because the evil is unfathomable to me. I see it lurking in my own deep places.
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Monday, May 10, 2004
Rush Limbaugh - Moral Relativist
Rush is no true conservative. Or if he is, than I'm not one. Here's Jonathan Alter, writing in The Picture the World Sees, writing of Rush's reaction to the Abu Ghraib photos:
So, torture is okay if you're American and the victim is Iraqi. That's high moral relativism to me.
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Rush is no true conservative. Or if he is, than I'm not one. Here's Jonathan Alter, writing in The Picture the World Sees, writing of Rush's reaction to the Abu Ghraib photos:
- "Of course, some people didn't even mind the pictures. Rush Limbaugh told his audience last week that the whole thing reminded him of a 'Skull and Bones initiation.' He argued that the torturers should be cut a little slack: 'You ever heard of emotional release? You heard of need to blow some steam off?'"
So, torture is okay if you're American and the victim is Iraqi. That's high moral relativism to me.
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After 57 Years...
Top NJ Lawmaker Quits Roman Catholic Church, "because of church demands that politicians vote in accordance with Catholic doctrine."
Pray for this man's soul, who is willing to endanger his Salvation for the sake of abortion.
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Top NJ Lawmaker Quits Roman Catholic Church, "because of church demands that politicians vote in accordance with Catholic doctrine."
Pray for this man's soul, who is willing to endanger his Salvation for the sake of abortion.
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Surprise, Surprise
The only surprising this about this story is that it didn't come sooner: Unitarians prepare to marry gays.
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The only surprising this about this story is that it didn't come sooner: Unitarians prepare to marry gays.
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Abu Ghraib
Mark Shea of Catholic and Enjojoying It and Serge of A conervative blog for peace have caught some flak in their comments from readers offended by postings critical of the abuses that occured at the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq. [See Simul Iustus et Peccator and US soldiers abused young girl at Iraqi prison.]
These offended readers object to any criticism of the Coalition Forces or of Messrs. Bush and Blair. These self-styled "conservatives" label any such criticism as "liberal" or "anti-American." It is the war and subsequent occupation of Iraq that cannot rightly be labeled as conservative. President Bush is violating his own previous stance against "nation-building." Kieran Dickinson, of the Granola Coneservative, even notes how President Bush has adopted the P.C. scare-tactic of labelling as "rascist" detracters of his war (see Are Bush's Iraq Critics Racists?). This "preemtive" war was really a Wilsonian exercise in "making the world safe for democracy."
About the Abu Ghraib Prison abuse scandal, while I recognize that there is some Double-Standard Journalism going on here in showing the pictures of the abused Iraqis but refusing to show pictures of burnt and multilated American civilians, the damage these abhorrent crimes have caused both to the abused Iraqis and the reputation of America is enormous (read From the Frontlines: A Combat Soldier's View of the Iraq Prison Abuse Case.)
I love America. Having lived eight of the past ten years abroad in three different countries, I've come to know that the image of America overseas is not of the good folks at St. Blog's Parish, Midwestren farmers, or Southern Baptists. We are seen as the sluts on "Sex and the City" or as some middle-aged, overweight, bearded man wearing a leather bra on a float in a San Francisco gay "pride" parade. The disgusting photos from Abu Ghraib do nothing but bolster this image. Mark Shea sums it up in America to the Islamosphere: It's Sodom or Saddam:
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Mark Shea of Catholic and Enjojoying It and Serge of A conervative blog for peace have caught some flak in their comments from readers offended by postings critical of the abuses that occured at the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq. [See Simul Iustus et Peccator and US soldiers abused young girl at Iraqi prison.]
These offended readers object to any criticism of the Coalition Forces or of Messrs. Bush and Blair. These self-styled "conservatives" label any such criticism as "liberal" or "anti-American." It is the war and subsequent occupation of Iraq that cannot rightly be labeled as conservative. President Bush is violating his own previous stance against "nation-building." Kieran Dickinson, of the Granola Coneservative, even notes how President Bush has adopted the P.C. scare-tactic of labelling as "rascist" detracters of his war (see Are Bush's Iraq Critics Racists?). This "preemtive" war was really a Wilsonian exercise in "making the world safe for democracy."
About the Abu Ghraib Prison abuse scandal, while I recognize that there is some Double-Standard Journalism going on here in showing the pictures of the abused Iraqis but refusing to show pictures of burnt and multilated American civilians, the damage these abhorrent crimes have caused both to the abused Iraqis and the reputation of America is enormous (read From the Frontlines: A Combat Soldier's View of the Iraq Prison Abuse Case.)
