I read the New York Times this day and was not surprised. On the left side, all the way down the front page, they began a story about protesting Catholic Nuns. There are about sixty thousand of them left out there in the world. At one time there were many many more than that. They, apparently, do not wear the revealing (and respect demanding) habits of the past. I kind of knew that from somewhere, but it hit home with this article. The substance of the article was about how the leadership of the Catholic Church (read Pope Ratso) is opposing the Nuns because they have kind of gotten together to argue against a few idiotic things still supported by the Roman Catholics of Rome. They oppose, for example, the required celibacy of priests. The Pope is still big on this malformed and unsuccessful doctrine. And it is not, or at least I do not think so, that the sixty thousand remaining nuns are simply horny and want all those priests for their own. No, I am afraid that the nun's logic is more factually grounded (however fun it might be to think otherwise). It seems that, over time, the celibacy thing just has not worked at all. Priests have been out there screwing just about any human they could get their hands on for many many years. The Catholic Church is currently paying out billions in reparations because of the failure of celibacy among its priests. It seems that the pent up sexuality of these guys has led them to exploit young boys under their care. But the payouts have not fazed Ratso. He contends that celibacy works and must be kept in place. All priests must be male and they must not have sex. The male only thing is another piece of studied stupidity that the nuns oppose.
I was raised a Catholic and went to Catholic schools all the way up through my undergraduate degree in college. My elementary school nuns were the most noteworthy of my teachers. It was Hawaii right after the big war. The nuns at St. Augustine Elementary School, just off Waikiki, had just returned from surviving the entirety of WWII in Japanes prison camps. Those nuns were in no mood to take any garbage from elementary school children. Later, I was to train and then serve in the United States Marine Corps. The Corps had nothing on those nuns. My D.I., SSgt. Baines, could not have gone one round with Sister Michael Marie (a.k.a. Sister Joseph Louis), much less the dreaded Sister Gregoria (called the 'Flying Black Axe' for reasons unknown).
I am a writer today because of those nuns. I miss their disciplined learning techniques. Techniques no longer applied to school children anywhere. I learned the ABC's, how to decline a sentence, phonics, and the Chicago Style Manual of English. I learned them by trial and error, and the studied application of attentive pro-active pain. Those nuns did not have to strike often. They used a form of willful psychology and parental support no longer existent within the confines of our culture. I learned to speak in front of groups and to overcome embarrassment and failure. I got a C Plus in English at the end of 5th grade. And I still write very regularly to Sister Michael Marie and Sister Gregoria. In fact, when my book was recently published, I sent Sister Michael Marie a copy of the book (lovingly inscribed) and a copy of my fifth grade report card. I high-lighted the C Plus I received in English with a yellow marker, to point out the error of her conclusion. That was a month ago. I got a letter yesterday. She sent me the report card back with a note stuck to it. "You have improved" it said, and there was B Plus written in red over the crossed out C Plus. She also noted a few grammatical errors in the final production hard-cover novel! I suppose that is why I, and my publisher's editors, did not get an A.
The Catholic Church has not supported nuns in any way for fifty years. The older ones live in near poverty under poor conditions in run-down care facilities. The few younger ones do not even get habits to wear. They are allowed to work for the Church for free and get by as best they can. It is a shame. The value those women provided to millions of children across the world goes unrewarded and barely even thanked. Yes, they did it for the love of God, but come on! The Catholic Church is run by men. By White old men living in splendor inside stone chateaus. They are just like human leaders everywhere on earth. There is no difference, and there is about the same level of compassion exercised and exhibited toward those whom worked to put and keep them there, as exists in the civilian world outside.
I loved those nuns and tried my heart out for them. I did that because I knew, down inside, near the bottom of my little well of souls, they wanted the best for me. I really believed that they wanted me to succeed and enjoy life, and a good measure of bliss. They wanted me to be successful, simply because, well, in their prayerful and hallowed way, they loved me. They loved God above all, and then all the children in their charge. They still do. Their belief in me, and my belief in them, sustains me to this day.
The numbers of nuns are dwindling rapidly, as the older ones die off and no new ones come aboard. This is part of the design of the Catholic Church. I do not know why. Maybe, like most male leaders everywhere, Ratso and his Italian Mafia fear women. I just don't know. But I lament their passing. They have been a force for good and love out here, across the surface of this troubled earth. Those nuns left now deserve honors and a great retirement. The young ones, the few, deserve our endearing support...financially and emotionally, because it is good for us all. I am not much of a Catholic anymore, but I know a good thing when I experience it. I love those nuns, and you should too.
http://www.jamesstraussauthor.com
http://www.themastodons.com
http://www.from-the-chateau-dif.blogspot.com
As the healthcare debate rages in this country - and particularly here in my home turf of Wisconsin - note this little-noticed but not off-point matter:
The federal Pregnant Women Support Act is on tap in Congress. Go to http://thomas.loc.gov, key in bill number HR 2035 {house}, or S 270 {senate}. This bill may not be to the liking of everyone, but from what I’ve heard [and I fully admit I haven't read the bill myself, at least not yet], it’s that very rare piece of women-and-pregnancy-focused legislation that’s supported by both pro-choice and pro-life groups. Among its provisoions, I understand that it would:
• Repeal the sunset on adoption tax credits and make them permanent • Fully fund the federal WIC Program, Special Nutrition for Women, Infants and Children• Increase funding for domestic violence programs• End the denial to pregnant women of health care from insurance companies because of "pre-existing conditions”• Establish a national toll-free number and public awareness campaign to offer women support and knowledge about options and resources available to them when they face an unplanned pregnancy• Provide new mothers with free home visits by registered nurses• Help pregnant high-school and college students stay in school, offering them counseling as well as assistance with continuing their education, parenting support and classes, and child care assistance.• Codify the current regulation allowing states to provide State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) coverage to unborn children and their mothers
Among supporters of the PWSA are:
President Barack Obama plans to accept an invitation to speak at the University of Notre Dame. However, some religious organizations are mounting a campaign to discourage his attendance.
