Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The Pope, Condoms, and Recycled News

Here we go again. I really thought the issue had died. My brother had commented to me that it was still alive, but I thought it was just in tiny little local papers… not the BIG NEWS. Apparently, I was wrong.

Because here it is again, right in the Washington Post:

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/georgetown/2009/03/wrong_message_from_the_pope.html

This specific article criticizes the way Pope Benedict talked about condoms. He was too blunt I guess. Didn't show any sympathy. Maybe he should have introduced the Church's teaching in small mouthfuls. You know—he could start off by saying people should poke holes in the condoms before using them, and then gradually build to not using them at all. Finally, he could give them the old birds and the bees talk. "Stick to marriage, and you won't have to worry about it."

It never really bothered me that they're all criticizing our pope or the Church in general over this teaching. Some people can't think with anything other than their genitals. The reporters can't seem to think with anything other than other people's genitals. But what bothers me is why they're choosing this specific episode to launch their attack.

There haven't been any changes. They could have picked up a Catechism at any time (the rules in America are the same as they are in Africa) and said all the same stuff. Why is it now, when he commented on it, that they are so filled with malice?

I'll tell you why.

Because they sincerely thought the Catholic Church was going to change. They really thought that our 2000 years of tradition was going to be abandoned. And they're pissed now that it isn't turning out that way.

Oh well. Maybe they'll figure it out now. I say to them, "Our doctrines are spelled out very plainly, and they're never going to change. Forget it. Get it out of your head. Eventually, you'll be able to move on with your lives, and find some news to report."

Incidentally, if you are looking for the teachings of the Catholic Church on condoms, birth control, and other questions about sex, you can read the Catholic Birth Control & Sex FAQ.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Catholics In Vietnam Get Light Sentence For Fighting For Church

Some Catholics did a little damage during a demonstration in Vietnam. They knocked down a wall and set up a shrine to Our Lady. They were convicted, given a light sentence, appealed the decision, and lost the appeal.

While this might seem like bad news, I think it's a good thing that the government there has come such a long way towards tolerance of Catholics.

The full story from the AP is here:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hFaNWDuuQ4A1hcYeEtbf3GoGu5AwD9768QFO0

Friday, March 20, 2009

Short Video About Abortion

This video is short, sweet, and really get's to the heart of the matter. Pass it on.


Thursday, March 19, 2009

Pope Continues To Uphold Catholic Teaching on Condoms in Africa

And the Libs (especially the gay ones) Are Ticked Off!

I saw several videos, along with a story in the Dallas Morning News reporting all kinds of outrage when the Pope upheld our Catholic belief that condom use is evil.

I'm not really upset about their whining, as I am surprised. It's as if they expected him to visit Africa and say, "Oh…I'm sorry. All those years of Catholic theology were wrong. You can go ahead and use condoms now."

The story from Dallas is here:

http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/03/gay-catholics-call-popes-condo.html

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

New Mass Being Said In Africa

We've all heard that they're going to give us a new wording for the Mass. It's supposed to be closer to the Traditional Latin Mass in its word for word translation.

As for me, I've always felt that an English translation from the Latin would be great. I love the Latin Mass because of the wording, and I think that a direct translation would give me a nice mixture of comprehension (I don't speak Latin) and beauty (say what you want, but I think the Novus Ordo lacks poetic expression of God's Word).

But by the way it was reported in the Associated Press by MICHELLE FAUL, you'd think there was a storm of controversy over it. She had to get quotes from people like Thomas J Reese, who is just about a heretic as far as I'm concerned.

Apparently, some of the African churches received mistakes when they got their copies of the new version. They put the new wording into practice right away. And the only thing the press can do is try to dig up some controversy over it. I wonder how long it took them to find one priest (who was pressured into resigning from his position as an editor because of his unorthodox views, and isn't even in Africa) and one parishioner.

You can see the AP's full story here:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5izGBXjejSklazOAV28OEwt9ELS2AD96VLU5G0

Monday, March 16, 2009

Brazilian Abortionist Gets Help From AP

In an Associated Press story this weekend, they report that a prelate from the Vatican is sympathetic to the 9 year old who received an abortion in Brazil. The girl was raped by her father and pregnant with a set of twins. The doctors say that the pregnancy was putting her life in danger.

Per canon law, the doctors who performed the abortion and those who helped the girl get the abortion were excommunicated.

Now from the quotes offered from the AP, it would seem that the Vatican official thinks we need to show sympathy for the girl. And the way the story is written, people would think that the Church is being unsympathetic.

I remember when this first hit the news, and the original story (about those who were excommunicated) had the same irresponsible style that's shown here in this article. This one is written by FRANCES D'EMILIO. I can't remember who wrote the first one I had read.

All of the stories seem to miss out on (or purposely avoid) one important element: The girl was not excommunicated… or even chastised in any way.