I love America. Having lived eight of the past ten years abroad in three different countries, I've come to know that the image of America overseas is not of the good folks at St. Blog's Parish, Midwestren farmers, or Southern Baptists. We are seen as the sluts on "Sex and the City" or as some middle-aged, overweight, bearded man wearing a leather bra on a float in a San Francisco gay "pride" parade. The disgusting photos from Abu Ghraib do nothing but bolster this image. Mark Shea sums it up in America to the Islamosphere: It's Sodom or Saddam:
- "One could hardly imagine anything more exquisitely calculated to destroy American credibility with the Islamic mushy middle and confirm the stereotype of Americans as depraved degenerates who worship sex and power like Rome in the days of Commodus or Caligula....
"Look. If we want to have a hope in hell of exporting our values abroad we had better make damn sure we do not send the message "Join us and become blasphemous degenerates!" So far we are inspiring wariness and revulsion in the people we mean to liberate, not the desire to emulate us."
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"Christian Zionists"
Re: Christian Zionists to hold referendum
That these folks want to hasten the Second Coming of Christ by supporting Israel strikes me as a bit theologically perverse.
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Re: Christian Zionists to hold referendum
That these folks want to hasten the Second Coming of Christ by supporting Israel strikes me as a bit theologically perverse.
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Saturday, May 08, 2004
"The West's commitment to sexual promiscuity is a religion that people will both kill and die for."
From Catholic and Enjoying It:
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From Catholic and Enjoying It:
- Now some actual facts:
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
The West's commitment to sexual promiscuity is a religion that people will both kill and die for.
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Women in Combat
Here's an article that came to my attention via A conservative blog for peace:
The terrible events at the Abu Ghraib prison provide futher evidence that women, and gays, should be kept out of combat.
About women in combat, an Irish Lieutenant by the name of Fitzpatrick, who was fighting on the Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War, was infuriated by a "women's battalion" serving on the Republican side, something he saw as a sign of complete degradation.
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Here's an article that came to my attention via A conservative blog for peace:
The terrible events at the Abu Ghraib prison provide futher evidence that women, and gays, should be kept out of combat.
About women in combat, an Irish Lieutenant by the name of Fitzpatrick, who was fighting on the Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War, was infuriated by a "women's battalion" serving on the Republican side, something he saw as a sign of complete degradation.
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New Education Page
CHRONICLES has a new page with the following title: The Autodictact: Practical advice for people of all ages who are serious about educating themselves and their families in the classical and Christian traditions of our civilization. That's something I've been endeavoring to do all the more since the brith of my first daughter. This page looks like it will be a great help.
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CHRONICLES has a new page with the following title: The Autodictact: Practical advice for people of all ages who are serious about educating themselves and their families in the classical and Christian traditions of our civilization. That's something I've been endeavoring to do all the more since the brith of my first daughter. This page looks like it will be a great help.
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New Arts Page
Traditional Catholic Reflections & Reports has a new page entitled TCR Arts Page: Arts, Letters & Thought, which has reviews of movies, books, painting, and much, much more. It looks great.
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Traditional Catholic Reflections & Reports has a new page entitled TCR Arts Page: Arts, Letters & Thought, which has reviews of movies, books, painting, and much, much more. It looks great.
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Sexual Abuse in Iraq Caused by Religion?
Re: America's fundamental sin of abuse
I share the ingidnation of the Canadian author of the above piece, but his reasoning is comply off-kilter. He argues that the religiosity of America and Christianity's "tortuous relation with sexuality" are to blame for the sexual abuse inflicted on the Iraqi P.O.W.'s! The author's real objective is to show how enlightended and secular Canada is, vis a vis the backward and ignorant Bible-thumpers south-of-the-border.
Living in Korea, I've had the chance to meet many more Canadians than I ever did living across the border in Buffalo, NY. Many Canadians seem to be preoccupied with trying to distinguish themselves from Americans. This "Canadian-ness" might be demonstrated by sewing the ubiquitous Maple Leaf Flag on one's backpack, by pondering the differences between Canadian and American rock-in-roll, or by insistence on the use of the modal "shall."
Canadians might be loath to admit it, but we share the same culture. In fact, I've found that people from Ottawa or Buffalo or anywhere else on the East Coast of either country, share more in common with those on the other side of the border than with they do with people from Vancouver or San Francisco, who in turn are culturally very similar. I've also found people from Alberta or Saskatchewan to be very similar to Midwesterners in the US. Language is very much responsible for the transmition of culture, and spelling "center" with an "-re" is just not enough to separate our two peoples.
