You may have noticed a red and pink equal sign floating around on social network sites today signifying support for so-called "marriage equality" (i.e. redefining marriage). Whatever.
Labels: Culture, Culture of Death, Families, Marriage, Sodom and Gomorrah
posted by Pro Ecclesia 7:08 PM
0 comments
... that at least it wasn't Rob Portman's daughter wanting to get an abortion that caused him to make a a social policy about-face :
Republican Sen. Rob Portman said Thursday that he now supports gay marriage – a surprise turnabout on a hot-button social issue, sparked by a deeply personal reflection that began two years ago after Portman’s son, Will, told him that he is gay.That's right. Don't let those timeless truths of a pesky religious faith stand in the way of your own personal Jesus. Actually, Mollie Hemingway says it better:
[...]
Portman said his previous views on marriage were rooted in his faith.
But “the overriding message of love and compassion that I take from the Bible . . . and the fact that I believe we are all created by our maker . . . that has all influenced me in terms of my change on this issue,” he said.
Leaving apart the question of whether marriage law should be changed, this strikes me as a problematic approach. I mean, marriage law should be changed or it shouldn't be changed -- but it shouldn't hinge on the sexual attractions of one senator's son, should it?
What if a conservative senator said, "I'm reversing my views on whether abortion should be legal because my daughter got pregnant and wished she weren't."
One of the fascinating things about society today is that personal experience trumps everything else in argumentation. Very few people seem to care about fundamental truths and principles while everyone seems to care about personal experience and emotion. It's the Oprahfication of political philosophy.
Should a conservative determine good policy this way?
Labels: Marriage, Ohio, Republicans, Social Conservatives, Sodom and Gomorrah, The Stupid Party, Values Voters
posted by Pro Ecclesia 12:24 PM
0 comments
George Neumayr writes at The American Spectator:
... The saints of old warned bishops to choose holiness and orthodoxy over the blandishments of the "world." Many bishops today in America choose the good opinion of worldly elites over orthodoxy. These cufflinked cardinals worry not about punishment in the next world but slights in this one. They desperately crave the approval of America's movers and shakers and live in dread fear of losing it.
What will the Pretty People think if I withhold Communion from powerful pro-abortion Catholic pols? Will the Washington Post editorialize against me? Will I lose my place of honor at posh parties? Will my dissenting priests think ill of me? Will I be scorned at the next USCCB meeting?
These are some of the thoughts that race through the minds of modern prelates. Out of these anxieties comes fiascoes like Cardinal Donald Wuerl's recent one. Wuerl and his surrogates have rebuked a visiting priest from the archdiocese of Moscow for denying Communion to a self-described practicing lesbian at a funeral mass. That's not our "policy," gasped Wuerl's horrified surrogates.
But it is the policy of the Roman Catholic Church. If a person is not in communion with the teachings of the Church, said person should not receive Communion. Period. Canon law makes this explicitly clear. If you don't believe me, ask the head of the Vatican Supreme Court, Cardinal Raymond Burke. Though most of his colleagues seem to ignore his stance, he has said for years that canon law places a grave burden on priests to protect the sacraments from defiant sinners. According to Burke, canon law is not a whimsical option for hardline eccentric priests but a moral duty which "obliges the minister of Holy Communion to refuse the Sacrament" to those in "manifest grave sin. "
[...]
This latest episode isn't even a close call. If Cardinal Wuerl doesn't have the guts to deny Communion to an agitprop lesbian Buddhist, he should just close up shop and hand the keys to his chancery over to Obama.
[...]
The choice that the Wuerls face is clear: either they take seriously the duty enshrined in canon law to protect the sacraments from sacrilege and scandal, or these Communion controversies will multiply without end.
The notion that bishops aren't gatekeepers would come as a surprise to the Church's first ones. The apostles were told by Jesus Christ that the good shepherd watches the gate, lest his flock be eaten. "Do not give what is holy to dogs," Jesus warned them.
The Church's position on whether a bishop should stop sacrilege and scandal is not determined by his "comfort" level, Cardinal Wuerl. It is determined by the clear requirements of canon law. Cardinal Burke has spoken; the case is closed. Either the bishops take control over their own sacraments or the Church's enemies will.
[Read the whole thing]
Labels: Bishops, Blessed Sacrament, Catholic Identity, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Sodom and Gomorrah, Theology
posted by Pro Ecclesia 11:00 AM
1 comments
I'm no fan (at least not anymore) of Rick Santorum, but this is just pathetic:
Even Miley Cyrus is getting in on the 2012 action. In a reaction to a recent controversy over retailer Urban Outfitters allegedly copying jewelry designs, Cryus last night aired her criticism of UO President Richard Hayne’s campaign contributions to former Senator Rick Santorum.My Comments:
“IF WE ALLOW GAY MARRIAGE NEXT THING U KNOW PEOPLE WILL BE MARRYING GOLD FISH’ – Rick Santorum UO contributed $13,000 to this mans campaign” the singer and Hannah Montana star tweeted, in an apparent reference to the former Senator’s famous “man on dog” remark. Santorum is known for his conservative and often controversial opinions on same-sex marriage...
