Cause of Our Joy

"Why I Lost Faith in the Pro-Choice Movement."

2012-10-31T12:47:00.003-04:00

There is an excellent article today in the National Catholic Register, "Why I Lost Faith in the Pro-Choice Movement."

Jennifer Fulwiler explains the basic intellectual dishonesty and inconsistency in the pro-choice position, how it is ultimately disrespectful to women, because it refuses to allow them to make actual informed choices and belittles them and how ultimately the pro-choice position is disingenuous because women are so often driven to an abortion because they feel that they have no choice.

"My first tipoff that something was wrong in the pro-choice movement was when I realized that there was a great fear of information."

"To my concern and surprise, I could not find one shred of information about fetal development on any websites associated with the pro-choice movement. When I read their literature about the details of abortion procedures, they were full of insulting euphemisms. Even when describing second trimester abortions, they would use eerily vague terms talking about "emptying the uterus" of its "contents." I felt like I had been transported back to Victorian England, where women weren't supposed to be told hard facts, even about their own bodies, because they might get all flustered."

"I saw an almost pathological level of avoidance, in myself as well as in the larger pro-choice community, on this most critical issue of when a fetus becomes a person, and when abortion becomes infanticide. When pressed on this topic we would always dodge the issue, usually by responding with the utterly irrelevant answer that these procedures are rare compared to first trimester abortions. Even though many of us were personally horrified by the idea of such occurrences, some great pressure kept us from taking a clear look at this life-and-death issue, and calling a horror a horror when we beheld it."

These are just a few good lines, but please read the whole thing here.

I love the line about being unable to call a horror a horror when you see it. I've long thought that one of the main reasons why the Left and Right can't even have a conversation any more about social issues is this startling inability to call a spade a spade, to simply acknowledge reality for what it is. I know that, for myself personally, the pro-choice argument within the overall Leftist worldview, was the beginning of my own personal shift from being very liberal to a conservative Catholic. It really bothered me that the core of this worldview, which prided itself on being rational and humane, involved a very blatant denial of basic logic and respect for vulnerable life. The sad thing is, I think a lot of people who are pro-choice know this, if pressed.

I also think that, behind many Leftist perspectives there is a subtle, and often times not very subtle, attempt at social engineering. But before social engineering there must come verbal engineering. In the case of abortion, instead of calling it what it is, the taking of an innocent human life, it is cast in terms of choice, of a woman's body, even though basic common sense tells us that there is another body present as well, that of the child. Its frustrating because, so often those of us who are pro-life are often ridiculed for having a black/white perspective--that we don't understand nuance and the complexities of life. This is patently ridiculous. No one denies the complexity of an unwanted pregnancy and how it is truly a life-changing and difficult situation, but I hardly see how it is the result of a more nuanced, complex perspective to refuse to even consciously acknowledge the scientific fact of another life present and to simply kill off the child.

Ms. Fulwiler also points out how the contraceptive mentality leads to more abortions, and for two reasons. In the long term aggregate, because no contraceptive is perfect, the practice of contraception leads to a greater number of unwanted pregnancies, and sadly, a greater number of aborted children. Also, the practice of contraception engenders an attitude of engaging in "consequence free" sex, and when those consequences invariably raise their head, people are often not prepared to take them on.

Here is also a link to a report on a Chinese study linking induced abortion to higher incidence of breast cancer. Many levels of irony here, of course, but this is nothing new, its just completely denied here in the West.

Benghazi Shame

2012-10-30T23:23:00.001-04:00

The story behind the cover up of the events surrounding the attack on our Libyan embassy continues to grow. And our media shamelessly refuses to even pursue this at all. This article mentions a quote from Secretary Clinton saying that America will arrest and prosecute the man who made the film, "Innocence of Muslims" for the supposed effect it had in Libya. Also, apparently an Army general attempted to take the Libya situation into his own hands and send reinforcements even though Obama denied them, preferring instead to watch in real time as our ambassador died, hoping that the skirmish would blow over so that his image would not be tarnished. We truly are led by a shameful man, but more and more I think I agree with the thought that, a country that could elect such a man deserves him.

