A long time ago I made the error of judging the truth of a religious belief and system of beliefs, based upon the actions of a few that were leaders of a local congregation of that particular belief system. Hypocrisy can be found almost anywhere and among religious we look more intently for it if we are so inclined.

As it happened, I discovered that there were other reasons, sound legitimate theological reasons for leaving that faith community behind and I entered the Catholic Church. By then I realized that the truth of the faith is not measured by how seriously its adherents take it. Indeed, at the time I entered the Church the clerical abuse scandal in the Boston, Mass area was at its peak. But there had been other scandals and most recently it has been the same thing all over again in Ireland.

I think that in this case, while the details of the problem are terribly sad and a real indictment of the leadership of the Church in Ireland, the report that was commissioned was very instructive, and well worth reviewing for its clear assessment of what went wrong, who was responsible and what it was they were thinking.

Here’s an excellent article by Michael Kelly on that report called, The Wolves Roamed Freely.
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Well, the dissenters are at it again. There is even a new blog for a petition not to correct the errors in the English translation of the Mass, what is called the Ordinary rite by Benedict XVI.

Here’s the blog and a sampling of some of the links at the blog from the usual suspects.

Here.

Here.

Here.

Here’s a thought. The translation we are discussing, which Benedict XVI and the USCCB is attempting to correct, is an English translation of what is official in Latin. How is it such a terrible thing to want to get the English version to match the Latin standard?

I think that there is a theological basis for this. Without examining it in any detail, isn’t that an interesting commentary that some would want to keep a translation of something so integral to the Church as her liturgy, that is flawed? Why? What is there in the correction that offends them so much? Or is it just the fact that the Pope is exercising his proper authority over the liturgy that offends them?

Here’s a reminder of how seriously we should take the liturgical dissenters. Given a choice between these people and Benedict XVI? Is there any question?

This article from Newsweek talks about a woman who is going to “reduce her carbon footprint” for Lent. It refers to other Christians who are taking a similar approach and even ropes the Pope into the story inferring that he is onside with this because of his admonition to be good stewards of the planet.

There is another article regarding two UK Bishops who are encouraging their parishioners to observe Lent by going green and as it turns out, they are of the Anglican communion. That story here and here.

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Here is a story that goes to demonstrate what we have always said about the “pro-choice” movement. They truly are pro-abortion because for them there is only one acceptable choice. As pro-life we believe there is only one acceptable choice and we say so. They hide behind the facade of freedom of choice but when someone high profile points out the possibility of not killing a baby, regardless of what the the “medical professionals” tell them to do, the “pro-choice” crowd, tolerant people that they are, go into attack mode.

And to compound it, they are mocking people with disabilities on top of that, which in their most self-righteous mode they would tell the rest of us is unacceptable and “inappropriate.”

Hypocrites.

The mocking.

The response.

Sarah Palin was not supposed to “choose” to have a Down Syndrome baby. She was supposed to kill it. That was the acceptable choice and she has been attacked for this ever since the 2008 election. It goes to show how vicious the compassionate political left really are, and when they tell you they want this or that for “the people” because they care, don’t believe them. They are about power and control. The compassionate face is just a fraud.

I heard this on the news today and looked it up;

At least he has his priorities right and recognizes that the first duty of the Christian is to help those in trouble.

But this brings up an issue that seems to have infected a number of Protestant groups. Whether they are fringe or not is up to their peers to decide I suppose. But I think that it is one manifestation of something that has come to be known as a “prosperity gospel.”

This is perhaps the reverse side of that thinking, that disasters that happen are a result of the sin of those people involved. Well, if we look strictly at the Old Testament we can see a pattern there of disaster falling on Israel when they got away from God. But it must be remembered that they had a covenant with God, and it was not just religious but had to do with their lineage. That is why the sins of the fathers are visited on the sons.

But bad things happen to good people as well. How are we to explain that? Is it because of their sin specifically? Isn’t that just the inverse of the idea that God will bless you with good things, material wealth and health if you have enough faith?

We must remember that Jesus was asked a similar question;

John.9
[1] As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth.
[2] And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
[3] Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him.
[4] We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work.
[5] As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
[6] As he said this, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man’s eyes with the clay,
[7] saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Silo’am” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
RSV

Certainly, God can allow bad things to happen to people as a result of their own sin. Some sins carry their own punishment, such as drug abuse. But we must not pretend to judge the hearts of other people. It is difficult to avoid, and I am just as guilty of that as anyone at times.

Jesus’ answer is not an easy one to understand but we must accept it.
“…that the works of God might be made manifest in him.”

Here’s a post at WhippleshireBlog.

The other day I heard a priest discussing the subject of health care in general terms and he said that he believes that it is a right.

I thought this was very interesting because, like many other folk, I believe that he has not thought through the subject carefully and is confusing legal obligation and moral obligation. (more…)

It seems that there is little likelihood that America will ever return to the structure of its roots, despite what some there would wish or hope for or attempt to engineer. The power structures are too deeply entrenched. Moreover, as I mentioned earlier, I believe it is in the nature of mankind to desire a kingdom and for all practical purposes to create one despite the nominal system or ideology. Although that original American ideal was as close to the ideal of subsidiarity in Catholic social doctrine that the world has ever known, it is long gone. (more…)

So what is it then that we are doing when we create countries and governments and systems? Why do we need governments at all? Why not anarchy? (more…)