Labels: Culture, Culture of Death, Marriage, Music, Sodom and Gomorrah, Television
posted by Pro Ecclesia 1:31 PM
0 comments
Quote of the day:
“…the wrong side of history” is one of the most pernicious phrases in the vernacular nowadays. It is meant to intimidate; it’s old-fashioned high school peer pressure as applied by influential progressives. Even in the face of every popular vote to date (as opposed to non-binding opinion polls) going against same-sex marriage, it’s institution and acceptance is commonly treated in the mainstream media as a fait accompli. What is actually meant when “You’re on the wrong side of history” is said is “Eventually, we will win, and when we do, we’ll make certain you and your reputation will be punished for being on the losing side. So you might as well give up right now, and spare yourself the wrath we might wreak upon you.”
Epitomizing such attitudes when it comes to same-sex marriage is Sean Penn’s acceptance speech when he won the Academy Award for his role in the Harvey Milk biopic:“I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect, and anticipate their great shame, and the shame in their grandchildren’s eyes if they continue that way of support.”Hear that, America? Your precious grandkids that give you those big hugs now will hate your freakin’ guts when we convince them you are all hateful bigots...
Labels: Culture of Death, Families, Judiciary, Law, Marriage, Religious Persecution, Sodom and Gomorrah
posted by Pro Ecclesia 12:33 PM
2 comments
A sobering must-read post.
Labels: Anti-Catholicism, Culture of Death, Families, Marriage, Religious Persecution, Sodom and Gomorrah
posted by Pro Ecclesia 12:01 PM
0 comments
The concepts of academic freedom and tolerance apparently don't apply to Catholics who take their Faith seriously:
URBANA, Ill. -- The University of Illinois has fired an adjunct professor who taught courses on Catholicism after a student accused the instructor of engaging in hate speech by saying he agrees with the church's teaching that homosexual sex is immoral.My Comments:
The professor, Ken Howell of Champaign, has taught at the university for nine years. He says his firing violates his academic freedom.
A professor at the university who is also president of the American Association of University Professors agrees. Cary Nelson says teachers are allowed to express their own beliefs.
University spokeswoman Robin Kaler declined comment because Howell's firing is a personnel issue.
The student had a friend register his complaint and has remained anonymous.
Labels: Anti-Catholicism, Catholic Identity, First Amendment, Higher Education, Religious Persecution, Sodom and Gomorrah
posted by Pro Ecclesia 3:39 PM
0 comments
Writing at both Creative Minority Report and National Catholic Register, Patrick Archbold explains "why contraception is the key to understanding much anti-Catholicism":
... So why would an adviser to President Obama’s on faith-based issues stand by such an offensive and unscientific remark? Why accuse the Pope, and by extension the entire Church—an organization that unarguably helps more people than any other—of hurting people in the name of Jesus?
The Washington Post article acknowledges the real reason behind the anti-papal backlash saying, “The condom has become a symbol of freedom and—along with contraception—female emancipation, so those who question condom orthodoxy are accused of being against these causes.”
Believe it or not, this is really about abortion. Knox and others recognize, wittingly or unwittingly, that the foundation of modern sexual liberation relies upon denying or removing any of the consequences of that sinful behavior, even to the point of killing. They also know that the contraceptive mentality underpins the entire culture of death. The contraceptive and utilitarian view of life and of procreation is the “mitochondrial Eve” from which all the horrors of the culture of death are descended. Abortion, ESCR, and euthanasia all call contraception “mother.”
That is why any acknowledgment, no matter how trivial, obvious, or scientific, that calls into question the magic consequence-erasing power of contraception must be attacked with all vigor...
[More]
Labels: Anti-Catholicism, Culture of Death, Dictatorship of Relativism, Pro-Life, Sex, Sodom and Gomorrah
posted by Pro Ecclesia 11:18 AM
0 comments
From Cybercast News Service:
(CNSNews.com) - House Minority Leader John Boehner (R.-Ohio) said today that Harry Knox, who serves on President Barack Obama’s faith-based advisory council, appears to be an “anti-Catholic bigot” and should resign as a White House adviser.
Earlier this week, Knox said he stood by a statement he made last year that Pope Benedict XVI is “hurting people in the name of Jesus” because the pope does not support promoting the use of condoms as a means to stem the spread of HIV.