It still bothers me that the film maker is in prison, for supposedly violating his parole (because we all know that the FBI routinely sends crack teams to arrest people for parole violation in the early hours of the morning). No one seems to care that our military leaders tried to coerce citizens against their use of free speech and that our secretary of state and our president would rather curb free speech than take responsibility for their own actions. Despicable. My only hope is that Obama is voted out in a week.

Daily Update--October 24th

2012-10-24T07:59:00.000-04:00

Is it honestly any surprise that Obama lied about Libya? After all he did have to open his mouth and say something, which is usually all it takes for our Dear Leader to bend the truth.

Romney surpasses Obama in favorability. I guess people that support infanticide aren't that popular anymore.

Michelle Obama once argued that the murder of a half-born child is a legitimate legal procedure. Whereas in any normal, humane and rational society she would be shunned for such views, in our own society we can't get over how stylish she is.

Daily Update--October, 22nd.

2012-10-22T08:46:00.003-04:00

Hard hitting reporting from the NY Times, caught changing its stories in order to keep up with the ever changing White House spin on Libya.

Obama is accepting illegal campaign donations from foreign sources and from non-existent zip codes. Shocking.

Lourdes has flooded.

Someone is attempting to build a full-scale replica of the Millennium Falcon.

Great WSJ article on the disconnect between the past four years of the Obama administration and reality.

The National Review on the Libya scandal.

Daily Update--October 17th, 2012

2012-10-17T08:39:00.000-04:00

Honey Boo-Boo Endorses Obama.

After Obama answers question about giving women equal pay, it comes out that Obama hasn't paid his female staffers equal pay.

This is especially interesting coming on the heels of the Obama staffer who claimed that Obama didn't really like people. (Although this is admittedly not the first time this has been alleged by people working in the Obama White House).

At least one bishop has had the courage to refuse Communion to the Vice-President.

This is interesting. I've often told people that Andy Warhol was a daily mass goer, and almost no one ever believes me. Since I've never seen it mentioned anywhere else, I was starting to doubt it as well until I saw this piece.

Another American saint is being canonized this Sunday. Congratulations to my friend Fr. Brian, parochial vicar at St. Kateri Tekakwitha parish in New York.

Daily Update--9.18.2012

2012-09-18T16:51:00.001-04:00

While I understand its much more important for the media to try and turn every one of Mitt Romney's remarks into a bloodbath, I wonder how much interest there will be in evidence of the Obama Justice Department colluding with Media Matters in an attempt to silence its critics.

The NHS issued a DNR for a man with Down's Syndrome without the consent of him or his family. The fact that he has Down Syndrome was listed as one of the reasons, because apparently this contributes towards the administering doctor's assessment that his life has no value. How long until Obamacare is fully implemented?

Obvious take-down of the recent hoopla over Romney's supposed gaffes.

A little more balanced approach from a reason.com blog.

James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal's take on the actions of the White House to detain a film maker for exercising his First Amendment rights.

Perhaps one of the most disturbing aspects of all this is that the Lebanese government and others are claiming that the U.S. Government was warned about the potential for an attack two to three days beforehand, which is naturally being denied by the Obama administration. I have to wonder if this will be pursued by the media, which has still kept relatively quiet on further reports from the Lebanese media that our ambassador was raped either before and/or after his death.

Quickmeme referenced in above article.

A recent study demonstrates that women who have undergone an abortion have a shorter life span.

Abortifacients are leading to increased deaths of women in the third world.

Finally, here is a youtube video for a Canadian group Austra for the video Lose It. The song and video are old, and I got really into the song a long time ago--sort of one of those things were I would be totally embarrassed to admit that I liked it--but just saw the video on a whim today. The song's very pretty, I think, but I wanted to post the video just to share it. Its sort of like a Magritte painting set to contemporary music.

Daily Update

2012-09-17T20:21:00.003-04:00

First off, I want to apologize, because I know that I am supposed to be working on a new blog, but the recent events in Libya and the resulting shameful responses of the Obama administration have led me to want to share this little video here. Its two and a half minutes long, and its basically a Obama administration official waffling on the issue of whether or not the current administration is willing to defend First Amendment rights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0wwv9l6W8yc

Frankly, everything that has gone on with Libya is remarkable and the deaths of people there are a tragedy but the sheer number of ironies and hypocrisies on many levels is simply astonishing, but one of the most shocking things to happen is the fact that the U.S. Government actually detained and harassed a private citizen for exercising his freedom of speech...and yet, no one really seems to care.

