A man passed away and at his funeral, friend after friend gave heartfelt glowing eulogies. After one particularly effusive one, his widow turned to her son and said "run up there and check if it's your father."
Monday, May 20, 2013
Monday Joke
A man passed away and at his funeral, friend after friend gave heartfelt glowing eulogies. After one particularly effusive one, his widow turned to her son and said "run up there and check if it's your father."
Friday, May 17, 2013
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Freedom of worship
An example of where this takes us is seen in this story about German home schoolers. Most people are painting this story as the US government saying parents don't have a right to educate their children as they see fit. But that's not the real story.
This decision shows either a lack of understanding of the first amendment, or a redefinition of it as "freedom of worship." You see, the case is being decided on whether or not they were being punished differently from others who don't want their kids in school for other reasons. But it doesn't matter that they are not being treated differently from others, because the way they are being treated violates their religion."The question is not whether Germany's policy violates the American Constitution, whether it violates the parameters of an international treaty or whether Germany's law is a good idea. It is whether the Romeikes have established the prerequisites of an asylum claim — a well-founded fear of persecution on account of a protected ground," the court wrote. In this case, that protected ground is religious freedom.But the court found that the German government treats all truants the same, regardless of their reasons for not attending school.
As Christians we are obliged to pass the faith on to our children. These people's children are being forcibly indoctrinated with anti-Christian teaching. That's the reason they don't want them in school, not because of some personal preference. The German school system is violating their religious freedom by what it is teaching. It doesn't matter that they get the same punishment as someone who keeps their kids out of school for a different reason. Let them opt out of anti-Christian teachings, and then force them to go send their kids to school, then we can talk about parental rights in education. but we're not even at that point yet.
The US government says that as long as they are treated "equally", anything goes. Think about that. Suppose we outlaw circumcision. You could say that doesn't violate the rights of Jews because we are outlawing it for everyone - they are not being treated specially. Or suppose we legislate that everyone has to eat pork. No, those Muslims are not being treated special, and heck, they can still go to Mosque so no harm no foul. Or suppose we legislate that Christians have to buy contraceptives and abortifacients. I'm just waiting for that decision to happen.
Lawsuits
It's a good (or bad, if you think about it) week for opposites:
Can't proceed with lawsuit because law doesn't take effect until August.
Can proceed with lawsuit even though law doesn't take effect until August.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Suicide is not painless
Now it's over
.- Following his conviction for the murder of three babies born alive, abortionist Kermit Gosnell was sentenced Tuesday to two life sentences without parole for two of those murder charges.Thank God. From ABC News:
By agreeing not to appeal his conviction, Gosnell was able to avoid the death penalty for two of the convictions of first-degree murder.
the grand jury report in the case said there had been hundreds of "snippings," in which live babies were born and then killed.Already pro-aborts are spinning this, saying that this shows what will happen if we put legal restrictions on abortions. But of course, that's nonsense. The existing situation is a result of the lack of restrictions or oversight on abortuaries, because any restrictions on abortion are seen as "harmful to women". President Obama has stated that he would not endorse any restrictions on abortion. And because of positions like this, Gosnell is not alone, or even rare.
"Gosnell had a simple solution for the unwanted babies he delivered. ... The way he ensured fetal demise was by sticking scissors into the back of the baby's neck and cutting the spinal cord. He called that 'snipping,'" the report alleged.
The report also said that many of the women patients were infected with sexually transmitted diseases from contaminated instruments, had suffered from botched procedures or had been given overdoses of dangerous drugs.
The other thing that remains ignored by pro-aborts is that this kind of thing was not the "norm" even when abortion was illegal. They still quote numbers by Bernard Nathanson [emphasis mine].
We persuaded the media that the cause of permissive abortion was a liberal enlightened, sophisticated one. Knowing that if a true poll were taken, we would be soundly defeated, we simply fabricated the results of fictional polls. We announced to the media that we had taken polls and that 60% of Americans were in favour of permissive abortion. This is the tactic of the self-fulfilling lie. Few people care to be in the minority. We aroused enough sympathy to sell our program of permissive abortion by fabricating the number of illegal abortions done annually in the U.S. The actual figure was approaching 100,000 but the figure we gave to the media repeatedly was 1,000,000. Repeating the big lie often enough convinces the public. The number of women dying from illegal abortions was around 200-250 annually. The figure we constantly fed to the media was 10,000. These false figures took root in the consciousness of Americans convincing many that we needed to crack the abortion law. Another myth we fed to the public through the media was that legalising abortion would only mean that the abortions taking place illegally would then be done legally. In fact, of course, abortion is now being used as a primary method of birth control in the U.S. and the annual number of abortions has increased by 1500% since legalisation.
Monday, May 13, 2013
It's not over yet
I know many of you have, like me, been hoping that Gosnell would not be acquitted, so that there would be some justice for the murders of those babies. Allegedly there are over 100 more babies who got the same treatment, but he hasn't been charged in those deaths.
So we can all relax now, right? Not quite. The three first degree murders could get him the death penalty. As the trial enters the sentencing phase, I'm praying, and ask you to pray too, that Gosnell's life is spared. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church says:
2267 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.In other words, the death penalty isn't supposed to be a "revenge" of society for crimes, but a means to protect society when a criminal could be a danger. I don't think there's any danger of Gosnell practicing "medicine" (abortion is not medicine, but that's what it's called) ever again, and a life sentence (or three consecutive ones) would be a clear deterrent to others. Furthermore, a long prison sentence is conducive to repentance.
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 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 nonexistent."
And so if I may paraphrase two common prayers:
Jesus, I beg you to spare the life of Kermit Gosnell, who is in danger of execution. Lead him to heaven, who is in need of your mercy. Amen.
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