Knox, who is director of the Human Rights Campaign's religion and faith program, has made other controversial comments about the Catholic Church in the past. For example, in 2007 he was quoted in a statement from the Human Rights Campaign saying that the Catholic Church had committed an act that was “immoral and insulting to Jesus” when it denied communion to a lesbian couple in Wyoming who had promoted same-sex marriage. “In this holy Lenten season, it is immoral and insulting to Jesus to use the body and blood of Christ the reconciler as a weapon to silence free speech and demean the love of a committed, legally married couple,” said Knox.
[...]
CNSNews.com asked Boehner at his press briefing Thursday whether he believed that Knox should resign.
“He should resign. And I have agreed to sign a letter,” said Boehner. “We can’t have in the White House an anti-Catholic bigot, and that’s what this gentleman appears to be.”
Boehner is a Roman Catholic.
[More]
Labels: Anti-Catholicism, Culture of Death, Obama, Pope, Pro-Life, Republicans, Sodom and Gomorrah
posted by Pro Ecclesia 3:46 PM
0 comments
From The Telegraph:
Ministers had tried to include a new definition of a priest in the flagship anti-discrimination law, but church leaders complained that it was far too narrow.
They said it would mean religious organisations could no longer opt out of equality rules, and so would face prosecution unless they went against their beliefs by employing homosexuals. Roman Catholics feared they would be forced to admit women to the priesthood for the first time.
In an unprecedented intervention in British politics, on Monday the Pope declared that Britain’s equality laws are imposing “unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs”.
The controversial clause was struck out of the legislation during committee stage in the House of Lords last week, but clergy feared Labour would try to put it back in before the law entered the statute book.
However the Equality Bill is seen by Gordon Brown's allies as Harriet Harman's bill and party startegists are anxious that contentious parts of the bill do not become a part of the election attack against Labour.
Mr Brown visted the Pope while he was Chancellor and has enjoyed good relations with the Vatican on issues such as world poverty. Number 10 also points out that there are many Catholic Labour MPs who wil be upset that the new Bill has provoked such strong recation from Rome.
Downing Street is anxious that relations remain cordial and has now indicated that they will drop the contentious parts of the Bill...
Labels: Anti-Catholicism, Dictatorship of Relativism, England, Pope, Religious Persecution, Secularism, Sodom and Gomorrah, United Kingdom
posted by Pro Ecclesia 9:00 AM
0 comments
From The Telegraph:
Benedict XVI claimed that legislation introduced by Labour to end discrimination “actually violates natural law” as it stops worshippers remaining true to their beliefs.The dictatorship of relativism was quick to go on the offensive in attacking the Holy Father:
He said that rather than making society more equal, the Government's new rules limit religious freedom.
His strongly-worded intervention in British politics comes after leaders of both the Roman Catholic Church and Church of England clashed with Labour over its flagship Equality Bill, which they fear will make them admit homosexuals to the priesthood or face prosecution for discriminating against them.
In an address delivered on Monday to 35 Catholic bishops from England and Wales, the pope attacked the implications of Labour’s equality laws.
He said: “Your country is well known for its firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society. Yet... the effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs."
He went on: "In some respects it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed."
[More]
... Speaking at a meeting of the European Parliament's Socialists and Democrats in Rome, Stephen Hughes criticised Pope Benedict's concern that the Equality Bill would restrict religious groups from acting in accordance with their faith.
'As a Catholic, I am appalled by the attitude of the Pope. Religious leaders should be trying to eradicate inequality, not perpetuate it,' Hughes said in a statement reproduced on his website. 'Instead of criticising the UK's plans to improve its legislation, the Pope should ensure that existing EU legislation is properly applied in the Vatican,' Hughes said.
The Pope, who announced the first papal visit to Britain since 1982 on Monday, urged Bishops from England and Wales to make a convincing case against legislation that could force churches to hire homosexuals or transsexuals. He said the legislation violates natural law and told the visiting bishops they should fight it with 'missionary zeal.' Human Rights groups have hit back at the Pope's comments...
Labels: Anti-Catholicism, Dictatorship of Relativism, Europe, Political Correctness, Pope, Religious Persecution, Sodom and Gomorrah, United Kingdom
posted by Pro Ecclesia 10:40 AM
0 comments
Maggie Gallagher reports at The Corner:
San Francisco's city attorney, Therese Stewart, examining Yale Prof. George Chauncey, seems to suggest pretty strongly that Catholics' (and Baptists'!) views on marriage are illegitimate. Voters influenced by Professor Chauncey's books have rights, but voters influenced by any of the great faith traditions are . . . haters and bigots. Maybe this is good constitutional law — but could you try any harder to confirm religious people's fears about where gay marriage is heading?My Comments:
Remember, this is the official attorney for the city government that officially condemned the Catholic church and asked the sitting archbishop to defy church teaching. I don't know how the state could get any more involved in the church than by telling church leaders to defy their own religion at its behest.