The usual canard about the Republicans is that they want to control what happens in the bedroom, and my response to that is that this may be true to some degree, Republicans tend to support a society that promotes a healthy, rational sexuality as normative and this usually translates into certain restrictions and behaviors that are discouraged (as does everyone, liberals included)...but while this may be true, the Left wants to control everything you think, do or say.

I fully expect freedom of religion, speech and thought to go by the wayside in a second Obama administration, but I did not expect to see signs of it this soon, or for it to be this brazen.

New Blog Coming

2012-09-05T19:31:00.001-04:00

"If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly."--G.K. Chesterton

I've been wanting to sort of retool this blog for a long time, for a lot of reasons. I'm tired of trying to write a political/theological based blog, at least for now. Paradoxically, with the election coming up, I just don't feel as if I can keep up with it, even though I have a genuine fear that, if the Left further solidifies power, then freedom of expression and of thought and of even belief will be severely compromised. Perhaps not immediately--maybe more so in a frog in a boiling pot of water sort of way--but I think it will happen regardless. Which would seem to be a good reason to want to write about political and current events type stuff, but I just don't think that I can do it. I've thought so for a while and think so even more so now, that there is something that we have to face in this country, that we have simply split into two different and perhaps irreconcilable cultures. Not divided by ethnicity or race, although these factors are utilized to divide people, but more divided by an allegiance on one side to a conglomeration of different factors culled from our Judeo-Christian heritage, the Enlightenment, faith and reason, common sense and certain American ideals, while the other side is motivated largely by identity politics, sexual freedom and nihilism. I realize this last statement isn't even a sentence, isn't even clear, and isn't really fair, as I realize this latter description is ungenerous, as I realize this side is motivated by genuinely felt concerns (emphasis on felt), but I think we're afflicted with what Alasdair MacIntyre described in his seminal 1981 classic, After Virtue, that I think the moral philosophies that have shaped and defined western society have largely been lost, at least in terms of understanding, such that now we think and speak of morality using terms that we don't really understand, don't truly grasp their significance or ramifications. In short, it seems as if there are unfair standards and people talking past one another and even to make a moral or political argument you have to unpack so much behind people's words and meaning, that I really don't feel like trying to engage that. At least right now. Even this paragraph seems tortured.

But, I do want to write. I have for a while. And I do write in spurts. But there is so much going through my life right now, so many transitions and new beginnings, that I am a little afraid that I might need to get some thoughts out in written form. So, starting...tomorrow maybe?...I'm going to be writing something new. Just some thoughts. But I hope it will be more interesting. The above quotation refers to the fact that there are several ideas and things that I have wanted to get down on paper, but have hesitated to do so, because I am a perfectionist at heart, so I refrain and procrastinate and generally get nothing done. However, if something is worth doing, its worth doing badly. We'll see how the results go, starting tomorrow.

The Blog is Back

2012-09-05T13:04:00.000-04:00

The blog is back! Just in time for the fall. Expect to see some new posts...probably a new name for the blog. Maybe a new look. Maybe. Probably not a new look, but the blog is definitely back and in full swing.

Daily Update

2012-03-16T16:49:00.002-04:00

Santorum cleaned up in the South, with a majority of women voters, and he is polling higher than Obama in four key swing states, even though Obama polls higher than the "electable" candidate, Romney in the same states.
Hopefully, we'll elect a man that the left thinks is weird...because he holds, traditional, everyday values once seen as normal until yesterday.

Peggy Noonan on America's war on women.

"For those who once were confident that they would order such matters far better than their parents and grandparents, this is a serious blow. Reality is a harsh teacher. As Bruckner says, “For a generation that wanted to reform the human heart, it has been a strange experience to rediscover certain inviolable codes.” "--Interesting critique of the sexual revolution from a French intellectual of sorts.