You can fight this unfortunate effort by signing the following petition:
Visit www.ObamaCatholics.com, or email ObamaCatholics@gmail.com for an e-mail embedded form!
It is upon us, the Christmas of two thousand and eight. I have sipped of the Don David and made my wish for the happiness of those who have fallen before me. That one sip of a fine Argentinian Malbec, a product from a valley where maybe God reigns over this night. Do you believe in God? I think of such things on this night. It is so cold out there, so blowing and white. My 'advent' trees shine up upon the hill and spokes of light and color radiate out over the sweep of the deep snow, with movement from the wind making them twinkle and play. Is there a God? I don't know. Do you sometimes fall upon your knees and tell your troubles to Him, then ask for His help? I do, and have over the years. Do you ever ask for a ''sign' of His existence? Any sign at all, no matter how subtle or marginal? Then look about for such? I do, and have over the years. In driving I sometimes think of Him as my co-pilot, and even look over at the empty seat, from time to time. Does that me make me totally whacked? If I confessed those acts to a shrink, would the shrink find me certifiable? I mean, more certifiable than I am from other stuff? Do you do any of this? Would you tell if you did? I tried to be a good Catholic, in my early years, then fell away. I tried to be a bad Catholic, but that did not work either. I read the Bible and argued with people who were supposed to know that work backwards and forwards. Reborn Christians. Maybe I fit with them best, simply because they do not mind if I say that "God did not give me the gift of faith." I have studied the Koran, as well, and found it to be strange, going from back to front, as it does. A lot like the Bible, but not. I once, long ago, went down on my knees, literally, and presented the 'Unseen Above' with a list I had written on a yellow note pad. I had written down nine items. The items were problems that I was experiencing, or was afraid of, which had no possiblity of solution whatsoever, outside of divine intervention. I asked for those problems to be taken away. The next day, over coffee with a good friend, who believed more than I, I told him of my act. He asked to see the list, so I produced it. He read the nine items slowly, then looked over the top of the paper at me, as if in wonder that a person such as I could have problems of that magnitude. He shook his head, then smiled. He tore up the list right there, in front of me. And he said, "Now, go out there and those problems will be gone. We spend most of our lives worrying about problems that never happen." We left. Over the next three months the problems, all nine, went away. My question, on this Chrismas Eve night is, did those problems go away because of what Bob said, or because I had put them forth to God and He acted? Or was it all bizarre coincidence? I can't remember the problems anymore, but I wish I could. And how life changes. When I ask God for help now, it is usually because I am asking for Him to help other people, or for Him to help me to help other people. Is it His work that I do not feel that I have to ask him to resolve my own problems anymore? I do not expect any answers from you, out there, on this night. I don't even really expect that anyone will read this, but it is okay if people do. Just for fun. And for their own introspection. We don't often really take the time to isolate ourselves and think such thoughts, or ask ourselves such questions. But I think it would be better if we did. Do you think so too?
I received a gift from a friend, just before he headed South for the holiday. Back when I was 'operational,' during Desert Shield (the operation to prepare us for Desert Storm) I ran a group of communications guys out in the Arabian desert. Our job was to move into Iraq from Saudi Arabia and test the communications capabilities of the Iraqi forces. We were looking for holes in their surveillance net. We found a lot of them, so the mission was a great success. But I lost eleven guys doing it. Back then, our control, back in the home office, used to give us Mont Blanc pens after the completion of a successful mission. The regular size black and gold one for team members and a maroon one for the mission commander. That was me. Some of the guys who passed over did not have surviving family (common to field personnel of that ilk) so I got their personal effects. And the Mont Blanc pens they had accumulated. So I had, and still have, quite a collection of those fine writing specimens. Once and awhile, I give one away to someone I find deserving. I gave a black and gold one to this man here, a friend of mine, just before he left on his trip. And I did not tell him the significance of the gift. Now, here is the amazing thing. He also gave me a gift. It was a small oblong box. I opened it to discover a Mont Blanc pen, just like the one I had given him, except brand spanking new. We laughed. Then he added something. He said that the pen he had given me at least had a full cartridge of ink! I realized that I had not checked the writing capability of the one I had given him. It was, of course, the original that had been in that pen since it was issued way back in the eighties. I nodded and smiled in mirth with him. But I did not tell him about the history of the instrument. Even though he is a noted historian, i was not sure he would like the sentiment and provenance of the gift. But it is Christmas, and those boys gone by, who fought and gave everything, believing it was for us, well, I think they would be okay with the gift. I always wondered why we were given such 'after-action awards.' Most of the guys were not even readers, much less writers. But life is strange, and you just don't get to know some things. Is there a God? Did those pens come from or through him? If they did, then what is their significance?
It is an interesting time to be alive, as this day closes, and Christmas, that single brief day, opens. We are in such dire straights, as a nation, a culture, a way of life. We have a new team at the helm. We have Obama and Clinton and Richardson, and more. We have hope and a shining dream of a grand trip back to a future steeped of the past. We are 'marching to Pretoria, so to speak, and we are doing so with a bit of hesitation and trepidation. We don't know who to trust or why we should trust them. But we have to trust somebody. No choice is a choice in of itself. Or is it as they used to say in early Marine Officer training: "Any decision is better than no decision at all." I don't know so many things. All I can do is celebrate certain things that just feel right. Hilary, who I can't be allowed in front of, particularly on this night, said that "the time of Cowboy diplomacy is over." And I stood up and cheered to hear that on CNN earlier. Some things are going right in this pocket of the universe.