The Québécois? Now that's another story. Vive le Québec libre!
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Re: America's fundamental sin of abuse
I share the ingidnation of the Canadian author of the above piece, but his reasoning is comply off-kilter. He argues that the religiosity of America and Christianity's "tortuous relation with sexuality" are to blame for the sexual abuse inflicted on the Iraqi P.O.W.'s! The author's real objective is to show how enlightended and secular Canada is, vis a vis the backward and ignorant Bible-thumpers south-of-the-border.
Living in Korea, I've had the chance to meet many more Canadians than I ever did living across the border in Buffalo, NY. Many Canadians seem to be preoccupied with trying to distinguish themselves from Americans. This "Canadian-ness" might be demonstrated by sewing the ubiquitous Maple Leaf Flag on one's backpack, by pondering the differences between Canadian and American rock-in-roll, or by insistence on the use of the modal "shall."
Canadians might be loath to admit it, but we share the same culture. In fact, I've found that people from Ottawa or Buffalo or anywhere else on the East Coast of either country, share more in common with those on the other side of the border than with they do with people from Vancouver or San Francisco, who in turn are culturally very similar. I've also found people from Alberta or Saskatchewan to be very similar to Midwesterners in the US. Language is very much responsible for the transmition of culture, and spelling "center" with an "-re" is just not enough to separate our two peoples.
The Québécois? Now that's another story. Vive le Québec libre!
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Thursday, May 06, 2004
Fundamentalism
Re: The rise of global fundamentalism
The above article from the National Catholic Reporter, which lumps Osama bin Laden, Jerry Falwell, and the Bharatiya Janata Party together under the banner of "Fundamentalism," makes some fundamental errors of its own. On Islam, renowned scholar Bernard Lewis
[For more about Lewis, see Islam Plus Democracy: The Lewis Doctrine Makes Inroads at the Vatican.]
Surely we faithful Catholics too believe in the "literal divine origin of scripture" and could be labeled as "Fundamentalists." The difference betwen us and Muslims is that we have a Magisterium to interpret divine scripture. Every Muslim is, in effect, a pope unto himself. [For more on this issue, see Does Islam Need a Luther or a Pope?.]
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Re: The rise of global fundamentalism
The above article from the National Catholic Reporter, which lumps Osama bin Laden, Jerry Falwell, and the Bharatiya Janata Party together under the banner of "Fundamentalism," makes some fundamental errors of its own. On Islam, renowned scholar Bernard Lewis
- "points out the absurdity of referring to Islamists as 'fundamentalists.' 'Fundamentalist' is an American expression denoting belief in the literal divine origin of scripture–something that all Muslims, militant or otherwise, believe about the Koran" (from Islam's Interpreter ).
[For more about Lewis, see Islam Plus Democracy: The Lewis Doctrine Makes Inroads at the Vatican.]
Surely we faithful Catholics too believe in the "literal divine origin of scripture" and could be labeled as "Fundamentalists." The difference betwen us and Muslims is that we have a Magisterium to interpret divine scripture. Every Muslim is, in effect, a pope unto himself. [For more on this issue, see Does Islam Need a Luther or a Pope?.]
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Dehumanization
Re: Torture and Responsibility in Iraq: The torture was perpetrated by good soldiers who have become dehumanized through combat stress and training.
(Caveat lector: An extremely politically incorrect view follows.)
Maybe so, but it is obvious that before they even left for Iraq they has alo been "dehumanized" by the Culture of Death and by the Pornography Industry. It could even be, judging from the character of the abuse, that President Clinton's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy had something to do with what occured.
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Re: Torture and Responsibility in Iraq: The torture was perpetrated by good soldiers who have become dehumanized through combat stress and training.
(Caveat lector: An extremely politically incorrect view follows.)
Maybe so, but it is obvious that before they even left for Iraq they has alo been "dehumanized" by the Culture of Death and by the Pornography Industry. It could even be, judging from the character of the abuse, that President Clinton's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy had something to do with what occured.
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"Viva Cristo Rey!"
Catholic zealots leap from audience to break up performance of blasphemous play
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Catholic zealots leap from audience to break up performance of blasphemous play
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"Santa Muerte"
A death cult that can be traced back to the Aztecs: Gangsters pray to Our Lady of Death for protection on Mexico's meanest streets
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A death cult that can be traced back to the Aztecs: Gangsters pray to Our Lady of Death for protection on Mexico's meanest streets
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Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Religion, Race, and Politics
From For black ministers, political tone shifts:
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From For black ministers, political tone shifts:
- "Tension between black clergy and black political leaders, while not new, has rarely reached such a pitch. At the root of today's divide are two key questions in the nation's 'culture wars' - whether gays should be allowed to marry and whether religious-backed social programs should be eligible for federal funding."