Abortion in Kenya

2012-03-10T13:15:00.002-05:00

Pro-life activists are working to strengthen the culture of life in Kenya, now that abortion is increasingly allowed, thanks in part to pressure from the U.S. government (and your tax dollars) in the form of aid. The U.S. government has long had a policy of tying the giving of aid to abortion and contraceptives in various countries, due to a longstanding desire to kill a number of black and brown and poor people throughout the world.

Respect in Islam

2012-03-10T12:38:00.003-05:00

Islam's tradition of breaking the cross. The author here mentions several instances of desecration of the cross and how Islamic tradition actually calls for it as a noble duty. Devout Muslims are not even supposed to pray in an inter-faith chapel without covering up the image of the cross, which I guess is why Obama had to cover up the image of the cross when he spoke at Georgetown university, so as not to offend Muslims. The hypocrisy and double-standard, of course, is obvious, that destruction of the Islamic text, even if inadvertent, brings murderous rage, which, on some level doesn't bother me, at least not the double-standard. I have no desire to honor other religious symbols beyond the modicum of basic human respect (but I think in most situations, basic human respect should go a long way, as long as you can go without assenting to other the claims of another's faith), although there are some religious practices and beliefs that I find more heinous than others, such as Islam or voodoo religions (I would love it if we could organize a campaign to drive out the Santeria shops from our urban neighborhoods). What really bothers me though is how our culture of weak, enlightened and useful idiots somehow excuses Islam for its excesses. While we officially condemn the murderous Muslim response to things like Koran burnings, we seem to have carved out a space for Muslims in our understanding where we allow that it somehow makes sense for them to respond the way that they do. We apologize for accidentally burning books when they are senselessly killing people, like our president did. Or the Pennsylvania judge who lectured the atheist who was beaten by a Muslim for mocking Mohammad, telling him that Muslims have to be treated differently because they take their faith so seriously. This is simply foolish and dangerous. Islam is not the noble, enlightened religion that it is made out to be. While any person and his belief is worthy of our respect, there's no reason for us to treat this faith and its adherents with kid gloves. Any glance at its history will tell you that it is not the religion of peace we have been led to believe.

On an interesting side note, apparently, in at least some standard schools of Sunni jurisprudence, the Muslim concept of slander is different from the western concept. Wherein the west views slander as saying something publicly about another party which is not true and possibly damaging, (at least some maybe all) Sunni thinkers say that slander is saying something about someone that he would not want said; in other words, the Muslim concept of slander rests not so much on whether or not a statement is true or false, but whether or not it gives offense. An interesting conjunction there between Muslim and liberal thought (also not concerned with the truth) and perhaps an explanation to certain examples of Muslim behavior.

Daily Update

2012-03-10T10:08:00.000-05:00

Good morning. I recently passed my comprehensive exams, so I have officially earned an MDiv. as well as a bachelor's degree in Sacred Theology. Thanks be to God.

Greetings to my friends in Russia and the Ukraine.

Some interesting articles that I saw this morning:

Sister Mary Ann Walsh points out that the new contraception, abortifacient and sterilization mandate leaves the Amish exempt. Interesting. Sister makes generally the same point that I made earlier about the news that Obama is withholding funds from a Texas healthcare program until it provides for abortion:
"A Catholic might take personally the Administration's dissing their beliefs. Lucky the Amish, who have their basic constitutional rights respected. If only we objected to health insurance generally, we might be able to enjoy the same protection. Seems odd that the Administration is more inflexible on contraception than on services that actually treat disease."

An emotional appeal to Catholics concerning what is going on in the country now. We can't complain about persecution; its what we can expect with being part of Our Lord's Church.

A kind-of-over-the-top, full-page anti-Catholic ad ran in the NY Times yesterday. There's nothing wrong with this, I guess, since its a third party, and they have every right to do so. I somehow doubt a pro-life group or an anti-Islam group would have their ad printed, but who knows? What's funny is that this is basically an ad from the freedom from religion foundation, asking liberal and nominal Catholics to leave the faith, and on some level, they (the freedom from religion foundation) are right and understand Catholic theology more than liberal Catholics. A line from the ad:

"If you imagine you can change the church from within — get it to lighten up on birth control, gay rights, marriage equality, embryonic stem-cell research — you are deluding yourself."

