Red, White, and Blue in the Face!

Today, Hearst News Service officially confirmed that Helen Thomas, their White House correspondent, is “retiring”.

Ms. Thomas, though a respected journalist for decades, managed to bring her reputation crashing down around her ears when she responded to a request for “any comments on Israel”. Helen responded “Tell ‘em to get the hell out of Palestine”. When asked where they should go she said they should go back to Poland, Germany, and the United States (in other words the old “go back where you came from” line).

I remember as a boy living in North Carolina –  not the deep South nonetheless I recall hearing adults say within my hearing that those “_______s should go back to Africa where they came from”. My parents both born and raised in the South did their best to counteract what their children heard about race and about religion. We Catholics weren’t well liked and were definitely a minority — John Kennedy’s bid for president really brought out the worst in folks regarding their anti-Catholicism down there. I remember kids I didn’t even know (and how did they know I was Catholic?) coming up to me in the lunchroom to say their parents were worried that if Kennedy was elected he’d bring the Pope over to run the country or that we’d all be forced to worship idols. Nevertheless, I was astonished at the coldhearted behavior many of my fellow school students reflected (no doubt learned from their parents and others in their families).

Despite the lessons of history ignorance still abounds. Kennedy was elected and my fellow Americans weren’t forced to convert, worship idols, or swear an oath of fealty to the Pope in Rome. So too, the Civil Rights act was passed without causing the country to fall into the trauma predicted by the nay sayer’s.

The history of the Jewish people in the Middle East is as old as any other people there. To deny that you may as well also be a holocaust denier!  The Israelis have every right to defend themselves and to maintain security for their country. How can we expect mutual respect and tolerance from Israel’s neighbors who have NEVER afforded the Israelis that respect and tolerance. For decades the Israelis had no objection to Arabs living, working, and prospering in Israel. Somehow though this wasn’t enough. The anti-Semitic voices never quieted, never stopped and the Israelis have done their best to defend themselves against almost constant threats and attacks.

Yes, Helen Thomas apologized but read the apology

“I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians, they do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon.”

Can that day come when ignorance and racism are steadfast bedfellows throughout most of the planet? Can respect and tolerance ever come to the fore when there are people willing to believe and speak aloud what Helen Thomas couldn’t keep herself from blurting out in public? Perhaps there should be a U.N. sponsored nation created for bigots and racists and they should be forced to get the hell out and move there.

God help us.

(1 Corinthians 13:13) And now there remain faith, hope, and charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity.

How to be charitable toward Ms. Pelosi is becoming more of a dilemma. By now the news has made the rounds of the usual blogs and internet spots that Madam Speaker is, once more, laying out her faith for all to see and hear. I will say that her latest statement is simply nonsense.

CNS News: At a May 6 Catholic Community Conference on Capitol Hill, the speaker said: “They ask me all the time, ‘What is your favorite this? What is your favorite that? What is your favorite that?’ And one time, ‘What is your favorite word?’ And I said, ‘My favorite word? That is really easy. My favorite word is the Word, is the Word. And that is everything. It says it all for us. And you know the biblical reference, you know the Gospel reference of the Word.”

“And that Word,” Pelosi said, “is, we have to give voice to what that means in terms of public policy that would be in keeping with the values of the Word. The Word. Isn’t it a beautiful word when you think of it? It just covers everything. The Word.

“Fill it in with anything you want. But, of course, we know it means: ‘The Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us.’ And that’s the great mystery of our faith. He will come again. He will come again. So, we have to make sure we’re prepared to answer in this life, or otherwise, as to how we have measured up.”

“Fill it in with anything you want”? For a charitable point of view you can always read what The Anchoress has to say (and she says it well).

Pelosi simply defies explanation. On the one hand she’s a devout Catholic but on the other hand believes that women “have the right to choose” (that choice of course is to kill an unborn child by procuring its abortion). Nowhere to my recollection does Catholic teaching allow for this and it doesn’t make a difference how devout your faith! The closest thing I can find in Church teaching is:

 Assuming that the guilty party’s identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.