Labels: Anti-Catholicism, Culture of Death, Faith and Family, Families, Marriage, Religious Persecution, Sodom and Gomorrah
posted by Pro Ecclesia 4:18 PM
1 comments
The Cranky Conservative has the details:
... grossly distorted and ignorant op-ed written by Robert McCartney.(emphasis added)Question: Why would Washington’s Roman Catholic archdiocese let a dispute over employment benefits, which would have little practical effect, cause it to give up doing valuable, publicly funded work helping the homeless and sick?[...]
Answer: Because the church doesn’t want to miss an opportunity, however small, to oppose homosexuals’ right to wed.
Lest you think I’m guilty of engaging in distortrion myself, here’ the next paragraph.That’s the lesson I’ve drawn from the dispute between the archdiocese and the D.C. Council over the same-sex marriage bill. Unless there’s a compromise before the council’s decisive vote, scheduled for Tuesday, the church would reduce its social welfare activities in ways that signal it thinks they’re less important than taking a stand against same-sex marriage.Again, this is nothing but supposition. The diocese has taken a stance that McCartney disapproves of, and instead of engaging the arguments, he chooses to question the authenticity of his opponents. Disgusting.I write this as someone who is not Catholic (I’m Protestant) but who has taken an interest in religious issues and the church since I helped cover the Vatican for the Associated Press in Rome in the early 1980s. I view the church as a tremendous force for good in the world in many ways, especially in its advocacy for the poor and against violence. The U.S. church supports more ambitious health-care reform than Barack Obama does, for instance.Ahh, so we have the concern troll phenomenon at work here. The author is not even a Catholic, but he presumes he has the ability to read the hearts and minds of Catholic prelates. And the Church is a-okay as long as it only engages in actions and supports the same causes as the author...
[Read the whole thing]
Labels: Anti-Catholicism, Bishops, Catholic Social Teaching, Marriage, Media, Pro-Life, Sex, Social Justice, Sodom and Gomorrah
posted by Pro Ecclesia 2:06 PM
1 comments
(Hat tip: The Opinionated Catholic)
President Obama, the man trusted by the USCCB to do the "right thing" on health care, has declared war on marriage and, by implication, the Catholic Church.Meanwhile, Whispers in the Loggia reports that a draft copy of that pastoral has been leaked to National Catholic Reporter, and that particular rag is none too pleased about its contents:
Speaking to the nation's leading homosexual rights lobbying group, the Human Rights Campaign, Obama said:You will see a time in which we as a nation finally recognize relationships between two men or two women as just as real and admirable as relationships between a man and a woman.As Deacon Keith Fournier reports and comments, "The leading voice for this Cultural Revolution is now President Barack Obama."
The question becomes whether or not the leadership of the Catholic Church, both bishops and laity, are going to respond vigorously and loudly to Obama's direct challenge to one of its non-negotiable teachings.
How can the USCCB remain silent when the President of the United States said he wants Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act?
[...]
Perhaps the upcoming bishop's pastoral on marriage -- still a month away -- will provide an opportunity for more pointed comment on Obama's threat to the Defense of Marriage Act.
... the centerpiece action-item of this year's USCCB November Meeting has been leaked.GOOD! That's outstanding news! We can be comforted by the fact that if the National Anti-Catholic Distorter hates it, it MUST be full of solid Catholic teaching on the sanctity of marriage.
Currently weighing in at 57 pages, the final committee draft of "Love and Life in the Divine Plan" -- the US bishops' long-awaited pastoral letter on marriage -- was published in full late in the day by the National Catholic Reporter, which ran the proposed text alongside an editorial calling for it to be scrapped... at least, in its current form...
Labels: Anderson's Law, Bishops, Catholic Social Teaching, Dictatorship of Relativism, Faith and Family, Families, Marriage, Obama, Sodom and Gomorrah
posted by Pro Ecclesia 11:31 AM
4 comments
Actor Rod Steiger's ironic response (at least it's ironic in light of current events) in 1999 to film director Elia Kazan (89 years old at the time) being awarded an Honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement for such works as "On the Waterfront".