Right on! I wish liberal and nominal Catholics would realize this! However, while the freedom from religion foundation does have an admirable grasp of the concept that doctrine cannot change, this quote--"Question to ask your Bishop: Does he hold up an umbrella against the rain? Isn’t that just as “unnatural” as using a condom or diaphragm?"--shows that their grasp of natural law...isn't so great.

Regardless, this ad doesn't bother me at all. Let the lines be drawn.

Great little article on the reality of the Muslim conquests. Muslim history is whitewashed all the time, while only the most unsavory aspects of Christian history are told. I think the straw that broke the camel's back was a history exhibit at some New York museum a few years back that basically made it out as if Islam was the source of every scientific advancement of the past 1000 years. Anyway, I thought this was a nice little antidote to all the mistruth we are so repeatedly told about Islam.

Nice little story of a a doctor (who graduated from the University of Tennessee--Go Vols!!) who started off as an anti-life feminist, performing abortions in her practice, and gradually became a pro-life Catholic through God's grace and stopped performing abortions or offering contraception.

Daily Update

2012-03-08T15:30:00.001-05:00

Rick Santorum makes the strongest, most appealing argument against Obamacare.

Reason.com eviscerates the liberal hypocrisy surrounding the whole issue of Rush and Fluke. Very strong language.

A Hawaii lawsuit pushes for same-sex "marriage."

The woman denied communion for her same-sex relationship is apparently a Buddhist who may or may not have politicized her own mother's funeral.

Short article explaining the history of the Church's teaching on birth control.

NY Times backs Santorum

2012-03-07T19:47:00.002-05:00

Apparently Santorum's claims that there is no strict separation between church and state have good precedent, not that this was unknown, but its good to see it in the NY Times, and from a fairly liberal guy like Stanley Fish, no less.

I'm proud of my fellow Tennesseans for voting for Santorum...now let's get this blog up to 1000 views!

Sts. Perpetua and Felicity

2012-03-07T14:26:00.004-05:00

Today, March 7th, is the feast day of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, who were both martyred on this day in 203 AD in the city of Carthage. Thanks in large part to the fact that we have a written record of their martyrdom, much is known about how they died, and as these writings were well known, they have long been a public part of the church's prayer and life. Sts. Perpetua and Felicity are both mentioned in the Roman Canon still to this day. Perpetua was a noble woman, well-educated and young, and Felicity was a slave and a catechumen, and both were arrested and put to death for their faith. Of interest is the fact that Perpetua was a new mother, but Felicity was actually still pregnant when arrested, and considered herself lucky to give birth in prison, for if she had not, she would have had to wait before being martyred with her companions, because the Romans in Carthage would not execute a pregnant woman, as the child in her womb was considered innocent, its blood sacred. An interesting commentary on our own times, that even the barbaric Romans knew something that many public figures and progressive thinkers cannot recognize today.

Read about Sts. Perpetua and Felicity at New Advent.

Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, pray for us.

Daily Update

2012-03-07T08:27:00.002-05:00

Congress passes a bill further restricting your First Amendment rights, which only needs to be signed by Obama, so its basically already a law.

Michelle Bachmann muses on whether or not the contraception, abortifacient and sterilization mandate could eventually be used to mandate a one-child policy in America.
This is the sort of thing that will be dismissed out of hand by the Left and "moderates"; however, we have already seen that Obama is willing to revoke a supposed "right" by denying funding for women's health in Texas if the state is not also willing to subsidize the murder of the innocent.

Products and companies that utilize aborted children to help make their products, which includes PepsiCo. (Another reason to drink Coke).

Interesting, if somewhat arcane, letter from Huxley to Orwell, discussing whether the future will be more like 1984 or A Brave New World. I'm including this on here, because I think both works point to our current president and the work he is doing. Regardless, I liked this line:
"the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging and kicking them into obedience."

Christian persecution in Myanmar. Pray for our Burmese friends.

Super Wednesday

2012-03-07T08:23:00.002-05:00

So, Romney continues to win northeastern states that aren't going to help in the general election, such as Massachusetts, and he can barely win important states such as Ohio, or states that should go easily for him, such as Michigan, even though he vastly outspends the conservative candidate, and the conservative bloc is split between Santorum and Gingrich...and yet, he's supposed to be the more electable candidate in the general election?

