Catholics and torture

From the Wanderer, March 11, 2010.
"Morning's Minion at the popular, orthodox Catholic website, Vox Nova, demanded that the U.S bishops...remind Catholics that those who justify torture should refrain from receiving Holy Communion, under Canon 915. Criticizing a program on EWTN called "The World Over," and its host Raymond Arroyo, Morning's Minion wrote about a particular episode which hosted Marc Thiessen, who identifies himself as a practicing Catholic, and attempts to justify torture.
'I think the analogy is clear. Arroyo and Thiessen are both public figures, and Arroyo in particular is a TV personality on a Catholic TV channel, making the scandal all the more grave. They are clearly 'obstinately persevering' in support of an intrinsically evil act. Worse, they actually try to justify it on Catholic grounds. Thiessen has made it his life's work to claim that some forms of torture are virtuous...The Church's teachings on torture could not be clearer. Torture was condemned by the Second Vatican council in Gaudium et Spes, which declared:
'Furthermore, whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or willful self-destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself...all these things and others of their like are infamies indeed.'"

oh no!

Oh no! Today I was driving down a back road, doing the speed limit, 35 mph, when a dear little bird, black and white and yellow, flew right down in front of my car! I hit the brakes but it was way too late. I didn't hear or feel even the slightest thump but when I came to a stop, there it was, in the grill, completely flattened. I couldn't even see the dear little head. All I could see were some delicate feathers in kind of an oval shape. It is sad when a bird lover like me hits a bird. No doubt some native, possibly threatened species. Why couldn't I hit a starling? Why didn't I see it coming?
It reminds me, though, of the poor people who have accidentally killed a person/people with their automobiles. How awful! And for some of them, their lives are over, with long jail terms, even though it was truly an accident.

Opinion on Feminism

A man named John J. McCartney, Jr., writes:
"Feminism has:
1) Preached for 40 years about a woman's "right" to kill her unborn child.
2) Exhorted mothers to leave the home and do "productive work."
3) Generated hostility to men as men and encouraged reflexive questioning of male leadership in marriage and work.
4) Lobbied successfully for the privilege--for women--to experience the thrills and hazards of military combat and shipboard intimacy;
5) Made the lesbian agenda its own;
6) Lobbied for, and won, no-fault divorce, generating poverty among, and injustice to, women;
7) Loudly proclaimed the absurdity that day care is as, or more, beneficial than mother care."
I am afraid I have to agree with Mr. McCartney. The only things feminism seems to have achieved are the disintegration of the family, lots of single parents, poverty, more government interference in families, and the disappearance of Christian and European peoples.

Defending Valentines Day

I am writing this unimportant bit in defense of Valentines Day. This past week several people I know (including my stubborn teenage daughter) have told me they don't like Valentines Day! And these people are Christian, too. One of these people told me he celebrated Chinese New Year instead. I asked, "Are you Chinese?" Of course not. What nonsense. And he has been writing 2010 for the last month and a half so the idea that the New Year started in mid-February for him is silly.
I have noticed that all of these people do not currently have a sweetheart. But that's no excuse!!! I was a very homely, awkward teen and did not have a sweetheart on Valentines Day until I was in my twenties but I still made or bought a beautiful Valentine for my mom and dad and also sent a valentine to my grandmothers, aunts, sisters, friends, etc.
Some people say, "Well, your husband or wife should love you all year round, not just on Valentines Day." Again, I say, What nonsense! Valentines Day is a wonderful reason to do something a little extra for your sweetheart. Of course he or she loves you the rest of the year.
Next year if anyone has the gall to say something against Valentines Day, I am making them come over, and we are going to sit and cut and color and paste some pretty papers and hearts together until they remember the wonderful, childish joy they got out of sharing something lovely with someone!!!

Foreign Aid

I read a couple of things this morning about where our US foreign aid money goes.
Christopher Manion, who used to work in Washington D.C. for Senator Jesse Helms, writes:
"Years ago, when I was responsible for reviewing legislation that distributed American "aid" to the Caribbean, I was visited by ...lobbyists and foreign agents who advocated massive amounts of ....taxpayer money for the Haitian government of 'Baby Doc' Duvalier, undoubtedly on of the most corrupt and brutal dictators in a worldwide pantheon of tyrannical thugs.'
'Our poverty is your fault,' the Third World countries sang in chorus, as their lobbyists came around, looking for more money. The trouble was, their poverty was the fault of their dictators, who siphoned off a good 20% or 30% right off the top (in Haiti it was even more: Food 'aid' would be delivered straight to Duvalier's cronies, who would then go sell it or give it away to their constituencies, in turn driving down the prices of food produced by impoverished Haitian farmers, none of whom had large plots of land).
'Unfortunately, a lot of American businesses started to cash in on the 'aid,' since they could sell the government a lot of the food, etc. delivered by aid programs. In their turn, the lobbyists would get about 10% of whatever aid they were able to procure for their foreign clients. It was all legal, an for 50 years the U.S. foreign aid program and the hundreds of billions that U.S. taxpayers provided for foreign 'aid' served primarily to keep recipient countries in poverty, while their rulers plundered the programs and prospered off the corruption."

Being Difficult

I have been reading books on dealing with difficult people. There can be lots of difficult people in our lives. Some of them we live with; many of them we work with. Maybe they go to our church or school. Sometimes we are the difficult ones. Here are some things to look out for so we aren't being the difficult ones:
Anger: Absolutely must control it. Very little is ever achieved by blowing up. Usually only harm is done.
Oversensitivity: Have to get a grip on this one. Most people are not out to hurt us.
Whining: If something is really wrong, point it out. But don't point out every little thing.
Sniping: Stop with the not really funny, humiliating remarks. Be careful with humor.
Nothing person: Communicate! This is a really tough one if someone refuses to communicate with us. Teenagers use this tactic a lot to "get back" at their "mean" parents.
There are some good books out there on the subject of difficult people. If someone in your life is really giving you grief, for heaven's sake, try to find out if you can do anything about it!
And be aware that at times we all give people grief: inconsiderate remarks, impatience, cutting people off in traffic, etc.
When dealing with difficult people it often helps if you catch them off guard and give them a hug, compliment, or whatever, before they can get started criticizing, being negative, etc.
With a little consideration, humor and humility, a lot of difficulties can be avoided.

The faith of Pope John Paul II

There are quite a few disgruntled Catholics out there who accuse our last pope, John Paul II, of being a heretic, a Muslim, a Buddhist, an animist, etc.
While it is true that the last Holy Father did engage in dialogue and prayer with those of other religions, let us examine what he said.
In his book Crossing the Threshold of Hope, he says, "It is therefore a revealed truth that there is salvation only and exclusively in Christ. The Church, inasmuch as it is the Body of Christ, is simply an instrument of this salvation...People are saved through the Church, they are saved in the Church, but they are always saved by the grace of Christ."
He approved of the document Dominus Jesus, which states, that while the Catholic Church accords other religions of the world "sincere respect," The truth that Christ founded the Catholic Church to be "the instrument for the salvation of all humanity...rules out in a radical way the mentality of  'indifferentism', characterized by a religious relativism which leads to the belief that 'one religion is as good as another.'" This should put to rest the argument that he thought all religions were basically the same.
In not one instance did Pope John Paul II ever attempt to change any doctrine or belief of the Catholic Church.
Let's not be too hasty to jump to conclusions about anyone, especially someone as important as the Holy Father.