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Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Culture of Death Watch
"Through some fissure the smoke of Satan entered into the temple of God," said Pope Paul VI on June 29, 1972. The smoke of Satan is also blowing strong in Catholic universities: Culture of Death on Catholic Campuses: A Five-Year Review.
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"Through some fissure the smoke of Satan entered into the temple of God," said Pope Paul VI on June 29, 1972. The smoke of Satan is also blowing strong in Catholic universities: Culture of Death on Catholic Campuses: A Five-Year Review.
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Unbelievable
I found this article, NIGERIA: Zamfara Government Orders Demolition of All Churches, which came to my attention via In Principio, to be unbelievable. Disturbingly, it appears to be true. Not only would any such move be un-Islamic, it would light a powder-keg that could blow the fragile African giant of Nigeria into utter chaos.
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I found this article, NIGERIA: Zamfara Government Orders Demolition of All Churches, which came to my attention via In Principio, to be unbelievable. Disturbingly, it appears to be true. Not only would any such move be un-Islamic, it would light a powder-keg that could blow the fragile African giant of Nigeria into utter chaos.
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A New Likoudis Article
Fellow Buffalonian James Likoudis on a Vietnamese-born theologian: A STRANGE MISSIOLOGY: Fr. Peter C. Phan’s Essay Redefining the Meaning of Evangelization.
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Fellow Buffalonian James Likoudis on a Vietnamese-born theologian: A STRANGE MISSIOLOGY: Fr. Peter C. Phan’s Essay Redefining the Meaning of Evangelization.
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A (Somewhat) Hopeful Note
From New poll shows growing shift toward pro-life position:
Now, only if we can convince these same people that abortion is also wrong in cases of rape and incest...
And, the racial breakdown:
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From New poll shows growing shift toward pro-life position:
- "The April 15-17 poll conducted by Zogby International showed that 56 percent of those responding said that abortion should never be legal or be legal only when the mother's life is in danger or in cases of rape and incest."
Now, only if we can convince these same people that abortion is also wrong in cases of rape and incest...
And, the racial breakdown:
- "Of the African Americans, 62 percent said abortion should never be legal or be legal only when the mother's life is in danger or in cases of rape and incest; 38 percent favored abortion for any reason during the first trimester, the first and second trimester, or all three trimesters. Among Hispanic respondents, the margin was 78 percent to 21 percent."
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Monday, May 03, 2004
Shame and Disgust
There are no words strong enough to condemn the disgusting abuses leveled against the Iraqi prisoners-of-war documented in The Abu Ghraib Prison Photos (warning: graphic images). The people responsible for these atrocities are clearly products of the Culture of Death and the Pornography Industry, having grown up in the cesspool that has disgracefully passed for American culture since the 1960s. I'm at a loss for words...
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There are no words strong enough to condemn the disgusting abuses leveled against the Iraqi prisoners-of-war documented in The Abu Ghraib Prison Photos (warning: graphic images). The people responsible for these atrocities are clearly products of the Culture of Death and the Pornography Industry, having grown up in the cesspool that has disgracefully passed for American culture since the 1960s. I'm at a loss for words...
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JP2 on EU Expansion
According to the article Pope Says Enlarged EU Needs Christianity, the Holy Father said that Europe's identity would be "incomprehensible" without Christianity, reminding me of Hilaire Belloc's famous maxim, "Europe is the Faith and the Faith is Europe."
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According to the article Pope Says Enlarged EU Needs Christianity, the Holy Father said that Europe's identity would be "incomprehensible" without Christianity, reminding me of Hilaire Belloc's famous maxim, "Europe is the Faith and the Faith is Europe."
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A Stand for Orthodoxy
John Wesley and my Methodist Grandmother (may God bless their souls) would be overjoyed at this news, from Methodist Court Says Gay Clergy Prohibited:
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John Wesley and my Methodist Grandmother (may God bless their souls) would be overjoyed at this news, from Methodist Court Says Gay Clergy Prohibited:
- "The highest court in the United Methodist Church ruled yesterday that church law unambiguously says the practice of homosexuality is 'incompatible with Christian teaching' and a 'chargeable offense' for Methodist ministers."
