Religious Freedom & Persecution
Anti-Catholic Comedy Central
Just when you think Catholic bashing in the media can’t any more obnoxious it does. Brent Bozell exposes Comedy Central’s virulently hate-filled anti-Catholic screed in the form of a Tv show called “The Root of All Evil.”
It’s hosted by bottom-feeding shock comic Lewis Black, whose schtick of being as offensive as possible has garnered him such fame that this is the first time I’ve heard of him. Black is a bigot who judges the Catholic Church, which stands on trial charged as being the root of all evil. Sounds hilarious. This is on Comedy Central, why?
He’s joined by another no-name comic, Greg Giraldo, who Bozell says abandons all pretense all comedy to vent his spleen about the Church he was baptized into. You can guess the level of blasphemy and offensiveness that spews forth.
As usual, these cowards attack the Church because they know that Catholics will return insults only with words and prayer, whereas even a much milder level of invective at Islam would be met with fatwas and attempts on their lives.
By the way, Alltel Wireless was the sponsor of the phone-in poll for those who wished to vote for the Church as the root of all evil. Knowledge of which you can do with what you will.
Charles Barkley on conservatives: “fake Christians”
Charles Barkley, the loudmouth former basketball player, was interviewed on CNN and said that conservatives are ‘fake Christians’. He’s pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage and he thinks that being opposed to those things makes one judgmental and in violation of the verse which says, “Judge not, lest you be judged.”
Uh, Charles, what do you think you’re doing by judging conservative Christians? You can’t have it both ways.
Oh, and he said he just bought a house in Alabama so that he can establish his seven years of residency and run for governor of the state in 2014.
So you think pro-life, pro-traditional marriage conservatives are “fake Christians” and you intend to run for governor of perhaps the most Southern of Southern states. Yeah, good luck with that.
Help some Catholic sisters in Kenya
In case you don’t keep up with international news, especially in Africa, there’s been a lot of election-related violence in Kenya in recent weeks over what is likely a rigged presidential election.
In the midst of this, a community of Daughters of the Sacred Heart are trying to care for those who have been displaced and affected and Marcel LeJeune prints for us their appeal for help. If you can help and have a desire to get involved check it out at his blog.
Dad walking baby and praying threatened with arrest
As I type this now, I still find it hard to believe. But then I’ve been to pro-life demonstrations before and have seen with my own eyes that the laws of our nation can be suspended when pro-lifers (and marriage defenders) are involved. Check out this video.
This dad was walking on a public sidewalk with his infant daughter asleep in the stroller and because he took out a book to pray to himself, he was stopped by police, questioned (including about the content of his prayer!) and then told that he had to stop or be arrested.
It should be noted that this occurred in Aurora, Illinois, the location of a very contentious public dispute over a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic. This gentleman and his wife have been among the demonstrators outside the clinic, although on this day, the dad was not part of the demonstration outside the area of the protest, and the mom was simply praying and looking for an opportunity to talk to any woman who might be considering an abortion.
I have to admit that the dad handled the situation with more aplomb and calm than I might have. And, I do understand that there are circumstances in which constitutional rights can be ... is “held in abeyance” the right phrase? ... for the sake of public order and safety. But watch the video and tell me that this is the case. Then go to this post at the Catholic Dads blog and read the background material. And then tell me that this isn’t a travesty and trampling of the Constitution.
Saying Mass and driving would be a no-no
There’s a rumor that Ireland’s government is contemplating a zero-alcohol limit drunk-driving law. Aside from the many jokes that spring to mind about Irishmen drinking, there is some concern among Catholic clergy. After all, if you’re not allowed to have any alcohol, what’s a priest who’s just finished Mass to do?
Father Brian D’Arcy - perhaps Ireland’s best-known Catholic priest - told BBC News Online that such an approach would be “risible” and would mean priests saying several Masses would be unable to drive legally.
We want a law that allows people to drive and not drive people off the road. We want a law that’s applicable and reasonable, not risible. Nobody in their right mind would want that,” said Father D’Arcy, himself a teetotaller.
Father D’Arcy points out that with fewer priests available, individual priests are being required to celebrate in multiple parishes on the same day, driving in between each. He points out, “Even if they just lower the current permissible alcohol levels for driving, you would be in great danger of being over the limit after three Masses.”