In order to completely understand the perverse nature of Hollywood’s almost-total support for director Roman Polanski in his effort to fight extradition and avoid the consequences of his conviction for statutory rape 32 years ago, recall their attitude towards another seminal director ten years ago. When the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announced that they would give a lifetime achievement Oscar to Elia Kazan, many in Hollywood erupted in anger and protest. After all, Kazan had committed the unpardonable sin of naming names of Communists in Hollywood to the House Un-American Activities Committee.
[More]
Labels: Communists, Crime and Punishment, Culture, Dictatorship of Relativism, Hypocrites, Ivory Tower Elitists, Law, Media, Movies, Preening Pseudo-Sophisticates, Sex, Sodom and Gomorrah
posted by Pro Ecclesia 1:00 AM
1 comments
(Hat tip: Joe Carter at First Thoughts)
Roman Polanski raped a child. Let's just start right there, because that's the detail that tends to get neglected when we start discussing whether it was fair for the bail-jumping director to be arrested at age 76, after 32 years in "exile" (which in this case means owning multiple homes in Europe, continuing to work as a director, marrying and fathering two children, even winning an Oscar, but never -- poor baby -- being able to return to the U.S.). Let's keep in mind that Roman Polanski gave a 13-year-old girl a Quaalude and champagne, then raped her, before we start discussing whether the victim looked older than her 13 years, or that she now says she'd rather not see him prosecuted because she can't stand the media attention. Before we discuss how awesome his movies are or what the now-deceased judge did wrong at his trial, let's take a moment to recall that according to the victim's grand jury testimony, Roman Polanski instructed her to get into a jacuzzi naked, refused to take her home when she begged to go, began kissing her even though she said no and asked him to stop; performed cunnilingus on her as she said no and asked him to stop; put his penis in her vagina as she said no and asked him to stop; asked if he could penetrate her anally, to which she replied, "No," then went ahead and did it anyway, until he had an orgasm.
[...]
Polanski was "demonized by the press" because he raped a child, and was convicted because he pled guilty. He "feared heavy sentencing" because drugging and raping a child is generally frowned upon by the legal system. Shore really wants us to pity him because of these things? (And, I am not making this up, boycott the entire country of Switzerland for arresting him.)
As ludicrous as Shore's post is, I have to agree with Fecke that my favorite Polanski apologist is the Washington Post's Anne Applebaum, who finds it "bizarre" that anyone is still pursuing this case. And who also, by the by, failed to disclose the tiny, inconsequential detail that her husband, Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski, is actively pressuring U.S. authorities to drop the case.There is evidence of judicial misconduct in the original trial. There is evidence that Polanski did not know her real age. Polanski, who panicked and fled the U.S. during that trial, has been pursued by this case for 30 years, during which time he has never returned to America, has never returned to the United Kingdom., has avoided many other countries, and has never been convicted of anything else. He did commit a crime, but he has paid for the crime in many, many ways: In notoriety, in lawyers' fees, in professional stigma. He could not return to Los Angeles to receive his recent Oscar. He cannot visit Hollywood to direct or cast a film.There is also evidence that Polanski raped a child. There is evidence that the victim did not consent, regardless of her age. There is evidence -- albeit purely anecdotal, in this case -- that only the most debased crapweasel thinks "I didn't know she was 13!" is a reasonable excuse for raping a child, much less continuing to rape her after she's said no repeatedly. There is evidence that the California justice system does not hold that "notoriety, lawyers' fees and professional stigma" are an appropriate sentence for child rape.
But hey, he wasn't allowed to pick up his Oscar in person! For the love of all that's holy, hasn't the man suffered enough?
[Read the whole thing]
Needless to say, this reminds me of the left’s umbrage at conservatives daring to bring up Chappaquiddick after Teddy died. Yeah, he left a woman to drown and then made jokes about it afterwards; he was for universal health care, though, wasn’t he? Same with Polanski: Dare we deny the man who made “Chinatown” an occasional drugging and raping of a child? Sure, a kid gets traumatized for life, but on the other side of the scale: “Rosemary’s Baby.” It’d be sweet if the left could come up with some sort of mathematical formula by which we could tell whether an artist or liberal politician has exceeded his quotient of moral indulgence. I’m assuming “Chinatown” wasn’t so awesome that Polanski would be excused for shooting a kid in the head at point-blank range, so evidently the film’s “worth” less than that but more than a child-rape. Let’s figure out just how much of a liberal hero you have to be to get away with certain crimes.(emphasis added)
Just for a moment I want you to imagine that Roman Polanski was a priest. Frightening, yes? But for the sake of my point imagine that he's a priest who drugged and raped a thirteen year old.And writing at Politics Daily, David Gibson has similar thoughts:
Imagine he's a priest who fled to France so as to avoid punishment for his crime. Imagine that he flaunted his freedom in America's face for decades.