If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people’s safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.

Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm – without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself – the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity “are very rare, if not practically non-existent.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2267)

This paragraph of course addresses the death penalty –  not abortion. Abortion is dealt with in a different tone:

Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:

You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.

God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes. (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2271)

and

Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. “A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae,” “by the very commission of the offense,” and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law. The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.(Catechism of the Catholic Church 2272)

and

From its conception, the child has the right to life. Direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, is a “criminal” practice (GS 27 § 3), gravely contrary to the moral law. The Church imposes the canonical penalty of excommunication for this crime against human life. (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2322)

Oh, there was a small nugget of sense in what Speaker Pelosi said . . . “So, we have to make sure we’re prepared to answer in this life, or otherwise, as to how we have measured up.”

In all things charity except towards the unborn child I guess.

No matter how many children she may have each mother who faithfully loves and cares for her children the best she is able is a candidate for canonization in my book. Included in this category of mothers are those who are mothers twice –  they raise their own children and then, for whatever reason, end up raising their grandchildren too. All around the planet we can find mothers and grandmothers, hard at work caring for homes and families and so many of them are doing it alone. Some, I’m sure, are operating solely on the grace of God, wondering how bills will be paid or food will be obtained. All around us, mostly “invisible” to us there are women who sacrifice their lives willingly for their families, who do anything for their families to ensure their well-being and to see that they grow up knowing a proper sense of “values”. For the most part these mothers have “a tough row to hoe” (as my great-grandmother would have said). The “civilized” world is pressing hard on the family these days — the cost of living is largely beyond the means of one income and those who need assistance in one form or another find the red tape and bureaucracy almost more than a human can bear. The devil is doing his best to tear the family apart and in the USA it seems as though he’s getting more than his fair share of cooperation.

One such mother, Kristin Luscia, is blogging about this at “11 On My Own” and the story she tells is nothing short of incredible. I could never begin to put up with what she’s put up with or persevere and she is persevering and against odds I cannot fathom. It would seem, reading her blog posts, that there is nothing going her way, nothing working in her favor, yet she continues to hang on — the photo in this post shows why. What a beautiful group of children.

I first got wind of this mother and her dilemma when she applied to have her blog listed on the Saint Blog’s Parish Directory, which I maintain. Normally I make a quick check of a new blog to ensure that it is what the applicant purports it to be — Catholic. I rarely have the time to spend much time on any one blog but I recall being mesmerized by the posts this woman wrote detailing the trials and tribulations of her and her children’s lives. I listed her blog and soon the memory was very faint. Then on the Tuesday, May 11th edition of Catholic Exchange I saw a book review entitled “11 On My Own” –  the recall was instantaneous –  this was a book written by the mother of 11 who blogged at the site by the same name! She had written a book! I immediately contacted her and asked if it would be okay to use the photo from her site in a blog post. She kindly said yes and here I am finally getting to it a few days later. In only 3 days time though her ex (she refers to him as “tbj”) has managed to threaten her publisher with a lawsuit and caused them to pull her book from sales. Incredible. Wherever this man is getting his money from it is clear that he’s willing to use his money to cause this mother as much trouble and heartache as he possibly can and is unwilling to use any of it in support of his family. This guy epitomizes the term “Deadbeat Dad”.

Kristin and many, many mothers like her need our prayers and support.

In the United States it is a National Day of Prayer. I recently posted this prayer and felt it was appropriate to re-post.

Blessed be God, blessed be His Holy Name!

