Sacrilege!
Reparation!
“A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying, 'You are mad; you are not like us.” ― St. Antony the Great
Which brings us back to our original question: Why would people choose a counterfeit over the real thing? The answer in both cases is the same: because they do not want the original. But - and this is key - the motivation in both cases is diametrically opposite. Whereas "moderate" Muslims are eager to ignore the truth of Islam because they don't want the killing, the oppression, the barbarity, the cruelty, the misogyny - in short, the true face of radical Islam, "modern" Catholics are eager to ignore the truth of Catholicism because they don't want to be called to repentance, to mortification, to self-denial, to patience, to humility, to chastity, to charity - in short, the true face of radical Catholicism. In the former case, it is the vitality and strength of their humanity which blinds them to the truth; in the latter, it is the depravity and weakness of the same.
Assyrian Monument vandalised in Sydney, Australia in 2101. |
Clayton Ruby, who appeared in court on behalf of his client Friday, said Levin “will be making a guilty plea,” but would not stipulate on which of the child-exploitation offences, which included accessing, possessing, writing and distributing child pornography, counselling someone to commit sexual assault, and making an arrangement with a police officer to commit sexual assault.
Educated at Harvard and a highly respected tenured professor at the University of Toronto’s prestigious Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Levin has been deputy education minister in both Manitoba and Ontario. He recently served as OISE’s Canada Research Chair in Leadership and Educational Change and was also part of Premier Kathleen Wynne’s transition team in early 2013 after Dalton McGuinty stepped down. (As deputy minister of education for most of 2005-2009, Levin also served under Wynne during her stint as minister.
A French friend, a Catholic religious in Jerusalem and well-known biblical scholar, told me recently that in their convent, there was an old Muslim who had worked for them for a long, long time as a factotum. Honest, trustworthy and a hard worker, he had become part of the family and all the religious had great affection for him which was sincerely reciprocal. One Friday, the man came back from the mosque with a dejected air about him. The Superior of the House, after insisting, was finally able to make him talk. He said: “Today the Imam who conducts the prayers told us during the sermon that, on the day of the triumph of Allah and his Prophet, which will arrive soon, we will then rid this Holy City of Jews and Christians, and all of those infidels who don’t make a profession of faith at once will have to be killed. This is what the Koran wills and we are bound to obey it.” There was a pause, then: “But have no fear Father, you know that I love all of you. I know what to do if I have to kill you, I’ll find the way not to make you suffer.”
"Could there be something personal, even needy, about all this? I know Mary Wagner’s supporters will react strongly to what I have said and I have already been rudely condemned for gently questioning her stance on my television show, but the question has to be asked: is this about the unborn or about Mary Wagner?"The issue is about the unborn as the letter from Mary's mother testifies; I am shocked that Coren would even question her motives. He clearly does not know her and has never spoken with her. The issue is also about Mary Wagner and Linda Gibbons and others who risked everything for the truth.
“Therefore, I do not wish to lend our voice to notions which might suggest that same-sex couples are a threat incapable of sharing relationships marked by love and holiness and, thus, incapable of contributing to the edification of both the church and the wider society."
“There should be recognition of a diversity of forms,” … “We have to look inside the Church for a formal recognition of the kind of interpersonal relationship that is also present in many gay couples. Just as there are a variety of legal frameworks for partners in civil society, one must arrive at a diversity of forms in the Church.” … “The intrinsic values are more important to me than the institutional question. The Christian ethic is based on lasting relationships where exclusivity, loyalty and care are central to each other,” … “Personally, I find that in the Church more space must be given to acknowledge the actual quality of gay and lesbian couples; and such a form of shared-life should meet the same criteria as found in an ecclesiastical marriage.”
"Hopefully we can find some accommodation where (same-sex) unions are accepted and respected and they can have a part in the church life." … "To be homosexual is no barrier to holiness and compassion. We have a number of men who are very good and excellent priests who have same-sex orientation and are doing a great job. And there will probably be more in the future."
Michael, you have missed the point entirely. You said that Mary went to the abortion clinic to be arrested. Wrong. Mary goes to the abortion clinic in an eleventh hour attempt to save the life of a baby who is being carried to his appointment with death. She knows that it is likely that she will be arrested, but she never gives up hope that other pro-lifers will join her there and make it impossible for the judicial system to handle the crowd. You said that she is breaking the law. Yes, a law that is wrong. In the same way that good Germans broke the law in hiding Jews from the Nazi exterminators in the great war. You made other personal disparaging remarks about Mary while defending the indefensible, our Justice system. It is easy for us on the outside, who lead banal and pseudo peaceful lives, to consider the actions of Mary to be reprehensible. So were the acts of Christ, so much so that the political powers of that day had to crucify Him to silence him. I hope this isn't what has to happen to Mary to get you on side. Or maybe you will think she brought it on herself. You resent the Poles for calling us a Fascist country, which by our very actions define us to be. How can you be a proud Canadian when you know that our government supports the wholesale slaughter of innocents, and has a law in place to protect them from public outcry? I wonder which side you really sit on Michael. As Mary's mother, I am deeply ashamed of you and those who share your thinking. Jane Wagner.Treated as a Catholic heroine in Poland and a pariah by our own as Barona reports.
What I didn't say in my column today was that many right-wing Catholics are so angry with Pope Francis that they are - implicitly and often explicitly - questioning Papal authority; without that, of course, Roman Catholicism has no distinct meaning. Not that right-wing Catholics are alone in this; liberals exhibited the same attitude about John Paul and Benedict. All of which leads us to ask just how many Catholics actually believe that the Pope is the direct descendant of Peter and has exclusive authority. In a world of open debate, encouraged dissent and fierce social media this presents a profound problem for Roman Catholicism. It's going to be an interesting 2015.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote: “After the Second Vatican Council, the impression arose that the pope really could do anything … especially if he were acting on the mandate of an ecumenical council … In fact, the First Vatican Council had in no way defined the pope as an absolute monarch. On the contrary, it presented him as the guarantor of obedience to the revealed Word. The pope’s authority is bound to the Tradition of faith … The authority of the pope is not unlimited; it is at the service of Sacred Tradition.”
And this is what Vatican I had defined: “The Holy Spirit was not promised to Peter’s successors so that by its revelation they might disclose new doctrine, but, so that, by its assistance, they might devoutly guard and faithfully set forth the revelation handed down through the Apostles.
“She, during her earthly life, knew no small difficulties, joined to the daily fatigue of existence,” he said. “But she never lost peace of heart, the fruit of trustful abandonment to the mercy of God. Let us ask Mary, our tender Mother, to show to the whole world the sure path of love and of peace.”
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"The Gospel does not tell us anything: if she spoke a word or not… She was silent, but in her heart, how many things told the Lord! ‘You, that day, this and the other that we read, you had told me that he would be great, you had told me that you would have given him the throne of David, his forefather, that he would have reigned forever and now I see him there!’ Our Lady was human! And perhaps she even had the desire to say: ‘Lies! I was deceived!’"