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"Creepy Orwellian" March
Feminists' real enemy isn't the White House, an article that asserts that the global Islamist Jihad poses more of a threat to women's rights than does the Bush White House, says this about the recent pro-abortion rally in Wahington, D.C.:
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Feminists' real enemy isn't the White House, an article that asserts that the global Islamist Jihad poses more of a threat to women's rights than does the Bush White House, says this about the recent pro-abortion rally in Wahington, D.C.:
- "The abortion rally was called the March for Women's Lives -- a creepy Orwellian inversion if there ever was one. And yet countless marchers really did seem to believe that the foremost threat to women's lives today is George W. Bush and his benighted opinion that killing babies in the womb is wrong. To be sure, killing babies in the womb is legal -- and has been for 30-plus years. Roughly 1.3 million abortions are performed each year, which suggests that what the prochoicers euphemistically call "reproductive freedom" is alive and well in modern American life."
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Uruguayan Exorcist
Chasing Out the Devil in Uruguay: Famed Exorcist Says Rite Has Little in Common With Movies
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Chasing Out the Devil in Uruguay: Famed Exorcist Says Rite Has Little in Common With Movies
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Saturday, May 01, 2004
"Flirting with Islam"
Father Tom, of Waiting in Joyful Hope, has written a very interesting and thought-provoking account of his near-conversion to Islam, entitled, Islam and Me.
His story is very similar to mine; I briefly "flirted with Islam" several years ago, before even having considered Catholicism. The religion seemed simple and direct. Now, I realize that Atheism is even simpler and more direct. The Ramones created very simple and direct music; Bach didn't. Does that make the Ramones better? What do simplicity and directness have to do with anything?
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Father Tom, of Waiting in Joyful Hope, has written a very interesting and thought-provoking account of his near-conversion to Islam, entitled, Islam and Me.
His story is very similar to mine; I briefly "flirted with Islam" several years ago, before even having considered Catholicism. The religion seemed simple and direct. Now, I realize that Atheism is even simpler and more direct. The Ramones created very simple and direct music; Bach didn't. Does that make the Ramones better? What do simplicity and directness have to do with anything?
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Popular Myths about the Vatican
Re: U.S. journalist debunks myths about Vatican: Vatican correspondent says misperceptions are result of ‘lazy popular journalism’
The five myths mentioned are: (1) singlemindedness, (2) absolute control, (3) secrecy, (4) wealth, and (5) careerism.
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Re: U.S. journalist debunks myths about Vatican: Vatican correspondent says misperceptions are result of ‘lazy popular journalism’
The five myths mentioned are: (1) singlemindedness, (2) absolute control, (3) secrecy, (4) wealth, and (5) careerism.
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"Hooking Up"
From Sex and the Cities:
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From Sex and the Cities:
- "Over all, Americans are spending much less time married. They marry later and divorce at high rates, and remarry less and less. We are replacing marriage, one of our most successful institutions, with hooking up. This is a deep structural problem, and very worrying."
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Welcome!
from EU Expands From 15 to 25 Member Nations:
It's good that of the 10 new countries, five (Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Slovenia) are still very Catholic and two (the Czech Republic and Hungary) are historically Catholic, one Orthodox (Cyprus), one Lutheran (Estonia), and one (Latvia) with a mixed Orthodox, Catholic, and Lutheran population.
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from EU Expands From 15 to 25 Member Nations:
"Fireworks explode over St. Vitus cathedral at Prague Castle to mark the European Union's enlargement at midnight, Saturday, May 1, 2004, when the Czech Republic together with nine other countries, joined the EU"
It's good that of the 10 new countries, five (Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Slovenia) are still very Catholic and two (the Czech Republic and Hungary) are historically Catholic, one Orthodox (Cyprus), one Lutheran (Estonia), and one (Latvia) with a mixed Orthodox, Catholic, and Lutheran population.
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Another Bishop Exercises his Apostolic Authority
The Most Rev. Joseph Galante, as qouted in N.J. Bishop Says He Won't Serve Governor:
Alleluia!
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The Most Rev. Joseph Galante, as qouted in N.J. Bishop Says He Won't Serve Governor:
- "I'd give him a blessing. In his case, he can't go to Communion."
Alleluia!
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Ignorance...
of the Convention is no excuse: Accused Soldiers Didn't Know Geneva Rules
One needn't be familar with all the provisions of the Geneva Convention to know that torture and humiliation are wrong; that's what our God-given conscience is for.
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of the Convention is no excuse: Accused Soldiers Didn't Know Geneva Rules
One needn't be familar with all the provisions of the Geneva Convention to know that torture and humiliation are wrong; that's what our God-given conscience is for.
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