Now imagine that Roman Polanski as a priest was apprehended by the police after all those years. Now, imagine what the media would be saying...
[More]
... There is the obvious parallel to the cases in the Catholic Church, which have rightly scandalized the public and the media. Prosecutors and plaintiffs' attorneys have been dogged in pursuing these cases -- whether out of concern for their careers or for justice -- and the outrage was so widespread that the State of California created a one-year window in 2003 during which the statute of limitations on abuse crimes by Catholic priests (and others) was lifted. That meant the victims of men who were often long dead could finally get their day in court, or find some sense of justice and closure -- and for cases that were no more egregious than Polanski's abuse of Geimer. Polanski is alive, at least.
Comparisons are by their nature invidious. But what if Roman Polanksi were wearing a Roman collar? Would "Monsignor Polanksi" receive the same considerations? As Father Thomas Reese, a Jesuit, writes at the Post's "On Faith" site, "Imagine if the Knights of Columbus decided to give an award to a pedophile priest who had fled the country to avoid prison. The outcry would be universal." And rightly so, as Reese says. But Polanski gets an Oscar in absentia in 2003 and earns sympathy because he can't receive it in person...
... Polanski’s defenders cite his brilliance as an Important Director of Important Films as a reason it’s not only wrong, but outrageous, to punish him for his past crimes. This is similar to the arguments made in favor of releasing convicted cop-killer Mumia abu Jamal from prison, a point of view enthusiastically held by at least one high-ranking member of the Obama Administration: that fabled Rohrschach inkblot of liberal stupidity, Van Jones. Mumia’s delicate writing hand is much more important than the one he used to shoot Officer Daniel Faulkner in the back.I'll never forget that bunch of leftist communist sympathizers in Hollywood - lefties like Nick Nolte and Ed Harris - sitting on their hands when Elia Kazan was awarded an Oscar for lifetime achievement. And when it comes to irony, it's hard to beat this quote from the late Rod Steiger regarding Kazan's Oscar award:
The Left also issues Get Out of Jail Free cards to people other than artists. The Polanski defense is a nostalgic karaoke rendition of the 1998 anthem “Perjury About Sex Is Not A Crime,” sung on Bill Clinton’s behalf. Perjury, infidelity, and what the antique feminist movement used to call “sexual harassment” were small prices to pay for Clinton’s inspirational leadership.
You can’t say the Left is entirely soft on crime, however. There are some scofflaws they’ll never stop trying to put behind bars. CIA agents who kept America safe from terrorists, for example. None of the terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay was innocent, or thirteen years old, and none of them were drugged, raped, and sodomized, but the Obama Administration is keen on prosecuting the people who interrogated them. If Roman Polanski had covered his victim’s face with a wet towel, maybe his defense would be a bit less energetic.
Another individual the Left wants brought to justice is Karl Rove, for the crime of being Karl Rove. The other charges against him range from being nebulous to absurd, but rest assured, it would be a great day for America if we could frog-march that villain into the vacant cell left behind by a liberated Mumia abu Jamal. Best of all would be the trial and imprisonment of George W. Bush, a fantasy the Left holds with the intensity of a small child shivering through a sleepless Christmas Eve. Bush actually did the stuff Clinton just talked about - liberating the people of Iraq from monstrous tyranny, fighting AIDS in Africa - but it earns him no slack from liberal vigilantes. He did more for women’s rights than anyone alive today - you can ask the women of Afghanistan about it, now that their faces aren’t wrapped in upholstery - but he didn’t do anything really important, like make a movie about the sexual oppression of suburban America.
[...]
George Bush’s first offense was denying America the brilliant, socially aware, technocratic leadership of Al Gore. The statue of limitations will never run out on something like that. Meanwhile, forcing a beloved Hollywood director to end his life in the slammer for a little error in judgment, like rape, would be unthinkably crass… as long as his Party credentials are in order. That is why the same people who turned their backs on Elia Kazan weep for Roman Polanski today, and will weep again at his career retrospective, on some future Oscar night. The Party may have changed its name, and adjusted its methods, but it still remembers what Kazan did to it, and his sentence extends far beyond the end of his life.
"Age and ability in the arts or anything else, in my opinion, does not excuse a crime,'' says Rod Steiger, star of "On the Waterfront."Funny thing is, Kazan's informing on a bunch of commies wasn't a crime. Drugging and raping a little girl, however, is.