Unfortunately, Ireland is not likely to be the last place where this crops up. In fact, it’s not the first. Croatia contemplated a zero-limit law back in 2004 and Hungary, Estonia, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia all have such laws on the books. Any bets on which American jurisdiction will be the first?
Probe into Aussie bishop’s “threat”
Now this is religious persecution. Because Archbishop Barry Hickey of Perth, Australia, said Catholic politicians who vote in favor of a cloning should not receive Communion, the head of West Australia’s parliament has called for an investigation. (What’s with Australia lately?)
[Friedrich] Riebeling said that the archbishop’s public statement was a threat against members of parliament. “He has said he didn’t make a threat,” the assembly speaker said. “I think he’s the only person in Australia that doesn’t think that.”
The only threat here is the threat against Archbishop Hickey’s freedom of religion. As Phil Lawler of Catholic World News said in his headline email today:
Doctors say that cigarette smoking can cause lung cancer and heart disease. Would you say they’re threatening people by saying that? I don’t think so; they’re merely helping people to recognize the consequence of their actions.
Similarly, when a bishop says that politicians who support immoral legislation are endangering their standing as Catholics, the bishop is helping those politicians recognize a danger to their spiritual welfare. Notice that if any damage is done, the politician does that damage to himself. The bishop isn’t threatening anything.
What kind of world is it when a religious leader says that if a member of his religion does not act according to its tenets, he will be denied access to its sacred rituals, and it’s interpreted as a threat serious enough to warrant government investigation into the matter? Who has the right to determine whether someone may participate in a religion’s sacred rituals: the members of that religion or the government?
But then the last acceptable prejudice is anti-Christianity, and especially anti-Catholicism.
Technorati Tags: Australia | bishop | Catholic | threat | cloning | politics |
Chaldean Catholic priest kidnapped in Baghdad
Five days after a Chaldean Catholic priest and three companions were murdered by terrorists in Mosul, Iraq, another Chaldean priest was kidnapped in Baghdad.
Fr Hani Abdel Ahad, in his early 30s, was taken in a north-eastern section of the capital called Suleikh along with five boys who were going with him to visit the city’s minor seminar.
They report that a ransom note may already have been received. It’s yet another serious blow to our Catholic family in Iraq. Please pray for them.
Meanwhile, Pope Benedict called the murder of Father Ragheed Aziz Ganni, the priest killed days earlier, a “costly sacrifice.”
[He] “joins the Christian community in Mosul in commending their souls to the infinite mercy of God our loving Father and in giving thanks for their selfless witness to the Gospel.” The Pontiff said he would pray for the “costly sacrifice [which] will inspire in the hearts of all men and women of good will a renewed resolve to reject the ways of hatred and violence […] and to cooperate in hastening the dawn of reconciliation, justice and peace in Iraq.”
AsiaNews adds their own editorial in memory of Fr. Ragheed:
“Without Sunday, without the Eucharist the Christians in Iraq cannot survive”: that was how Fr Ragheed spoke of his community’s hope, a community that was used to facing death on a daily basis, that same death that yesterday afternoon faced him, on his way home from saying mass. After having fed his faithful with the Body and Blood of Christ, he gave his own blood, his own life for Iraq, for the future of his Church. This young priest had willingly, knowingly chosen to remain by the side of his parishioners from Holy Spirit parish in Mosul, judged the most dangerous, after Baghdad. His reasoning was simple: without him, without its pastor, his flock would have been lost. In the barbarity of suicide attacks and bombings, one thing at least was clear, and gave him the strength to resist: “Christ – Ragheed would say – challenger evil with his infinite love, he keeps us united and through the Eucharist he gifts us life, which the terrorists are trying to take away”.
Technorati Tags: Iraq | Chaldean | Catholic | priest | kidnapped | martyr |
Priest, deacons killed in Iraq
A Chaldean Catholic priest and three deacons were shot and killed in Mosul in northern Iraq on Sunday.
Father Ragheed Ganni and three deacons from his parish— Basman Yousef Daud, Wahid Hanna Isho, Gassan Isam Bidawed— were killed after celebrating the Eucharistic liturgy on Sunday.
As they left the church, the clerics’ car was stopped by a group of armed gunmen, who shot all 4 men and then rigged their car with explosives so that no one would dare remove their bodies. The car with the four murdered me remained in the city street, bearing witness to the killings, for several hours until a police bomb-squad defused the devices.