I am going to make a list of nine problems. I am going to get on my knees and ask Him to take those problems away. Then I am going to go see Bob (he is a friend to this day!) and present my list to him over a morning cup of coffee. When Bob tears up the list, as I know he will, my smile will grow broader and my hope for the future warmer, and filled with blissful expectation. Merry Christmas to one and all.
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The fire has burned down to hot cinders. I love the open fire in that stone fireplace, but I also much enjoy the pile of super-heated embers that lays there when the actual fire has died out. The radiation of heat seems all the greater, and maybe it is for, all I know. It is late here, as the snow falls and we all prepare for one of those deep white days tomorrow. The harsh weather gives one pause for thought, and also the time and proclivity to watch a few old movies. Lawrence of Arabia was on a few hours back. "We don't leave our wounded for the Turks," says the Arabian ruler, "we kill those too injured to move. The Turks torture the wounded because they regard them as rebels and therefore not accorded the rights of the Geneva Convention." How very timely. Alec Guiness, no less, playing the ruler. Why have none of us listened since WWII? As countries, I mean. What is it about torturing people that we, all of our existent cultures, can seem to get away from? Here we are, still 'stealing' people off the streets of any city in the world and then throwing them into prisons without charges or anything else. Oh, and then torturing them. The Soviets were terrible about such. We even pointed that out to the world. Then we started doing it ourselves. He, Alec, also says: "Lawrence gives mercy because of passion, while I do it our of good manners. You decide which of those things is more dependable." Wow! There really are movies out there that give one pause to think. Which of those two things would you want to depend upon?
At the Thanksgiving feast I ran into a four year old named Peter. A jewel of a young man. Sharp as a tack and straight as an arrow. Another youngster was running around working over some new game which uses rolling things that spring open when they cross magnetized cards on a board. I have no idea how the magnetic balls work (except it is really cool to watch) and I also do not understand the rules of the game. A seven year old tried to explain the rules to me. I got the hyper-speed super-compressed version of the rules, one after another with no commas and no periods. Then I got that look! Like, "do you get it?" I didn't look back correctly, because the ten year old sighed deeply, then moved me back away from the board. The four year old gentleman came over to console me. I asked Peter if he understood the game. He said: "No, I am only four. I am not very smart. But next year I will be five." He beamed and then ran off. I thought about what he had said. God, but I had to smile. Next year he will be five and the earth and all of its unknown treasures are going to open before him. He just knows this to be a fact. Why can't I be that way, anymore?
Harvey, my cat (pint-sized predator) was out there earlier, when it was light and the snow was only about one inch deep. I didn't know where he was and he had been out there for awhile. As usual, I became concerned. It is not like he has one of those 'gay' cat coats, or booties for his paws, or anything. He is tough and a road warrior, but there are limits. Anyway, I started calling him. Even though nobody lives in this neighborhood, except me, during the winter, I am always embarrassed to be out there screaming "Haaarrrrveeey" at the top of my voice. And to no seeming avail. So I went back into the house. Then into the library, from which I can see out towards the woods, and sat to wait. A horse came across my yard! It shocked me. A big black horse against the white of the snow, walking with a woman and a very small child mounted ahead of her on the pommmel. A horse in my yard. Right near the window. I have no fences and neither do any of my neighbors so nothing is to stop anyone from riding around, but nobody has for the two years I have been here. The woman saw me through the window and waved. I waved back, self-conscious in my blue robe, so I stepped back out of view, but not before I saw this small gray shape creeping along behind the horse. Yes, it was Harvey. i went straight to the front door and cracked it open. I hissed as deeply and quietly as i could "you leave that horse alone and get in here." Harvey heard, called off his Safari, and scurried through the door opening. He then joined me in the library, sitting on the cloth chair (which I hate for him to sit on as he gets it dirty, but what can I do?) and staring after the horse. What is in that cat's mind? I know he was stalking it. Has he ever had horse meat, do you suppose, or was he merely letting that horse know that he was inside another predator's area. I explained to Harv that the horse was a herbivore and therefore not a competitor. harvey licked himself strategically, in order to let me know what he thought, then closed his eyes in feigned sleep. I went back to the fire in the other room, giving out the same resigned and measured sigh that the ten year old had given me over my inability to understand the game.
Somebody from the Maureen Dowd fan club wrote me an email, requesting whatever it was that caused me to state that Maureen Dowd had purloined some of my work and made it her own. I am not going back through all those blogs to find it. And why would I? I can't imagine that such information (which that person can certainly find if he or she tries hard enough) would be gathered for any good purpose. I love Maureen Dowd and I make many comments about her here on my blog. But I mean her no ill will at all. If she wants to use some of my ridiculous notions and stories then she is welcome to them. If, on the other hand, somebody is mad at me and does not believe me, then what that person was really emailing about was arcane indeed. I may be insulting or lying about somebody the fan club adores. I apologize. I don't know what, for but politicians do it all the time. A blanket apology. I think Dowd is a saint, but then are not saints the most fun to poke fun at, upon occasion? It is the Catholic in me. Rotten Catholic as I am.
I will sleep well tonight, dream that I am going to be five tomorrow, and that all the wonderful secrets of this world will be revealed to me.
