Posts Tagged ‘prayer request’

That’s why he is an Archbishop and I’m unemployed

Posted: March 5, 2009 by datechguy in catholic
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Via the corner and the Catholic key Archbishop Naumann bottom lines it:

I am also concerned personally for Governor Sebelius. Her appointment as Secretary for HHS places her in a position where she will have to make many decisions that will in all probability continue her personal involvement in promoting legalized abortion and her cooperation in this intrinsic evil.

I am also concerned that the appointment of Governor Sebelius places another Catholic supporting legalized abortion in a prominent national position. She joins Vice-President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and unfortunately a host of Catholic Senators and members of the House of Representatives who support legalized abortion contrary to the clear and consistent teaching of their Church. It saddens me that so many Catholics, to gain political advancement, have chosen to compromise their Catholic faith by their failure to defend the most fundamental of all human rights – the right to life.

I am reminded of the powerful scene in A Man for All Seasons, the play about the heroic Catholic English Martyr, St. Thomas More. After Richard Rich has perjured himself in order to make it possible to convict Thomas More of treason, the Judge asks Thomas More if he has any questions for the witness. Thomas More notes that Richard Rich is wearing a chain of office and asks what it signifies. He is told that Richard Rich has been appointed Attorney General for Wales. Thomas More then paraphrases the Gospel saying to Richard Rich: “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul, but for Wales?”

This is where the rubber meets the road. The soul. If you are a Catholic Pol you have to decide if you actually believe in Catholicism or not. And if you do is your soul worth it? Ted Kennedy is near death. A knighthood won’t do him much good for much longer.

I may tweak these people with the ” …rest of your life after that it’s up to you” line. The Archbishop’s is actually trying to save their souls, to give the warning. May he succeed.

Update: The Curt Jester got there ahead of me.

Why you HAVE to like Chris Hitchens

Posted: February 26, 2009 by datechguy in opinion/news
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Michael Totten gives the full story of the battle of the defaced swastika:

Christopher was the target. He was the one who had defaced their sign. One of the guys smacked him hard in the face. Another delivered a roundhouse kick to his legs. A third punched him and knocked him into the street between two parked cars. Then they gathered around and kicked him while he was down. They kicked him hard in the head, in the ribs, and in the legs.

Read the story for the escape but here are my favorite parts:

“You’re bleeding,” Jonathan said and lightly touched Christopher’s elbow.

Christopher seemed unfazed by the sight of blood on his shirt.

“We need to get you cleaned up,” Jonathan said.

“I’m fine, I think,” Christopher said.

He seemed to be in pretty good spirits, all things considered.

“The SSNP,” I said, “is the last party you want to mess with in Lebanon. I’m sorry I didn’t warn you properly. This is partly my fault.”

“I appreciate that,” Christopher said. “But I would have done it anyway. One must take a stand. One simply must.”

Later on Chris point out what an actual traditional liberal thinks as opposed to the phony human shields

“Anyway,” he said, “call me old fashioned if you will, but my line is that swastika posters are to be defaced or torn down. I mean, what other choice do you have?

He elaborates further:

“You know these guys are widely suspected for setting off most or all of the car bombs,” I said.

“They weren’t ready for that then,” he said.

“They weren’t,” I said, “but they’re dangerous.”

“Once you credit them like that,” he said, “you do all their work for them. They should have been worried about us. Let them worry. Let them wonder if we’re carrying a tool or if we have a crew. I’d like to go back, do it properly, deface the thing with red paint so there’s no swastika visible. You can’t have the main street, a shopping and commercial street, in a civilized city patrolled by intimidators who work for a Nazi organization. It is not humanly possible to live like that. One must not do that. There may be more important problems in Lebanon, but if people on Hamra don’t dare criticize the SSNP, well f***. That’s occupation.”

It stirs something that I hadn’t felt since 9/11.

On the day of the attacks I was playing a game in my tabletop baseball league at another person’s house. I had already seen the two planes hit and I frankly wasn’t phased by it. I figured it was a terror attack, I figured that terror attacks happen and it was only a matter of time that it hit us. It was an intellectual exercise.

Then I heard about Flight 93 and the people fighting back. For me THAT changed everything. The idea of ordinary Americans determined to fight back and die game changed them from the sheep being eaten by a wolf (the way life works) to the Shepherd defending against the wolf pack.