Fr. Ganni’s parish, Holy Spirit Church, had been attacked and vandalized several times recently. It’s believed this was the work of Islamic militants continuing their campaign to intimidate and force Iraqi Christians to leave the country, a campaign which is working unfortunately as tens of thousands have already fled to more hospitable countries.
Vatican councils merged and then unmerged
Very interesting. Pope Benedict can’t be accused of being obstinate. Last year, he essentially merged the leadership of two pontifical councils, but now he’s split them up again.
Speaking to the Italian daily La Stampa, Cardinal Bertone said that the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue would be “a dicastery in its own right, whereas previously it had been merged with the Pontifical Council for Culture.” The Vatican Secretary of State said that the change “demonstrates the importance of inter-religious dialogue for the Secretariat of State.”
Last March, the Pope reassigned Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, who was head of Inter-Religious Dialogue, sending him to be nuncio in Egypt in what was widely seen as a demotion and a sign of the Holy Father’s unhappiness with the way such dialogue had been carried out in the past.
Cardinal Paul Poupard was assigned to oversee both that council and Culture. While the mechanisms of the two bodies were kept separate, most observers said it was in effect a merger, with perhaps future modifications to erase the differences.
But now Cardinal Bertone thinks they should be made distinct again.
In his conversation with La Stampa the Secretariat of State did not identify the prelate who would be asked to lead the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue after its return to fully independent status.
Some people are saying that after the controversy over the Pope’s speech at Regensburg a new emphasis needs to be put on dialogue with Islam and that this move is a symbolic gesture. We’ll have to see whether that is born out.
Technorati Tags: Pope | Vatican | Catholic | Regensburg | Islam |
Praising Allah in the cathedral
Allah will be praised with his 99 names in Westminster Cathedral, the most prominent Catholic church in Britain. It’s written by John Tavener and was commissioned by Prince Charles, who you will recall has said that the British monarch should not have the traditional title of “defender of the faith,” but just “defender of faith” while adding some obsequies toward Islam.
This musical work slated for Westminster, however, is probably not what most Muslims would call conservative or traditional either.
It is based on the Koran and sets the 99 names of Allah to music, to be intoned over an hour and a half with choir, full orchestra and Tibetan gongs.
So what will the jihad-minded extremists think about the sacred names of Allah being bandied about by infidels in a Catholic church?
On the other hand, this may be the first time I find myself in agreement with the jihadis, at least insofar as thinking that a Catholic church is no place for this … event.
Technorati Tags: Catholic | Islam | Britain | Westminster Cathedral |
Siding with the empire?
There’s a strain of liberal Christianity out there, closely related to Dan Brown/Elaine Pagels-style Gnosticism, but not the same thing, that holds that “real” Christianity was suppressed when Roman Emperor Constantine legalized it in 325. Byron Williams, a syndicated columnist and Protestant minister, perpetuates the myth and connects both Jerry Falwell and Pope Benedict to it.
Part of Falwell’s legacy, however, must include his attempt to do what many have unsuccessfully attempted (and may attempt again in the future), which is to marry two irreconcilable pursuits — claim to be a follower of the teachings of Jesus while simultaneously siding with the empire.
[…]
Sadly, this Constantine brand of Christianity, still evident today, is a far departure from the teachings of Jesus found in the four Gospel narratives. Constantine, for his own political purposes, placed militarism and political domination under the rubric of Christianity.
[…]
Though Falwell, because of his high visibility, may be more notable, he is hardly alone when it comes to siding with the empire. Last week, Pope Benedict XVI was attempting to put down the liberation theology efforts in Latin America. Liberation theology sees Jesus not only as redeemer but also liberator of the oppressed. It emphasizes bringing justice to the poor through political activism.
What Williams sees as “siding with the empire”, most Christians see as carrying the Great Commission: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19,20)
What’s ironic is that Williams lauds liberation theology, which is itself a form of “siding with the empire,” especially in the forms it’s taken in Latin America, in which the first aim has become political revolutionary change—usually toward Marxism-Leninism—and spiritual salvation only second, or even identified with the former aim.
Christianity is not meant to be an underground movement. It is intended to transform the world, the whole world. Christ is the Savior of science; the one, true King of the City of God and the City of Man; the ultimate Muse of the arts; and so forth. Christ’s influence is to be felt in all places.