Most recently I've noticed it is hard to decide who is doing the most Political Campaigning, The Church or The Politicians. Every place I turn, I see millions of dollars being poured out to advertise the position of various Churches, especially the LDS and Catholic. No longer can they be looked upon as a Church, but as a Political Party. Looking back in history, England, France, Germany and many other Countries, this is exactly what happened to those people who came under the rule of 'one certain' Religion.
The most recent battle is Proposition 8 in California, regarding same sex marriage and another major campaign of the Christian movement for control and demanding respect for the beliefs of these certain individuals. The list of Church (Religious) battles put on our Society as a whole is endless. Issues from Abortion to Zoning Laws, with each issue being pushed and argued through that all mighty Book of Many Books, the Bible. Unfortunate for the Church, they have forgotten the foundation that even allows them to practice as they wish, organize and assemble as they wish and to avoid payment of taxes on property or income. They have forgotten that we have a far greater power in this Country, a series of papers that are the very Fabric and Foundation of this Country. They are the words which give them the grace to exist as a Body, to thrive and practice within their own beliefs and interpret the Bible according to their own understanding. What I am speaking of is the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Without this, they would be under the rule and order of whomever was the most powerful.
The first thing that we all need to keep in the forefront here is the Constitution. This Document is the sole Document which allows any of the Churches to exist. Remember, this country was founded on the first principle of Freedom of Religion. Our Forefathers came here to escape the tyranny and oppression of the English Church. To escape the CONTROL MECHANISMS that Churches still exploit today. Not surprising that Freedom of Religion is the first on the list. The Puritans, Angelicas and Presbyterians all flocked to America, to escape the dominion of the Catholic Church.
Today, each person individually has a right to Freedom of Religion and a group of people have a right to Assemble and practice their Freedom of Religion collectively. Those rights however, do not Trump the US Constitution or the Bill of Rights. Since the Constitution provides the right, then each and every Religion within our USA must give this sole document first consideration. In not doing so, they abolish their very existence.
Now a lot of Christians are not going to like what I just said here, but it is a matter of fact. Religious freedom in this Country cannot exist without the US Constitution; therefore it takes precedence over any Leadership of a Church, the Bible, the Koran or any other writing that any of you hold in your hand. Not a single one of these books could exist in this Country without the US Constitution. Unlike the Bible, our forefathers were smart enough to establish a system and method of interpretation, so no single man or select group of people can juggle the words around to fit their own purposes. They defined a process in which to follow in order to make these interpretations and allowed the people as a whole to select those who would debate and decide a final meaning.
Today, especially the LDS and Catholic Church, want to be selective as to what parts of the US Constitution should apply and what parts do not. This is simply because they want to CONTROL as many people as possible and place them all in their little niche. These people have lost their path and respect for their own Bible and the very Document that placed them here in the first place. I look at the Far Right and wonder if they will ever understand their own treason.
So, one priest in one parish of my worldwide church has said Obama supporters (like me) shouldn't take Holy Communion unless they go to confession & renounce their vote first. Story here:
http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-112/122662854969400.xml&storylist=topstories
In what is perhaps a measure of how much this direction is going over like a lead ballon, if you visit the parish's own actual website, http://www.stmarysgvl.org/ , you'll have to hunt like the dickens to find any mention of the direction (if it's even there at all....I took a quick, not comprehensive, look myself.)
This is a timely, thought-filled conversation with Martin Sheen, actor, devout Catholic and Obama supporter. Please share the link and bookmark the page:
"Can you be pro-life and support Senator Obama?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IczsKEe6es0
The big news of the day was that Roman Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver accused Catholic groups that support Obama of doing a "disservice to the church".
On my way home from mass, the thought occurred to me that Catholics have a moral obligation to choose the candidate who is most qualified. Obama has demonstrated that he has the intellect needed to address the very complex issues facing our country right now.
I'm no theologian, but I don't want vote for a candidate just because they're pro-life. Been there, done that.
As a person that aspires to be a devout Catholic and take ALL the teachings of the Church seriously, I felt compelled to come to terms with my wholehearted endorsement of Obama, including his position on reproductive rights (which I also support from a position of civil tolerance).
As a subscriber to Friar Jack's eNewsletter at American Catholic, I wrote the letter below prompted in part by one of his associate's columns (see: http://www.americancatholic.org/e-News/FriarJack/fj091708.asp), which I found very loving and insightful. For what it's worth, I also feel the need to share my thought with other Catholics that support Obama because I sense that I cannot be the only one that feels the tension from by religious and political beliefs.
Dear Friar Jack,
I appreciate your work in bringing the Gospel message of love and forgiveness to the issue of abortion. No doubt the right to life is inviolable and sacred. Your quote from the psalms expresses the model of unconditional love that our God has for every one of us: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you” (Ps 139:15).
I believe that this "right to life" is enhrined in our hearts, but that due to sin, including original sin as well as personal and social sin, that we are sometimes unable to recognize it. My personal stance of tolerance for "reproductive rights" or the "right to an abortion" tries to conscienciously take into account the full teachings of the church, which in this case forces me to deal with the paradoxical and tragic sense of life as both sacred and flawed (without the saving grace of redemption that comes from Christ Jesus).
I can across a discussion of Joe Biden's Catholic faith in Michael Paulson's Articles of Faith (and more specifically the comments section) on Boston.com. I was shocked to see the discussion unfold about whether or not Joe Biden is "properly Catholic." I'm deeply hurt by the knee-jerk reaction of the commenters who claim to be more Catholic because they support the pro-life movement. I was shocked to hear them clamor for Joe Biden to stand up against Roe v. Wade, against the legislation in place to allow every American to have no fear of religious persectuion for prescription. It is truly awful to read, Catholics denouncing Joe Biden with no knowledge of him and the way he lives his life. This is not the Church I grew up in.