This is a typical story meant to entice outrage for the Church.

You can see the whole thing here:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jQjAIPlGEFkMsL4LzVbOmz8Q1UfgD96UKG600

Friday, March 13, 2009

Clinton Glad We’re Only Using Unfertilized Embryos

You might think Clinton was the worst president we've ever had. But maybe he was just the stupidest…

In an interview on CNN, he said that he fully supports the destruction of unfertilized embryos. So you see, his incompetence might just have been purely out of ignorance, and not nearly as 'evil' as I had always thought.



The World Net Daily reports on this here:

http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=91521

Thursday, March 12, 2009

North Carolina Homeschoolers Beware

Reported by the World Net Daily, a judge in North Carolina has ordered a mother to return her children to the public school system, despite the fact that they had all tested above average in test scores.

The full story is here:

http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=91397

You can see the mother's website here:

http://www.hsinjustice.com/

The most irritating thing about this is the pigheadedness of people. It doesn't matter how well the children are treated, it doesn't matter how well they score against other children, it doesn't matter how well they do in the outside world. In simple, ignorant, institutional logic, the government can do a better job schooling our kids than we can. End of story.

Monday, March 9, 2009

USA Today Reports Americans Losing Religion

The Official report from USA Today says that member percentages of organized religions have decreased drastically with the new generation.

The report comes from the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS). The not-surprising results show that most religions have declined in numbers.

The full story is here:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-03-09-american-religion-ARIS_N.htm

None of this should surprise Catholic at all. We've known for a long time that the Church in America is in trouble. And I think it's precisely because "people are just making up their own stories of who they are" as Barry Kosmin, survey co-author, claims.

It's funny how easy it is to just make up a story of who you are. But I'm, thinking this kind of thing could spread to new dimensions. Instead of just making up the story of who I am, why not make up a story of who my wife is… maybe even my kids. Next, I'll go to work on a story for my parents and siblings. Eventually, I will have made up the story on the whole world… and I will be king.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Child Selection Process Getting More Freaky

If you haven't seen the movie Gattaca yet, then go do so now. Go on, I'll wait for you.

EWTN reports a company giving people a way to screen babies for desirable traits, before choosing and implanting one. The ones that didn't get the part are culled out (killed).

Here's the url:

http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=94070

Pretty darn scary.

If you happen to own the Gattaca DVD (like any decent home would be without it) then take some time and watch the deleted scenes. The mother in the movie asks about what will happen to the remaining "fertilized eggs". On the whole, the movie has a nice message to it, but it looks like the writer also wanted to put that prolife message in there too. It's a shame that scene was culled.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Another Idiotic Report On Williamson

We see yet another columnist trying to tell us something they know nothing about.

The Pope allows someone reentry into the church after being excommunicated for creating a "schism". The Pope Benedict XVI gets criticized for this because the excommunicate is also a holocaust denier. USA Today thinks it was still inexcusable because Pope Benedict XVI should have just looked on Google to find out more about the man. The full story is here:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/religion/post/2009/03/63602473/1

Or maybe this isn't such an irresponsible column. Perhaps the writer really believes that someone who would commit such a heinous crime as to deny the holocaust (not who took part in it, or who ever supported it, but someone who denies the accuracy of history reports) ought to be barred from the Church. Ought to be kept from their only link with Christ. Ought to have a damning brand on their soul—one they can never shake.

The only thing that bothers me is how much these folks are in support of the Muslims who hate the Jewish people more than Williamson ever could.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

New York Times Wants A Latino Archbishop

The New York Times published an article today lamenting the fact that the new archbishop in New York is Irish, and not, as the number of Catholics in New York would reflect, Latino.

Again, we see the popular media trying to represent a group of people they know nothing about. Of course, they needed to have someone comment on the event. Who did they get? An Evangelical Reverend who says:

"The Catholic Church's renewal in New York is due to the Latino community," he said. "Naming an archbishop who reflects the fastest-growing constituency it has would have sent a message that this church is not in a world apart."

This particular fellow is an ex-Catholic. That should tell you enough to know that he doesn't have the slightest idea what he's talking about. After all, an ex-Catholic is an ignorant one.

You can read the full story here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/nyregion/03bishop.html?em

The thing to remember about the Catholic Church is that it is not a collection of various races and cultures. The Catholic Church is united in a way that no other congregation possibly could be.

Yes, we welcome people to bring their culture. We welcome (and always have) the different colors and backgrounds. But we're still all Catholic, and our representation in Rome doesn't have to be based on any one group.

It's funny how petty people can get… especially when they're not even a part of something (as the reporter from the Times is obviously not a part of the Church). It's also funny how the major media outlets now serve as a good illustration of irresponsibility. Someday, we might be proud of American reporters again. Right now, we've got to use the blogs to get the news.