My apologies for taking this post offline for a few hours. There were some link problems and other issues that had to be fixed. I think it's all OK now - DGM
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One doesn't have to look very far to find signs of the world's attack on the Church. Here are just a few examples from this week's news.
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One doesn't have to look very far to find signs of the world's attack on the Church. Here are just a few examples from this week's news.
NFL and NFLPA agree that church attendance is apparently not a good thing. I can only assume that the National Football League considers church services, which traditionally take place on Sunday, a form of competition that should be suppressed.
The league, in its new agreement with the NFL Players Association, bans players from attending any church service with an attendance greater then 25% of the church's capacity. In addition to its ban on church attendance, this latest collective bargaining agreement also prohibits players from attending such indoor venues and activities as nightclubs, bars, concerts, professional athletic events, and parties with more than 15 people in attendance. Players who violate the agreement will be fined. The NFL also encourages members of the community to report players they see attending church services...nice touch.
Conspicuously absent from the list of prohibited activities are protests. In fact, the NFL, recently tweeted that, "We, the NFL... encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest...We believe Black Lives Matter." And on its various social media accounts, the league shares photos of its players taking part in protests across the country.
One can only hope that the faithful will turn their collective backs on the NFL this season...assuming there is a season.
Destruction of Catholic Statues. The recent outbreak of statue and monument defacement and destruction seemed to begin with Black Lives Matter "protestors" taking aim at public statues of Confederate generals and politicians. But BLM and its fellow travelers in Antifa have deep Marxist roots. Their attacks on statues and symbols have, therefore, expanded to include anything or anyone who supported what we might loosely call "Western Civilization."
We're observing a new form of atheistic iconoclasm directed at Christianity in general, and the Catholic Church in particular. Indeed, the Catholic Church is the perfect "target of opportunity" for these iconoclasts because of its universal presence and because it uses many different forms of artistic expression to honor our God and His saints. Among these expressions are statues displayed on the grounds of many of its churches. In recent weeks many Catholic churches across the country have had statues defaced, damaged, or destroyed.
Public statues have also been attacked. Several statues of St. Junipero Serra, the early missionary to California who so deeply loved, defended, and protected the native people to whom he ministered, have been destroyed. As a protective measure many others have been moved to safe locations. After a statue of Father Serra in Golden Gate Park was destroyed, Archbishop Cordieone of San Francisco led the faithful in a Rosary, then prayed Pope Leo XIII's Exorcism Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel in Latin and sprinkled the site with holy water. Thank you, Archbishop. California Catholics have also taken part in vigils at the sites of many religious statues to protect them from vandals.
In Missouri, when vandals threatened to destroy the statue of St. Louis, local Catholics announced a public Rosary and counter-demonstration. Predictably, they were labeled as "white nationalists" by those bent on destruction. But the protective vigils continue despite physical attacks by BLM and Islamists.
I've provided a link (below) to a site worth visiting. It includes several videos (click on the Twitter links) showing the attacks on peaceful, prayerful Catholics protecting the statue of this saintly king:
Bible and Catechism as Hate Speech in Scotland? According to a bill making its way through the Scottish Parliament, Scots could be accused of criminal hate speech if they quoted the Bible or the Catholic Catechism. The bill would criminalize behavior or communication that stirs up hatred against any of the protected groups covered by the bill. These include race, religion. sexual orientation, and transgender identity.
Such legislation simply makes cancel culture legal, and permits the prosecution of anyone who disagrees with the current zeitgeist. Great Britain, once a champion of free speech, might well become the West's most intolerant and anti-religious society. Predictably, the Scottish government has defended the bill:
"Religious beliefs are an integral part of Scottish society and this Bill does not change that in any way...The Bill does not criminalize religious beliefs or practices and possessing a Bible would not constitute an offense...The Bill includes provisions on freedom of expression to provide reassurance that the prohibition on stirring up hatred will not limit people's right to express their faith...No one can commit a stirring up of religious hatred offense unless they act in a threatening and abusive manner or communicate threatening or abusive material that is intended to stip up hatred or likely to stir up hatred."
The problem, of course, is deciding how to define exactly what constitutes "threatening or abusive" behavior or communication. It will be interesting, and perhaps foreshadowing, to watch how this all plays out in Scotland.
"Religious beliefs are an integral part of Scottish society and this Bill does not change that in any way...The Bill does not criminalize religious beliefs or practices and possessing a Bible would not constitute an offense...The Bill includes provisions on freedom of expression to provide reassurance that the prohibition on stirring up hatred will not limit people's right to express their faith...No one can commit a stirring up of religious hatred offense unless they act in a threatening and abusive manner or communicate threatening or abusive material that is intended to stip up hatred or likely to stir up hatred."
The problem, of course, is deciding how to define exactly what constitutes "threatening or abusive" behavior or communication. It will be interesting, and perhaps foreshadowing, to watch how this all plays out in Scotland.