I think Pope John Paul II may be shaking his head right now, somewhere...
The fact is, it is the Church's responsibility to reach out to the people around it. They do a very good job of that, at least they did in my neighborhood. But if you take away people's right to chose their religious values and their right to chose the way they live (which you are essentially doing if you are passing laws limiting the way they live their lives based on a personal religion), that's just coercion and control and it results in their false morality. If you want people to make the right choice, reach out to them, show them the way you would want them to live. But by trying to force them to live the way you live, this to me is violating the precepts of our Faith. I remember growing up in a Catholic Church of tolerance, understanding, and love. You should always stand up for what is right in the world, yes, but you also have to respect other people's rights to live the way they choose. You can reach out to them and teach them the Way, but they have to choose to take it. And for Senator Biden to support legislation that made the choice for these people, that took away the opportunity for their moral struggle... that would be unCatholic. Joe Biden would essentially be applying his own religion to the entire US, religious or not. And perhaps some think everyone should be Catholic. But Pope John Paul II and I both agree: you have to let them make that choice. Or it isn't real.I'm appalled we're even talking about whether or not he is Catholic "enough." Same argument going on with whether or not Obama is "black enough." I'll tell you what: they are AMERICAN enough, and they are able to have the vision to live faithfully to their beliefs and still promote equality and pursuit of happiness for every human being, seeing past religion, past party lines. If you think abortion should not happen, reach out to the mothers with gentle words (as Christ would have done, and JPII would have done!), show them their options, support them and love them and show them that things can turn out okay because they will have a support network at all times, and a God who loves them no matter what. Joe Biden knows his faith in his heart, and it is very, very dear to him. When did seperation of church and state become so passé???
My Church is the Church of love, and of choosing to have a close relationship with God. It is not about choosing one's religious values like one chooses fruit at the grocery store, and this is NOT what Senator Biden is doing in his political positions. It's about reaching out with love to the people who do not know how to make the "right" choice (whichever choice you find that to be), and showing them light. Not outlawing their moral dilemma entirely. Or are we supposed to be enacting mass conversion of Jews, Protestants, Muslims, Atheists, like we did to the unsuspective natives of South America, or in the Spanish Inquisition? I believe the Catholic Church has learned from that mistake. We are a new Church, we have grown from the ashes of bloody revolution into a place where people can find comfort, joy, a home. I hope to see more understanding, more reason in the coming weeks, and less of this spiteful drivel. Because of people like this it was very hard for me to grow up being Catholic, and I don't want that for my children. We can be a people of faith and of fairness. We can help people find their own way. I believe in the strength of heart, the fairness of spirit in every Catholic, and I believe in Joe Biden as a strong Catholic who will do right by this country, for every man and woman, Catholic or otherwise. And to me that is beyond "Catholic enough."
Are you a Christian and not sure who to vote for? Well first off , Jesus Loves! Sacrifice is what he is all about! Following my long introduction is a questionnaire. Please don't be afraid to take this test to help you to make this important Christian decision in November. True Christians and our issues I am a Catholic Christian and I am saddened by the way our politicians have preyed on other Christians using fear and lies to give us a bad name. Its as if "Christian" is a dirty word in this country now a days. Republicans have hijacked Christians by making pretend they care about hot topic issues such as abortion and gay marriage. These issues may be very important to some Christians and debatable by others but never the less they are far outweighed by the mounds of other issues that I believe Jesus would want to see addressed by the candidates. Christians have to begin to open their eyes wider and take the focus off just these things alone expand their Jesus lens. They need to ask themselves one by one, on each individual problem needing to be addressed in this country; "What would Jesus do?" Then and only then do I believe we are being true to our faith while we are alone and secret in the voting booth with only God to answer to in November.
The buzz in the blogging news is that Obama is going to be going on a Faith Tour called the "Barak Obama: Faith, Family, and Values Tour: Voting ALL our Values" next week through many of the key swing states. He will be bringing an impressive group of religious professionals with him representing the Catholic and the Protestant groups. According to the exclusive at the Brody File, http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/447440.aspx "Some of those high profile figures include Former Indiana Congressman and pro-life Democrat Tim Roemer, Catholic legal scholar Doug Kmiec, and author Donald Miller." I believe it is unfortunate that Obama is not bringing anyone representing Orthodox Chrisitans among his group -(or perhaps the Brody File failed to mention it) -, especially since in many of the swing states such as Florida, Michigan, etc. the large group of Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Antiochian Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox, etc. could make a huge difference in the outcome of the election. Many of the Greek-Americans and Russian-Americans are already poised to support Obama, but a bit of encouragement always helps.
I believe I have the perfect person in mind for the job of representing the Orthodox Chrisitains for Obama.
Frank Schaeffer is renown for his participation with his father -the late Francis Schaeffer- in the founding and propagating the Pro-Life Movement and Religious Right. Since his conversion from evangelical Protestantism to Greek Orthodoxy, the name 'Frank Schaeffer' is a name that most Greek Orthodox and convert circles within Eastern Orthodoxy would respect and rally behind. In an interestingly turn of events, this election season, Frank Schaeffer, has come out in full support behind Obama - a Democrat - turning his back up the Religious Right Republicans that he helped bring together years before - saying in essence that the Relgious Right has 'lost its mission'. He has been producing strong Pro-Obama articles on Huffington Post since before it was announced Obama had become the Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. His latest blog, "An Open Letter to All Republicans from a Former Religious Right Activist" is perhaps a bit too-aggressive against those Republicans still voting for McCain, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/an-open-letter-to-all-rep_b_127709.html, but that passion can be harnessed to bring together all the Orthodox Chrisitains in throngs from even a state away to hear Frank Schaeffer endorse Obama and explain, from his unique perspective, why Obama is the right choice for President of the United States of America. [By the way, Frank Schaeffer's son just returned home from serving his country in Iraq.]