Almighty God, Father of all nations and peoples these are days of shame for us and for our nation. Hear our pleas and prayers for the United States of America. Our nation grand and glorious sustained through generations past by the lifeblood of those whose faith in You never flagged is sorely tried now by its faithlesness. We who profess belief in God as Creator and Guardian of all that is good have not turned our backs but certainly have turned our faces while Your Holy Name has been mocked, spat upon, and dragged through the mire of the public square. How we have allowed ourselves such shameless, faithless cowardice we cannot rightly expalin, nevertheless we turn to you O God and beg your mercy on us and on our people. There is nowhere we can turn but to You and no one who can truly bring good from our sin but You. In times past men have raised their hands and hearts to heaven seeking Your aid, Your strength, and Your guidance and hearing them you responded in the Fullness of Your Love. We pray in thanksgiving for all the sustenance You have given to make this nation great among all nations in times past and we thank You for keeping it in Your Loving Hands. If we but remain faithful to You, to Your Word, to Your commandments we will remain in Your care but it is painfully true that only You can give us the fortitude and right judgement even for the smallest acts of faith and Christian love. In thanksgiving we bow low to You, sovereign Lord, and beg Your help for us, for our nation, for the world who look to us in many ways as we look to You. Help us, strengthen the faith of those who have even the slightest of faiths; with Your Love soften the hardened hearts of those who demean Your Name; with Your Love open the eyes of those who do not see Your gift in the unborn child; with Your Love help us to heal the wounds that we ourselves have rendered, bring us together in Your Name and for Your purpose. Help America and all who truly believe that it is only in Your Holy and Blessed Name that true freedom and justice will prevail. Give us Your strength and courage, Your wisdom and fortitude, Your counsel and mercy and help us stand for You that we may not, for the sake of our own false pride, fall from You.

Our prayers rise to you O God with the souls of those little ones we have abandoned to die at the hands of the merciless who deceive the frightened, the desperate, the unloved, the injured and who convince them that death will bring them life. Change every heart, send Your Holy Spirit to convert the faithful to greater faith and the faithless to begin a faith.

Lord God hear us as we beg Your Love, Your Justice, Your Mercy upon us and our nation. Hear us as we pray in the Name of God the Son, the Name above all Names, the Name of Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior to all mankind.

The Church is beginning a process of purification and healing. The beginnings of  the purification are slowly but surely being seen in Europe and Ireland — Bishops who failed to protect their flocks have resigned, some I’m sure unwillingly, but the evidence has left them no choice. In the United States we’ve seen nothing to indicate the same has happened here but I am praying that before long we will see the resignations of clergy, be they Cardinal or Bishop, who failed to properly shepherd their flocks and, for whatever reason, allowed the wolves to have their way. Pray that anyone responsible for permitting the continued abuse of children who were in the trust or custody of the Church will, if appropriate, be dealt with in the justice system, at the least be made to resign if they do not do so willingly. I fail to find sympathy in the “we were told they could be cured” story. There were those who believed that but there were also those who knew better. Why were the voices of common sense ignored? Why were men allowed to prey and hurt time and time again without being punished, without being removed? I pray the purification will continue and will spread around the world because this is not simply isolated to the U.S., Germany, and Ireland – I am certain more will be revealed and will show that these people were everywhere. But only with a purification will we have healing. When one person wrongs another and the wrong is as serious as these abuses have been the response must be to say you are sorry and to make amends in any way possible. The only way the leadership of the Catholic Church in the United States is going to protect the credibility of the Church is to respond in a way they may well abhor — admit they did wrong and, if their culpability is great enough, resign their positions and retire. Only then will we begin to heal the many wounds the sexual abuse scandal has caused in the Body of Christ, His Church.