Silencing the Right

2012-03-06T16:25:00.003-05:00

Excellent post on the double standard's of the Left. One of the things that I find interesting about the Left is that, they don't believe in the concept of sin, and apparently, they do not believe in the concept of forgiveness either. Whenever the Left criticizes some public figure for something that is said or done, as with Limbaugh or the woman suffering same-sex attraction who was denied communion, they always want to destroy that person, i.e. for that person to lose their job or position or livelihood. The concept of gracefully forgiving the offender doesn't even occur to them.

Woman writing for the Washington Times, arguing against the notion that Obama's contraception, abortifacient and sterilization mandate is a woman's health issue.

The White House tries to instruct the USCCB on how they should interpret Catholic dogma. Apparently, the White House is taking the lead of liberal, dissenting Catholic voices and trying to hold these up as viable alternatives to orthodoxy, which in Obama's defense is partially the fault of Catholic leadership in this country, which for so long has allowed dissident voices to flourish (and still does).

Interesting article bringing up what Sebelius' recent comments reveal about her beliefs.

Hopefully everyone in TN is voting for Megadeth-approved, Rick Santorum today!

Fluke

2012-03-06T11:23:00.006-05:00

The Sandra Fluke issue is getting, predictably, annoying. Many pundits are coming out strongly against Limbaugh, criticizing and demonizing him for his remarks. The implication being that conservatives like Rush are evil and we need to do everything in our power to stop people like him.

Frankly, I've had enough of this. The Left loves to call themselves non-judgmental and tolerant and loving and lovers of rational argument but they are, at least in the public sphere, the quickest to spew hate and vitriol whenever anyone contests there views. Several people have pointed out how Rush's liberal counterparts (such as Bill Maher) spout hateful, misogynist language all of the time and yet, somehow, are never criticized by the same media that has been jumping all over Limbaugh. We saw the same thing when conservatives were criticized after the Giffords shooting in Arizona--serious articles by left-leaning journalists, pontificating on how much free speech we should tolerate, because conservatives use such hateful, militaristic language and complete silence from the same people when the left does the same and worse.

I don't know quite what to make of Limbaugh or the Fluke situation. I think at times that Cardinal Dolan was right to criticize him for not taking the high road, but there was a certain "let's call a spade a spade" quality to Limbaugh's remarks, which, to some degree, is required in public discourse, and I certainly think that what Ms. Fluke represents is a dangerous moral coarsening of our society (apparently, she also thinks that "gender reassignment" is a moral right that should be covered by healthcare) that does need to be called out. Sometimes that means not being nice, but being nice is not a virtue. (It is for the left--even though they rarely practice it). If Limbaugh can be criticized for not taking the high road, then let him be criticized, but criticizing does not rise to the level of demanding apologies and calling for people's heads, and I think we should be speaking up against the attempted blacklisting and obfuscation that is going on around this issue. Limbaugh was right to call out Ms. Fluke. He may have used unfortunate language to make his point, but it in no way approaches the verbal abuse and hatred and belittling and general humorlessness that is part of the Left's everyday discourse, but conservatives in the public sphere are retreating and kow-towing because we let the Left define the discourse in this country. But we shouldn't. Not anymore. We should maybe criticize Limbaugh for half a second, but we should be much more upset and spend much more time talking about a power hungry president who wants to advance the Culture of Death and take away our religious liberty and freedom of conscience. We have reason and right on our side. The Left doesn't, although they claim to have, much in the same way that communists claim the title of democracy (such as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea) in a desperate claim of legitimacy. The Left and Progressives claim to be about tolerance and love and respect and reason and science and truth, because these are good things and they sound good and they sound much better than what truly motivates Leftist thinking, which is controlling everyone else and getting what I want when I want, which is, at its heart, motivated by nihilism. The more we cede to the Left, the more we give them the power to make completely irrational arguments, such as the supposed 'war on women's health' that the Catholic Church is waging, because she does not want to subsidize grave moral evil. This is now a regular part of the arguments of serious writers and institutions, such as the New York Times, when discussing Obama's contraception, abortifacient and sterilization mandate. If you think that contraception and abortifacients are your right, fine. Make your argument, but when you start saying that my disinclination to pay for them amounts to denying you that right, and then you start pontificating about whether or not contraception will soon be illegal, because I do not want to pay for them, then simply put, you are irrational and incapable of making a coherent argument and have more or less forfeited any legitimate claim to comment on issues related to the public sphere. And when you take part in public marches, claiming and celebrating "slut" as a moniker of pride and then feign moral indignation when someone refers to you as a "slut", then you shouldn't be taken seriously either.