If you know of anybody who is working the Obama Campaign and can get a message through to Obama, tell him why he needs to take Frank Schaeffer with him.
If you haven't seen the buzz the Pro-Lifers supporting Obama are stirring up, read this most recent blog and watch this TV ad posted by Catholics for Obama (only shown in PA).
James Heffernan: Why Can't I be Pro-Choice and Pro-Life?
Why Can't I Be Pro-Choice and Pro-Life?
See TV ad at:
Catholics United Airs Ad: Pro-Life, Anti-McCain (VIDEO)
Keep up the good work.
Salvation is Here!
Well, after many thousands of years of being tormented by probably the most common of the Seven Deadly Sins, humanity is about to be rid of one of them thanks to John McCain. He now promises to crush the "Greed" that has driven Wall Street into shambles this year. Whew!
Granted, we'll all probably do a lot better with "Sloth" now that "Greed" and its many shiny objects are out of our way. Granted getting rid of "Greed" will give us a lot less to be "Envious" about. But I can't help but worry that "Lust," "Gluttony," "Wrath," and "Pride" will swell to fill the void left by the abeyance of these other three.
Swollen Leftover Sins
Just look what they've done to McCain's own campaign, for example. Let's assume he's found some way, that he will soon share with the rest of us (like his plans to catch Bin Laden, and his plans to "win" the war, secrets he has kept assiduously to himself for seven long years so they must be really awesome!), to keep Greed at bay; and let's further assume Envy and Sloth have paled along with Greed in his campaign soul such that he is no longer comparing himself unfavorably to Obama's 'celebrity' status (must be Palin's influence...), and no longer idling around while the democrats keep sparring (he was kind of forced from Sloth on that score, but we all have to take inspiration where it comes). But the remaining four Deadly Sins seem to be really weighing down the McCain campaign (or buoying it up, according to your political ethics).
Unbridled Lust for power seems to have forcefully unseated "honor" as the internal justification for campaign strategies and objectives. The "ambition" that McCain himself acknowledged years ago as the source of his Keating Five scandal bad judgment seems to be running at full tilt again. With the Presidency in view, Lust seems to have overcome the 'better judgment' he promised us when the Keating Five debacle embarassed him before us all. Moreover, the McCain campaign has as a key Catholic advisor someone who had to leave a tenured professorship over Lust-ful misconduct with a student (this was/is Deal Hudson, whom McCain refuses to fire from the campaign, and who is quoted in a page one story in today's NYTimes).
Gluttony has certainly replaced originality of insight in the McCain campaign's approach to messaging. It has taken to gobbling up every message that seems to "work" with voters, regardless of whether that message is Obama's ("Change," "Enough") or whether that message is completely contradictory to the principled positions that McCain himself has held for decades (embracing regulatory policy, tax cuts for the rich, overturning Roe v. Wade, embracing 'agents of intolerance', drilling, etc.)
Wrath is about the only word I can come up with for McCain's only stated reason for running such an astonishingly negative campaign. He keeps saying that had Obama appeared with him at Town Hall meetings, the tone of the campaign would have been different. So, the tone of the campaign is negative out of some spiteful sense of revenge for not getting to appear WITH Obama? That's a little weird, but not unheard of among people who have a hard time modulating their hostility, as McCain so clearly does (just ask anyone in the Senate that he's cursed out over the years, or Mika Breszinski whom he attacked unprovoked yesterday at the very start of an interview [I guess that doesn't count as sexism?]). Boy, Wrath is sure confusing!
Pride is about the only thing that has remained intact from the beginnings of McCain's political career, but the time in the spotlight has now caused it to grow to malignancy proportions. A man who writes about "Courage" because, in part, he recognizes himself as Courageous is someone who spends his life courting Pride. I guess the courtship has ended, and a lifetime commitment has taken its place. How many times a week do we hear "I KNOW how to do this," and "I KNOW how to do that" and how often must his family and runningmate remind us that ONLY JOHN MCCAIN can save us from all that people like John McCain have wrought in our lives (well, that may be a little true...if redemption means anything).
Hands Off My Greed!
Looking at these results, I'd have to say that McCain should not focus on eradicating Greed, one of the standing conditions of human nature. The consequence of removing this fundamental motive of human conduct seems to be the dangerously pathological metastases of some other Deadly Sins. Instead, he might focus on the policies and objectives of what effective government might need to do in light of the overwhelming orientation to self-interest that is built into our human nature and the very cornerstone of our market economy. At the very least, I don't see how he could square his pro-greed tax policies with his new anti-greed message, but fortunately for his own balance right now Gluttony has made that contradiction of little import to him. But for the rest of us, these moral and economic tensions are a disaster in progress and a catastrophe in the making. McCain's plan to empanel a 9/11-Style Commission to study the issues that have wrought chaos in our markets and terror at our kitchen tables may betoken one creative idea in his campaign: the final formalization of the new Deadly Sin that Bush/Cheney have been working to instill in the American soul, "Confusion".
Consequences of The Eighth Deadly Sin
Self-inscribed "Confusion" will be the undoing of all of us if we don't get this election right. The punishment will be a country that we won't want to recognize. Fortunately, we might be too confused to recognize it when it comes to pass.