Labels: Crime and Punishment, Culture, Dictatorship of Relativism, Europe, Hypocrites, Ivory Tower Elitists, Judiciary, Law, Liars, Media, Movies, Preening Pseudo-Sophisticates, Sex, Sodom and Gomorrah
posted by Pro Ecclesia 8:32 AM
5 comments
Hat tip to Regular Guy Paul for calling my attention to this newest assault on the sanctity of marriage:
This morning, Representative Jerry Nadler (D-New York) announced he will introduce a bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). This law defines marriage for federal purposes and ensures that states are not forced to recognize alternate definitions. DOMA passed overwhelmingly in 1996 by 342-67 in the House and 85-14 in the Senate.The Regular Guy had this reaction:
Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America (CWA), said, "The citizens of 39 states have worked hard to pass legislation and constitutional amendments to protect marriage as the union between one man and one woman. DOMA ensures the integrity of our constitutional system and the will of Americans. DOMA reflects the reality that marriage provides unique benefits to individuals, children, and society which cannot be replicated by any other living arrangement.
"The Defense of Marriage Act anticipated the assault that homosexual activists would inflict upon marriage. Through DOMA, the will of the people is honored, as evidenced in the 39 states that have passed laws protecting marriage."
[More]
All the staff, cast and crew here at Thoughts of a Regular Guy would like to welcome the gay marriage issue back to the national agenda for another election cycle.The 2010 elections should be very interesting.
Labels: Culture of Death, Democrats, Families, Marriage, Sodom and Gomorrah
posted by Pro Ecclesia 8:40 PM
0 comments
(Hat tip: Creative Minority Report)
I hate to bring this up again, given how the combox chatter will go, but the next time somebody asks, rhetorically, how Adam and Steve's marriage is going to hurt anybody else, refer them to this National Public Radio story. Excerpt:(emphasis added)As states have legalized same-sex partnerships, the rights of gay couples have consistently trumped the rights of religious groups. Marc Stern, general counsel for the American Jewish Congress, says that does not mean that a pastor can be sued for preaching against same-sex marriage. But, he says, that may be just about the only religious activity that will be protected.***
"What if a church offers marriage counseling? Will they be able to say 'No, we're not going to help gay couples get along because it violates our religious principles to do so? What about summer camps? Will they be able to insist that gay couples not serve as staff because they're a bad example?" Stern asks.
Stern says if the early cases are any guide, the outlook is grim for religious groups.
A few cases: Yeshiva University was ordered to allow same-sex couples in its married dormitory. A Christian school has been sued for expelling two allegedly lesbian students. Catholic Charities abandoned its adoption service in Massachusetts after it was told to place children with same-sex couples. The same happened with a private company operating in California.
A psychologist in Mississippi who refused to counsel a lesbian couple lost her case, and legal experts believe that a doctor who refused to provide IVF services to a lesbian woman is about to lose his pending case before the California Supreme Court.
And then there's the case of a wedding photographer in Albuquerque, N.M.
It's coming...
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Labels: Anti-Catholicism, Faith and Family, Families, Marriage, Religious Persecution, Sodom and Gomorrah
posted by Pro Ecclesia 7:53 AM
1 comments
(Hat tip: Mark Shea)
For those who were shocked by Obama "faith" advisor Harry Knox knocking the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic men's group, as an "army of oppression," he is not alone. Gay activists are now taking pride in getting Knights charity drives crushed at supermarkets.(emphasis added)
Metro Weekly, a D.C-based gay "news" magazine, honored a man for his "Storefront Stand" -- he harassed Knights of Columbus volunteers raising funds for the mentally disabled (usually with Tootsie Roll candies) outside a Safeway store in northern Virginia. Allison also succeeded in getting other Knights thrown off one Giant supermarket's property. To passers-by at Safeway, Brad Allison compared the Knights to the Ku Klux Klan: "It is a bit of an extreme point to be making, but I thought it was effective."
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Each time the Knights of Columbus man would say, "Would you like to help disabled children?" I would speak up and say, "They are not helping disabled children. They gave $1.4 million to Prop 8 last year. Not a penny of that $1.4 million helped a single disabled child. They are a political group pretending to be a charitable group in order to get your money."
Again, over and over this worked. People put their dollars back in their pockets.
***
Metro Weekly also reported that Allison's complaints to a manager at a Giant supermarket at Greenbriar Town Center in Fairfax County were immediately successful in ending the Knights charity drive at that store...
[More]
Labels: Culture of Death, Knights of Columbus, Sodom and Gomorrah
posted by Pro Ecclesia 8:24 PM
9 comments
See my post on the subject at Catholics in the Public Square:
Labels: "Religious Left", Anti-Catholicism, Culture of Death, Dictatorship of Relativism, Dissident Catholics, England, Pope, Pseudo-religion, Sex, Sodom and Gomorrah, United Kingdom
posted by Pro Ecclesia 6:38 AM
7 comments
A convert to the Catholic Church who became Catholic because of a belief in and devotion to the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. * A graduate of Baylor University and the University of Virginia School of Law. * Former Mayor of the Town of Columbia, Virginia. * Married with four children: two boys and two girls. * Primary interests include the Catholic Church, family, Early American History, and law/politics * Primary purpose of this blog is fostering enlightened discussion about the roles played by the institutions of religion, family, and state in our daily lives. * Under the protection of St. Thomas More, martyr, and patron of lawyers, judges, civil servants, politicians, statesmen, and large families (not to mention troubled marriages).