Williams makes an idol out of poverty and oppression, taking pride in being the underdog. While the Gospel of Matthew does say that we will be blessed when persecuted (cf. Matt 5:10-11), that doesn’t mean that this is the preferred state of the Church. Being a victim is not in and of itself virtuous.
Technorati Tags: liberal | progressive | Christianity | persecution | liberation theology | Pope | Vatican |
I’m sure this fatwa would never lead to problems
And fundamentalists accuse Catholics of having manmade laws of empty ritual: how about this fatwa?:
The head of the Hadith Department in Al-Azhar University, Dr. Izzat Atiyya, recently issued a controversial fatwa dealing with breastfeeding of adults. The fatwa stated that a woman who is required to work in private with a man not of her immediate family - a situation that is forbidden by Islamic law - can resolve the problem by breastfeeding the man, which, according to shari’a, turns him into a member of her immediate family.
“DATELINE: Chappaqua, New York - Former President Bill Clinton has announced that as of Monday, May 28, he will be converting to Islam. In unrelated news, he has announced that he will be interviewing new personal assistants starting on Tuesday, May 29.”
[via Jules Crittenden]
Ignore him or give him the attention he wants
When public grandstanders and media jerks make outlandish and outrageous remarks about the Catholic Church, including outright blasphemy, I’m torn. Not about whether the remarks are proper or suitable, but about whether we should respond.
Case in point: The ridiculous and increasingly irrelevant Bill Maher monologued about a pedophile priest seducing a child using the Mass. It’s disgusting, so be aware before reading it.
To my mind, Maher’s motivation is obvious. Like a bratty child, he’s seeking attention by acting out. His show is on HBO, which means that gets a free pass where, for example, Don Imus didn’t.
Now, if we all get upset and write letters to Time-Warner, what’s likely to happen? Is Maher going to get fired? Is he going to stop his blasphemy? Or will he be encouraged?
In other words, is it better to give him what he wants or to deny him the attention he so obviously craves?
Technorati Tags: blasphemy | Catholic | anti-Catholic | Bill Maher |
Cyberjihadists attack Catholic web site
The operaters of a Catholic web site in Italy say that Muslim hackers in Turkey have been attacking their site. Totustuus.it is named after the motto of Pope John Paul II, “Totus tuus”, which means “Totally yours” and refers to his devotion to the Blessed Mother.
The site’s owners said the hacks have been traced back to Turkey.
“In the past two months we had already suffered 70 attacks,” David Botti told AKI. Botti is the president of the Totus tuus network. He told AKI that 80 percent of those attacks were carried out by Islamic hackers, and of those 25 percent were by Turks belonging to Turkhacks.com.
“Botti said that the source of a hack can be determined by the hacker’s signature, for example a propaganda message with which they replace the original text. “The most frequent is the Islamic crescent symbol with words offending the Holy Father,” explained Botti.
Technorati Tags: Catholic | Islam | Muslim | hacking | jihad |
Pope to issue letter to China soon?
Pope Benedict may be preparing a letter to the Catholic Church in China to be released on or near the feast of Pentecost. The Pope had already mentioned his intent earlier this year and it has the potential to have a substantial effect on efforts toward, if not official approval, at least less repression of the underground Church.
The Communist Chinese government requires Christians to worship only in state-controlled associations, including the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which eschews any connections to the Vatican or the Pope. Many Catholics worship in illegal, underground churches, following only bishops appointed by the Pope, although the divisions are not hard and fast. Many priests and laypeople, and even bishops, are members of the patriotic association in public, and of the underground Church, in secret.
So what will the letter say? According to the report:
In it the Holy Father will reportedly provide a detailed explanation of the Vatican position on Chinese government attempts to exert control over the Church, and especially the episcopal ordinations that have been staged by the government-controlled Catholic Patriotic Association without approval from the Holy See.
While firmly committed to the principle that the Church must be independent of government control, Pope Benedict hopes to avoid unnecessary conflict with the Beijing regime, Vatican sources indicate.
This may the most significant effort of Pope Benedict’s reign, probably even more than the motu proprio on the Tridentine Mass, because of the numbers of Catholic if affects and the fact that Communist China is one of the largest bastions of official suppression of the Church. It was a long-time goal of Pope John Paul to bring about reconciliation in China and it looks like Pope Benedict has adopted it as his own as well.