The Abortion Gorilla in the Pennsylvania Voting Booth
For years I have been deeply concerned that on account of this abortion debate, the theoretical best has been the bitter enemy of the immediate practical good, causing untold suffering for people we can see and touch. As for the unborn, I think that at the very worst they miss the chance to come to earth and their souls are back sinless with their God. He will take care of them. Those who make it to this earth are our responsibility as fellow human beings. I feel like our job is to take care of our needy neighbors like good Samaritans.
So I find myself questioning the practical sense of some of my Catholic Church Leaders' stance on abortion. I am concerned at the Church's evident preference for coercion over persuasion in its opposition to the practice of abortion.A single mother of limited educational achievement has very little social support for raising her child. She must work but certainly cannot afford decent child care. I am convinced that if many of these pregnancies were carried to birth, the infants would face a life of hardship and neglect. As a result many would become social misfits and often criminals. Or consider the situation of a poor family facing the prospect of raising a malformed child requiring lifelong medical care. That family is often facing bankruptcy as well as hardship for the other children in the family.We need social reforms that would make it possible for even a poor family to raise a crippled child in decent living conditions and also know that after they die society will not abandon that child. We need reforms that give all children including those born to poor single mothers a chance of a decent life.
Unfortunately some of the most vocal opponents of abortion are the strongest opponents of these reforms. These politicians attract Catholic support the way honey attracts flies.On the other hand some of the politicians most opposed to the coercive banning of abortion, are those who are striving to create conditions on the ground that would encourage women with unwanted pregnancies to carry the fetus to term. These politicians would like to create a social situation that would enable even a poor family to care lovingly for a chronic disability. However the practical effect of the Church's emphasis on making abortion illegal is to discourage Catholics from voting for such candidates.So we refuse to participate in the creation of conditions that would reduce the incidence of abortion in a voluntary way.
Thus we perpetuate by default the conditions that encourage what we regard as a grave sin, but like avenging angels we call for legal proscription. This seems to me too much like the oppression that was the modus operandi of the medieval Church. It's getting hard for me to support this doctrinaire approach that ignores the clearly visible suffering of the already born.As a result the pronouncements of some of our bishops are beginning to feel more like a power play than Christian Piety in action.
Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke of the St. Louis Archidoese, Pastor Fred Pheleps of the Westboro Baptist Church, and Reveren Jeremiah Wright of the Trinity United Church of Christ have one thing is common. They target the religiously naive to impose thier own political beliefs through religious causes.
To the Republicans focusing on Religion and Abortion issues at the RNC later this week, these three men will be used as proxy to push naive Christain voters to support the Republican party rahter than through their own free will decision.
Raymond Burke has been a terrible Archbishop. The only other time anyone from the Roman Catholic Church has been denied the Eucharist (the symbolic body and blood of Jesus Christ through through transubstanciation of unlevened bread and wine) was during the time of the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages. Because Rome saw itself to be greater than the government of man, their were percecutions, excommunications, and of course wars.
It is the natural right of man to make decisions based on their own free will.
But Archbishop Burke does not see that. He has decided not to offer any Catholic Democract supporter the Eucharist because the Deomocratic Party supports abortion and stem-cell research.
As a Catholic, I refuse to have people like Burke influence my vote. However, like all religions, there are pleanty of naive religious people who put their faith in God through false prophets.
Despite Burkes rank as Archbishop, this pios man, like many preachers, have taken advantage of the people they are suppost to support through spiritual and moral guidance.
He has sold churches as if they were real estate without the consent of the cleargy or congregation to pay off financial debts from lawsuits brought up by the people who were abused by priests. Because a priest had taken advantage of someone, the victum has come back years later, and despite the fact that most of them rightfully deserve to be compensated for thier psychological abuse, it is wrong to use the church as collateral to pay for lawyers and for restitution. In one such case, a priest was excommunicated for defending a church from being closed down.
Because the Vatican ratified the excommuncation, it is clear that Democrats need help spiritual Catholics that it is OK to vote for Barack Obama and that they won't be, nor should they be, stripped of their faith for not voiting for the "Pro-Life" (yet Pro-War) Republican party lead by John McCain.
Next we have the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC). Fred Phelps is the the leader of this Topeka congretation that has been listed as a hate group by the Souther Poverty Law Center. The group claims that God is punishing America for its acceptance of homosexuals ans well as tolerance of other races and creeds.
Ironically enough, the computer would not be possible if it were not thanks to Alan Turing, a computer scientists who helped defeat the Germans in WWII thanks to his deciphering efforts at Britan's MI-6. However, when Turing was discovered to be a homosexual, he was punished and forced to undergo chemical castration. The brilliant Turing whose methods had cracked the German Enigma and make modern computing possible took his life at the young age of 41. Imagine how computer technology would have advanced even sooner if Turing had not been humiliated and poisioned if he would have lived a much longer life.
But Westboro still uses the Internet to spread their messages of hate each week on a medium made possible through a person who is part of a group they most despise.
Westboro is best known for their protests at military funerals and places where major tragic events occur. The Church of Scientology (COS) has also be present places where major tragic events occur. For some reason, organizations like WBC and COS show up to find people who are in spiritual and moral crisis at a time of shock and confusion. You woun't allow a solicitor to try to sell you something at the funeral home where you are attending the wake of a dear friend, so why do they take advantage of people when they are in crisis?