Daily Update

2012-03-04T20:05:00.001-05:00

The head of the BBC admits that mocking Jesus is okay but never Mohammad. Everyone knows this hypocrisy exists, but its somewhat refreshing to hear it admitted.

Boko Haram announces a war on Christians to come soon.

Apparently, there is a movie coming out about the Vendee Rebellion, which looks exciting. Perfect timing considering what is going on in our country.

Prominent Abortion Backer Slams Ultrasound-Rape Comparison.

Georgetown co-ed actually a 30 year old activist.

Blessed John Paul II

2012-03-03T15:07:00.002-05:00

I am re-reading the late pope's 1995 encyclical on the life issues, Evangelium vitae, and the first words my eyes fell on were so powerful that I wanted to share them here:

"To claim the right to abortion, infanticide and euthanasia, and to recognize that right in law, means to attribute to human freedom a perverse and evil significance: that of an absolute power over others and against others. This is the death of true freedom: "Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin" (Jn 8:34).

21. In seeking the deepest roots of the struggle between the "culture of life" and the "culture of death", we cannot restrict ourselves to the perverse idea of freedom mentioned above. We have to go to the heart of the tragedy being experienced by modern man: the eclipse of the sense of God and of man, typical of a social and cultural climate dominated by secularism, which, with its ubiquitous tentacles, succeeds at times in putting Christian communities themselves to the test. Those who allow themselves to be influenced by this climate easily fall into a sad vicious circle: when the sense of God is lost, there is also a tendency to lose the sense of man, of his dignity and his life; in turn, the systematic violation of the moral law, especially in the serious matter of respect for human life and its dignity, produces a kind of progressive darkening of the capacity to discern God's living and saving presence.

Once again we can gain insight from the story of Abel's murder by his brother. After the curse imposed on him by God, Cain thus addresses the Lord: "My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me this day away from the ground; and from your face I shall be hidden; and I shall be a fugitive and wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will slay me" (Gen 4:13-14). Cain is convinced that his sin will not obtain pardon from the Lord and that his inescapable destiny will be to have to "hide his face" from him. If Cain is capable of confessing that his fault is "greater than he can bear", it is because he is conscious of being in the presence of God and before God's just judgment. It is really only before the Lord that man can admit his sin and recognize its full seriousness. Such was the experience of David who, after "having committed evil in the sight of the Lord", and being rebuked by the Prophet Nathan, exclaimed: "My offences truly I know them; my sin is always before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned; what is evil in your sight I have done" (Ps 51:5-6).

22. Consequently, when the sense of God is lost, the sense of man is also threatened and poisoned, as the Second Vatican Council concisely states: "Without the Creator the creature would disappear ... But when God is forgotten the creature itself grows unintelligible".¹⁷ Man is no longer able to see himself as "mysteriously different" from other earthly creatures; he regards himself merely as one more living being, as an organism which, at most, has reached a very high stage of perfection. Enclosed in the narrow horizon of his physical nature, he is somehow reduced to being "a thing", and no longer grasps the "transcendent" character of his "existence as man". He no longer considers life as a splendid gift of God, something "sacred" entrusted to his responsibility and thus also to his loving care and "veneration". Life itself becomes a mere "thing", which man claims as his exclusive property, completely subject to his control and manipulation.

Thus, in relation to life at birth or at death, man is no longer capable of posing the question of the truest meaning of his own existence, nor can he assimilate with genuine freedom these crucial moments of his own history. He is concerned only with "doing", and, using all kinds of technology, he busies himself with programming, controlling and dominating birth and death. Birth and death, instead of being primary experiences demanding to be "lived", become things to be merely "possessed" or "rejected".