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Our Parish:
St. Mary, Mother of the Redeemer Church in Norwalk, Ohio
What They're Saying About
Pro Ecclesia * Pro Familia * Pro Civitate
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Pat Archbold of Creative Minority Report, writing at National Catholic Register
Pro Ecclesia: PH, R, C, T, O
[PH - Phariseeism; R - Republicanism; C - Clericalism; T - Traditionalism; O - Offensive (anti-womyn, anti-GLBTNA, etc)]"
~ Fr. Tim at Spirit of Vatican 2 "Catholic" Faith Community
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Contributing Editors:
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Jay Anderson of Pro Ecclesia * Pro Familia * Pro Civitate
Jeff Miller of The Curt Jester
David Schrader of Catholics for Bush
Christopher Blosser of Against The Grain
Directors:
Stephen Dillard of Southern Appeal
Christopher Blosser of Against The Grain
Jay Anderson of Pro Ecclesia * Pro Familia * Pro Civitate
I'm a Rat Bastard in the Pro Ecclesia Lexicon of Political Epithets
A view of the Jacobite Flag at Culloden
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National Trust for Scotland
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St. Thomas More,
Pray For Us
Patron of Statesmen, Politicians, Judges and Lawyers, your life of prayer and penance and your zeal for justice, integrity and firm principle in public and family life led you to the path of martyrdom and sainthood. Intercede for our Statesmen, Politicians, Judges and Lawyers, that they may be courageous and effective in their defense and promotion of the sanctity of human life - the foundation of all other human rights. We ask this through Christ our Lord. AMEN.
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Thomas More, counselor of law and patron of statesmen, merry martyr and most human of saints:
Pray that, for the glory of God and in the pursuit of His justice, I may be able in argument, accurate in analysis, keen in study, correct in conclusion, loyal to clients, honest with all, courteous to adversaries, trustworthy with confidences, courageous in court. Sit with me at my desk and listen with me to my clients' tales. Read with me in my library and stand always beside me so that today I shall not, to win a point, lose my soul.
Pray that my family may find in me what yours found in you: friendship and courage, cheerfulness and charity, diligence in duties, counsel in adversity, patience in pain -- their good servant, and God's first. AMEN.
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Prayer to St. Thomas More for Lawyers and Judges
Dear Scholar and Martyr, it was not the King of England but you who were the true Defender of the Faith. Like Christ unjustly condemned, neither promises nor threats could make you accept a civil ruler as head of the Christian Church.
Perfect in your honesty and love of truth, grant that lawyers and judges may imitate you and achieve true justice for all people. AMEN.
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"Give me the Grace Good Lord, to set the world at naught; to set my mind fast upon Thee and not to hang upon the blast of men's mouths. To be content to be solitary. Not to long for worldly company but utterly to cast off the world and rid my mind of the business thereof."
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Litany of St. Thomas More, Martyr and Patron Saint of Statesmen, Politicians and Lawyers
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"The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest."
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"What does it avail to know that there is a God, which you not only believe by Faith, but also know by Reason: what does it avail that you know Him if you think little of Him?"
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"The things that we pray for, good Lord, give us grace to labour for."
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St. Thomas More,
A Man for All Seasons
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"I die the king's good servant, and God's first."
~ On the scaffold, July 6, 1535 ~
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Give me, good Lord, a full faith and a fervent charity, a love of you, good Lord, incomparable above the love of myself; and that I love nothing to your displeasure but everything in an order to you.
Take from me, good Lord, this lukewarm fashion, or rather cold manner of meditation and this dullness in praying to you. And give me warmth, delight and life in thinking about you.
And give me your grace to long for your holy sacraments and specially to rejoice in the presence of your blessed body, sweet Saviour Christ, in the holy sacrament of the altar, and duly to thank you for your gracious coming. AMEN.
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Pro Ecclesia * Pro Familia * Pro Civitate
"The future of the world and the Church passes through the family" (Familiaris Consortio, #79).
"It is necessary to go back to seeing the family as the sanctuary of life... In the face of the so-called culture of death, the family is the heart of the culture of life" (Centesimus Annus, #39).
- Pope John Paul II
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Our Lady of Walsingham
Pray For Us!
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