Because Westboro continues to indoctrinate and protest people at Military funerals, the Patriot Guard Riders were created to uphold the respect of the fallen. Because COS has sought out spirtually weak individuals and force them to alienate their families and surrender large amounts of their financial assets, Operation Clambake has teamed up with the Anonymous hacker group to help people find their way out of the cult that claims it is a religion.
Likewise, other parody religions have been created in protest of many fundamental religous groups and causes. In the case of Creationism vs Intelegent Design verses Science, their is the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. FSM supporters argue of that if educational organizations sucha as the Kansas State School Board must allow equal time teach creationism, intelegent design, and science, then FSM creationism should also be taugh where a Flying Spaghetti Monster created the earth, when you die you go to a Heven where their is a stripper factory and beer volcano, and that Global Warming is caused by a lack of Pirates in the world. (No I am not making this stuff up. Check out their website.) Another parody against COS and Megachurches is The Church of the Subgenus, which claims to be the only church proud to pay its taxes since religous organizations do not pay their taxes and Scientology has tried to not pay taxes despite the fact that they ARE NOT a religion reguardless of the money they have taken from its dwenling number of followers.
In terms of the WBC, there is one parody group that stands out that despite its support for atheism, has managed to parody the WBC perfectly. The group is called the Landover Baptist Church. They also happen to be pro-Obama.
The Phelps family is very anti-Obama. They are not enthralled with McCain either, but their behavior is concerning enough to border on that of the Branch Dividians or Heaven's Gate. The FBI has not done much to control them mainly due to Freedom of Religion (if you could call them a religion). My biggest concern is that they will commit a terrorist attack similar to what Tim McVeigh did in Oklahoma City in 1995. Some believe his actions were in response to the FBI Raid in Waco, Texas.
Reguardless of all that, Wesboro has a number of followers, of which reguardless if you are a Democrat or a Republican, you more than likely have respect for America's troops even when the Republican party takes advantage of them by calling them to serve their country by serving the few who will make millions from the war, reconstruction, lack of medical care after serving, and economic suffering by everyone who paid the government to pay America's finest far less than America's worst corporations.
Baptist congretations need to understand that in order to be born again through Christ that the suffering of the world in not caused by God's wrath but by people who think they are Gods among men. If the WBC realized that, they would be protesting at Exxon Mobil's headquarters rather than at Military Cemetaries.
Finally, I don't think there is anything that can be said about Reverend Jeramiah Wright other than the fact that he will be the most used proxy by the Republican party to influence their cause. So far they have used every means to use him to convience spiritual voters not to support Obama. They have their Fox News network broadcasting on TV, Radio, and the Internet. They even tried using author Jerome Corsi to write a book hoping to destroy Obama in the same way he destroyed Kerry in 2004. Fortunately, the most of the Media is not buying into Corsi's book, or the smears of Fox News. As far as Wright is concerned, "Reverend Who?"
Protestant and methodist congretations, as well as all other congreations, need to stand up against the lies the media has fed us long before Bush or Clinton were elected.
America is not property of Rupert Murdoch or The Media or Big Oil or Big anything! But as long as people follow the media especially TELEVISION, even if you are as not naive or think that you are not naive at all TELEVISION will misead you. TELEVISION will suck you dry of any enthusiam, espeically if it involves being active or changing the status quo.
In short, we need to support our spiritual supporters so that they are not lead by blind faith.
(I'm sorry if you find this to be entirely off topic; it is far removed from our obligation to win this election for Obama; yet, I present it here because it is a ghastgly story from the real world and because this tragedy has only been published in 3 other places in the USA, all by me....
Times of India article August 12
THIRUVANTHAPURAM: The father of a nun who committed suicide at Kollam Tuesday alleged that his daughter was "mentally and physically tortured at the convent".Pappachan, a cook who works at the Bishop's house at Kollam, alleged that his daughter Anupa Mary, a nun at the St Mary's Convent at Kollam, committed suicide Monday after she was made to do all the chores in the convent and was sexually harassed by the head of the convent.He was speaking to reporters Tuesday after coming here with the body of his daughter for a post-mortem examination. He lashed out at the Mother Superior of the convent for allegedly torturing his daughter."She was mentally and physically tortured by the head of the convent. She was made to do all the chores in the convent and in the night she was sexually harassed by the head of the convent. This was happening for the past two monthsand I came to know about it only after she committed suicide," said Pappachan.Mary, 24, committed suicide Monday evening by hanging herself in the convent. She had come to the convent May 27 and was a member of the Vimala Hridya Franciscan congregation.The police has recovered a suicide note from her room in which she had written that she is finding it difficult to adjust to the new surroundings and also expressed her difference of opinion with the head of the convent.MR Ajithkumar, superintendent of police, Kollam said that investigations have commenced and all aspects would be probed."This allegation I have heard only today (Tuesday) and on television.Yesterday (Monday) when we took the statement from Pappachan, he did not level this allegation. Anyway now that he has publicly aired this, we will take his statement again. I have asked the investigation officers to look into all aspects. Now we are waiting for the post-mortem report," said the policeofficial.Pappachan said that his wife and another daughter of his were aware of Mary being tortured.
"I will go to any extent to see that the truth is revealed," said the dejectedfather.State Women's Commission chairperson D Sreedevi reacted to the events bysaying that a detailed probe should be conducted."Our observation, which we had made sometime back, that in convents inmates are being ill-treated, appears to be correct," said the former judge.
more details are here:
http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=56653&ret=AccountDtl.aspxhttp://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IER20080813141701&Page=R&Title=Kerala&Topic=0http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Thirupuram/Kerala_nuns_suicide_Detailed_probe_sought/articleshow/3360656.cmshttp://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1182822&#comments