Moreover, once all reference to God has been removed, it is not surprising that the meaning of everything else becomes profoundly distorted. Nature itself, from being "mater" (mother), is now reduced to being "matter", and is subjected to every kind of manipulation. This is the direction in which a certain technical and scientific way of thinking, prevalent in present-day culture, appears to be leading when it rejects the very idea that there is a truth of creation which must be ac- knowledged, or a plan of God for life which must be respected. Something similar happens when concern about the consequences of such a "freedom without law" leads some people to the opposite position of a "law without freedom", as for example in ideologies which consider it unlawful to interfere in any way with nature, practically "divinizing" it. Again, this is a misunderstanding of nature's dependence on the plan of the Creator. Thus it is clear that the loss of contact with God's wise design is the deepest root of modern man's confusion, both when this loss leads to a freedom without rules and when it leaves man in "fear" of his freedom.

By living "as if God did not exist", man not only loses sight of the mystery of God, but also of the mystery of the world and the mystery of his own being.

23. The eclipse of the sense of God and of man inevitably leads to a practical materialism, which breeds individualism, utilitarianism and hedonism. Here too we see the permanent validity of the words of the Apostle: "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct" (Rom 1:28). The values of being are replaced by those of having. The only goal which counts is the pursuit of one's own material well-being. The so-called "quality of life" is interpreted primarily or exclusively as economic efficiency, inordinate consumerism, physical beauty and pleasure, to the neglect of the more profound dimensions-interpersonal, spiritual and religious-of existence.

In such a context suffering, an inescapable burden of human existence but also a factor of possible personal growth, is "censored", rejected as useless, indeed opposed as an evil, always and in every way to be avoided. When it cannot be avoided and the prospect of even some future well-being vanishes, then life appears to have lost all meaning and the temptation grows in man to claim the right to suppress it.

Within this same cultural climate, the body is no longer perceived as a properly personal reality, a sign and place of relations with others, with God and with the world. It is reduced to pure materiality: it is simply a complex of organs, functions and energies to be used according to the sole criteria of pleasure and efficiency. Consequently, sexuality too is depersonalized and exploited: from being the sign, place and language of love, that is, of the gift of self and acceptance of another, in all the other's richness as a person, it increasingly becomes the occasion and instrument for self-assertion and the selfish satisfaction of personal desires and instincts. Thus the original import of human sexuality is distorted and falsified, and the two meanings, unitive and procreative, inherent in the very nature of the conjugal act, are artificially separated: in this way the marriage union is betrayed and its fruitfulness is subjected to the caprice of the couple. Procreation then becomes the "enemy" to be avoided in sexual activity: if it is welcomed, this is only because it expresses a desire, or indeed the intention, to have a child "at all costs", and not because it signifies the complete acceptance of the other and therefore an openness to the richness of life which the child represents.

In the materialistic perspective described so far, interpersonal relations are seriously impoverished. The first to be harmed are women, children, the sick or suffering, and the elderly. The criterion of personal dignity-which demands respect, generosity and service-is replaced by the criterion of efficiency, functionality and usefulness: others are considered not for what they "are", but for what they "have, do and produce". This is the supremacy of the strong over the weak."

Daily Update

2012-03-03T14:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome to all my reader's from the Ukraine!

Obama's true goal?

A bishop preaches about hell.

Mobile euthanasia units in the Netherlands.

St. Katharine Drexel died on this date in 1955. One of the few American born saints, St. Katharine was a wealthy woman who devoted her life to serving the poor, particularly blacks and Native Americans. Today is her feast day. St. Katherine Drexel, pray for us.

How Did Your Senator Vote?

2012-03-02T22:15:00.001-05:00

Does your senator support Obama's Contraception, Abortifacient and Sterilization Mandate?

One of Many

2012-03-02T21:45:00.001-05:00

Today is the one year anniversary of Shahbaz Bhatti's death. He was killed a year ago today for protesting against Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which are often used to intimidate and harass Christians. Bhatti was a devout Catholic who many think was martyred, as he knew full well the implications of his actions and was motivated by his faith in Christ and his Catholic faith. Bhatti is only one of many Christians who are being killed worldwide by Muslims and serves not only as a reminder of the universal nature of the Catholic faith but also of the fact that today Catholics are still called to give witness to their faith through the shedding of their blood.