The irony in my title concerns an anniversary– the 50th anniversary of “The Pill”. Under normal circumstances I probably wouldn’t even have been aware of this “anniversary” but it happened that I saw an op-ed piece in today’s NY Times online (and for the life of me can’t remember why I was even looking at the NY Times in the first place) titled “Promises the Pill Could Never Keep”. The title intrigued me – could this actually be a piece proclaiming the truth about contraception and in the NY Times to boot? Nope, not a chance. Sadly, the woman who wrote the piece hasn’t a clue what “The Pill” has done, the damage it has wrought. Even more, she doesn’t understand that the damage its done and the promises it didn’t keep are merely symptoms of a larger problem. Ironically, the author of this piece celebrates “The Pill” because 

In spite of all the missed predictions, there were at least two people who understood the pill’s revolutionary potential from the beginning: Margaret Sanger, who had first imagined a contraceptive pill in 1912, and Katharine McCormick, a wealthy feminist — both elderly women who had been advocates for women’s rights since the early 20th century, and who teamed up in the 1950s to bring the pill project to fruition. Sanger and McCormick financed the research and found the scientists to conduct it. (emphasis mine)

The irony is that the author completely misses the connection between what’s happening now in the Church and in the world and the results of the release of the “The Pill” onto an unsuspecting world.

May God have mercy on us.

From the moment the Church was born in the resurrection of Jesus Christ she has endured unceasing attacks from those who hate her, hate her message, and hate what she stands for in this world. Time after time waves of brutal persecution of the Church have swept over what would otherwise have been civilized nations. It hasn’t stopped and it won’t end. I have no doubt that at some point in the not too distant future more persecutions will erupt. Not “if” but “when”.

But I digress. The news headlines are shouting about new revelations of priest abuse — the latest are in Germany. The really good news for the Church haters though is that this is an opportunity to slander Pope Benedict who was Archbishop in the Diocese where a priest has been dismissed due to the accusations against him. It’s simply too much for the Catholic baiters – out of hand the Pope is immediately accused of complicity in covering up this priests abuse. Admittedly the jury’s out on this one, but I’m pretty certain that what will happen is that everyone with a bone to pick against the Church will make sure Pope Benedict’s name is front and center. If it is proven that he was not culpable you won’t hear any apologies from these folks you can put money on that.

The King of the Wild Frontier that is. I don’t know about you but for me Fess Parker’s Davey Crockett and Daniel Boone characters played on Walt Disney’s Saturday evening shows were simply the best. There was nothing on television that I looked forward to more than these shows unless it was Mighty Mouse on Saturday mornings.

Our kids today could use a good dose of Davey Crockett. Heck, come to think of it, so could I.

Thanks to Fess Parker and Walt Disney, I’ve never forgotten Davey and Daniel and probably never will.

Passing the Health Care Reform bill is apparently a make or break proposition for the Dems. Nancy Pelosi, for whom I have lost whatever shred of respect I may have previously had, maintains consistently that she “will do whatever is necessary” to ensure the bill is passed into law. Obviously that includes continuing to lie to the American people about the status of health care reform legislation within her own party.

Chuck Schumer meanwhile, is outdoing himself in efforts to find more ways to get around the Constitution and his duty as a representative of the people of the State of New York. He has been recorded as saying that the Dems are looking into a way to pass the health care reform legislation by simply changing the rules to suit themselves despite the limitations the Constitution may appear to put on the Senate’s ability to make their own rules.

I am beyond words at this point (well, ok, maybe not). Do these people have no shame whatsoever? They will do what they want and to hell with  the American people and damn the Constitution.

The plain, simple fact is that the Dems, despite their self-righteous proclamations of openness and transparency, have yet to evidence either of those things not to mention failing miserably at honesty while their cup of hyposcrisy overfloweth.

Oh and by the way, I still haven’t changed my voter registration. I’ve been a registered Democrat all my voting life. Can’t remember the last time I had the desire to vote for a Democrat though.

I am convinced that the Speaker of the House of Representatives has finally and publically pronounced to all the world that she has completely lost her mind. Or is it possible I’ve misunderstood or misheard her?

Speaking to the press (they really should get someone to speak for her if you ask me) she remarked about the health care legislation that “ . . . we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.”

Please tell me she didn’t really mean what I heard her say.