Joe's Pro-Abortion VP Choices. If you know me, you can probably guess that I won't be voting for Joe Biden. As I've stated many times, I have never voted for a pro-abortion candidate and never will. How sad that Joe Biden, a Catholic, is so beholden to Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and other anti-life groups, that he rejects the teachings of the Church on a multitude of issues. And sadder still that the Democrat party seems to have made abortion the key criterion for party support. Years ago pro-life Democrats were not uncommon, but not today. And, predictably, not one of Biden's current candidates for the VP job is pro-life. I find that especially troubling since all four of the top candidates are black Americans, a group that has been particularly savaged by abortion. Margaret Sanger, a eugenics supporter, founded Planned Parenthood to limit the "less desirable" races.Today, abortion is the leading cause of black American deaths, taking the lives of thousands of beautiful black infants every year.
Not long ago, Joe Biden said, "We are in a battle for the soul of this nation." I couldn't agree more, Joe.
Failure of China-Vatican Agreement? One wonders when the world will finally accept that the Communist Party of China (i.e., the Chinese government) is simply unable to be truthful or honor agreements.
Two years after the 2019 signing of the agreement between the Vatican and the Chinese government -- an agreement, by the way, that remains secret -- Chinese Catholics in the underground Church state that "parish places of prayer have been closed, the public celebration of Sunday Mass is no longer allowed, priests can do nothing but celebrate Mass privately in the house of some faithful, without communicating too many faithful for participation. Despite this, even private Masses are often stopped by local officials, not to mention catechesis courses."
And this is the underground Church, the Church in China that has always been in union with Rome. But, not surprisingly, this persecution isn't restricted to the underground Church. Members of the "official" Church are experiencing identical restrictions.
The 2019 agreement was, of course, intended to eliminate such persecution. Sounds like a terrific agreement if the goal is to destroy what was once a growing and vibrant Catholic Church in China. And then, to add salt to the wound, the Chinese have recently hacked into the Vatican's computer systems in advance of September's planned talks regarding the renewal of the 2019 agreement.
And Chinese Catholics aren't alone. The communists have applied the same level of persecution to other religions as well. Indeed, the persecution of the Uighurs (a Muslim sect) is horrendous and includes concentration camps and forced sterilization.
Perhaps it's time for the Vatican to accept that it was a serious mistake to enter into this agreement since no accord with a communist government has ever led to greater religious freedom. Far better for the Vatican to support Chinese Catholics both openly and clandestinely, to encourage governments to apply pressure on China to honor the religious freedom of its citizens, and to call on the faithful to pray for the conversion of communist China.
Note: To learn more about the persecution of the Catholic Church in China, read Joseph Cardinal Zen's enlightening book: For Love of My People: I Will Not Remain Silent.
Not long ago, Joe Biden said, "We are in a battle for the soul of this nation." I couldn't agree more, Joe.
Failure of China-Vatican Agreement? One wonders when the world will finally accept that the Communist Party of China (i.e., the Chinese government) is simply unable to be truthful or honor agreements.
Two years after the 2019 signing of the agreement between the Vatican and the Chinese government -- an agreement, by the way, that remains secret -- Chinese Catholics in the underground Church state that "parish places of prayer have been closed, the public celebration of Sunday Mass is no longer allowed, priests can do nothing but celebrate Mass privately in the house of some faithful, without communicating too many faithful for participation. Despite this, even private Masses are often stopped by local officials, not to mention catechesis courses."
And this is the underground Church, the Church in China that has always been in union with Rome. But, not surprisingly, this persecution isn't restricted to the underground Church. Members of the "official" Church are experiencing identical restrictions.
The 2019 agreement was, of course, intended to eliminate such persecution. Sounds like a terrific agreement if the goal is to destroy what was once a growing and vibrant Catholic Church in China. And then, to add salt to the wound, the Chinese have recently hacked into the Vatican's computer systems in advance of September's planned talks regarding the renewal of the 2019 agreement.
And Chinese Catholics aren't alone. The communists have applied the same level of persecution to other religions as well. Indeed, the persecution of the Uighurs (a Muslim sect) is horrendous and includes concentration camps and forced sterilization.
Perhaps it's time for the Vatican to accept that it was a serious mistake to enter into this agreement since no accord with a communist government has ever led to greater religious freedom. Far better for the Vatican to support Chinese Catholics both openly and clandestinely, to encourage governments to apply pressure on China to honor the religious freedom of its citizens, and to call on the faithful to pray for the conversion of communist China.
Note: To learn more about the persecution of the Catholic Church in China, read Joseph Cardinal Zen's enlightening book: For Love of My People: I Will Not Remain Silent.
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There's so much more in this week's news, but I'm too tired and it's time for dinner.
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