Christopher demonstrated that one has to stand up and be counted. There is a reason why the French Resistance is celebrated and honored while the Vichy is not.

As one of the great atheists he might resent it but how can you NOT pray for a fellow like that.

New Pelosi Pope News

Posted: February 19, 2009 by datechguy in catholic
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Via the Curt Jester apparently there is more to the Pelosi/Pope meeting that we knew about. Apparently there was also a secret meeting with her Archbishop first:

Michael Voris of Real CathlicTV reports today in his daily Vortex column that this meeting between Pelosi and Archbishop Niederauer took place quietly and clandestinely on Sunday, February 8th in a private residence in San Francisco. Realcatholictv.com confirmed this fact with both the Archdiocese of San Francisco and Pelosi’s office in DC.

Pelsoi’s spokesman Brendan Daly said Pelosi described the meeting as quote .. “cordial and pleasant .. a fair exchange and good.”

When pressed by realcatholictv.com producer and host Michael Voris , if “good” meant that she had changed her position on abortion and finally gotten in line with Catholic teaching, Daly replied, “You won’t see that happening. She is not changing her position on abortion.”

Pelosi’s office won’t comment on the meeting:

Pelosi aides wouldn’t comment on the content of what they described as a private meeting between a practicing Catholic and her archbishop.

Fr John Mallow sees Deceit Deceit Deceit:

1) I believe that the Speaker decided it was in her best interest to meet with the Archbishop before her trip to Rome, but not to have the meeting known before the trip to Rome. I believe Pelosi’s meeting the Pope was conditional on her meeting with the Archbishop. I believe that someone from the Vatican told them (especially her, but through him): meet now or forget about meeting with the Holy Father.

2) I believe the meeting was covered up because that was a condition made by the Speaker, (easily acceded to by the Archbishop, because he saw it as a private pastoral meeting). For Pelosi, what is the political upside of having her meeting with the Archbishop known? None—it’s all downside. If it were publicly known, then the questions among faithful Catholics immediately arise: Well, do you now accept settled Church teaching? Do you plan on remaining a Catholic? If not, why do you want to meet with the Holy Father? She’d lose Catholic votes, without picking up any corresponding votes on the other side, because they know she’s not really Catholic anyway—if she were they would not be voting for her. What’s the upside? She gets to meet the Pope.

3) I believe the timing of the leaked information (from both the Archdiocese and Pelosi’s office) to “Real Catholic TV” is deliberate—it came too late to affect Pelosi’s meeting with the Pope (with the hoped-for but not-to-materialize papal photo-op), but allowed her spokesman and the Archdiocese to claim they’ve done their duties as Catholics to prepare her for meeting with the Holy Father.

Related post on it here, bottom line:

The Archbishop has met with her and has explained Church’s teaching- – and Speaker Pelosi has said .. good meeting .. thank you. I still support abortion.

The bottom line is will Archbishop Niederauer now refuse her Holy Communion?

Your move Archbishop — a lot of people are watching.

This is a prayer request just waiting to happen.

How about that, the pope acting like…The Pope

Posted: February 18, 2009 by datechguy in catholic, opinion/news
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(Update 4: Major update here.)

People seemed to have their knickers in twist over the Nancy Pelosi’s meeting with the pope. It reminds me of Christopher Hitchens over Mother Teresa’s willingness to meet less than fully savory characters. So the result from the meeting produces no surprise to me:

Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday told U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a Catholic who supports abortion rights, that Catholic politicians have a duty to protect life “at all stages of its development,” the Vatican said.

Pelosi is the first top Democrat to meet with Benedict since the election of Barack Obama, who won a majority of the Catholic vote despite differences with the Vatican on abortion.

The Vatican released remarks by the pope to Pelosi, saying Benedict spoke of the church’s teaching “on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death.” That is an expression often used by the pope when expressing opposition to abortion.

Benedict said all Catholics—especially legislators, jurists and political leaders—should work to create “a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development.”

Part of the job description of any Catholic Priest is to welcome but correct sinners. This is what the pope has done and don’t underestimate the effect even a gentle in person correction by the pope can have if there is any spark of Catholic left in the system. (more…)

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