The occasional, often ill-considered thoughts of a Roman Catholic permanent deacon who is ever grateful to God for his existence. Despite the strangeness we encounter in this life, all the suffering we witness and endure, being is good, so good I am sometimes unable to contain my joy. Deo gratias!


Although I am an ordained deacon of the Catholic Church, the opinions expressed in this blog are my personal opinions. In offering these personal opinions I am not acting as a representative of the Church or any Church organization.

Friday, November 20, 2020

Timely Thoughts

I've hesitated to post anything about the recent elections and their aftermath, but I suppose it's time to write at least a few things about it all. What follows are, of course, my personal views and I do not speak for the Catholic Church.

The Presidential Election. To say I am disappointed in the apparent results of the presidential election would be an understatement. I suppose the outcome is not yet confirmed, so things could change. After all, Al Gore made the nation dance to his tune for well over a month back in 2000. But from a Catholic and Christian perspective Joe Biden does not fill me with hope.

Like Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden is one of those “devout, practicing Catholics” who actually rejects much of what the Catholic Church teaches. He seems to support the suppression of religious freedom for which the left wing of his political party is becoming increasingly famous. I suspect this will continue and likely intensify under a Biden administration unless the Supreme Court steps in to protect Americans’ first amendment rights. 

Big government likes the idea of controlling all aspects of peoples’ lives, including their religious teachings and practices. Even in a pandemic, when it comes to the celebration of the liturgy, the bishops make the relevant decisions, not government officials. The UK is also experiencing similar intrusions by government as officials ban the celebration of Mass by Catholics. Speaking in the House of Commons, former UK prime minister, Theresa May, put it well when she said, “Making it illegal to conduct an act of worship for the best of intentions sets a precedent that could be misused for a government in the future with the worst of intentions.” 

The American left has also become increasingly anti-Semitic. AOC and her “squad” of Marxist know-nothings openly despise Israel (and Jews) and have infected many in the Democrat Party with their ideology of hate. They also seem to have the ear of Joe Biden.

More disturbing, however, is Joe Biden’s support of the wholesale slaughter of unborn children up until the moment of birth. As I’ve said before, anyone who will support abortion, the horrific, dismembering killing of the most innocent human lives, will support anything. Mr Biden also tosses Church teaching into the trash by supporting homosexual “marriage” and so-called “transgender” rights. In truth, science (a gift from our God) shows that transgenderism does not exist. Just check the DNA. It’s not changed by either surgery or hormonal additives. A male remains a male, a female a female, just as God made them. 

The Washington Post and the New York Times, two newspapers with a direct line to Joe Biden, just announced that, as President, one of Biden’s first moves will be to scrap all of President Trump’s pro-life policies. When the Supreme Court supported Hobby Lobby and the Little Sisters of the Poor, protecting them from invasive governmental mandates regarding contraception, Joe Biden clearly stated what he would do as president: “As disappointing as the Supreme Court’s ruling is, there is a clear path to fixing it: electing a new President who will end Donald Trump’s ceaseless attempts to gut every aspect of the Affordable Care Act.” 

The growing leftist movement within the Democrat Party, in its evolving “woke” state, has become increasingly totalitarian. This, of course, is the ultimate goal of all political correctness. PC thought and practice have definite Marxist origins (see discussion here) and are a key element of the left’s political agenda. It’s an agenda of control, one which employs such tactics as “cancel culture” to suppress those who do not toe the leftist ideological line. That’s right, folks, you will be punished for expressing contrary — i.e., conservative, religious, or other unacceptable — views or, perish the thought, actually doing things of which the reigning powers disapprove. 

The left looks to those who have traditionally supported the Democrat Party, but their political grip on these folks is beginning to slip. The party demands that African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, women — basically anyone other than white males — must not think for themselves or do what is best for them and for their families. They must remain on their respective plantations and do what their “masters” tell them. How did Nancy Pelosi put it not long ago when actually challenged by a liberal media type who questioned her response to the homeless? “We feed them!” she shouted. Yes, indeed, she feeds them and cares for them and keeps them dependent, hoping they don’t succeed. Nancy and her friends on the left need the needy to reman always in need.


Governors, Mayors, and Other Elites. Did you happen to catch California Governor Gavin Newsom’s apology? Of course, it was issued only after he was caught dining with a crowd of friends at Napa County’s toney French Laundry Restaurant  (By the way, meals there reportedly start at $350 a head, before wine.) Newsom and his large group of friends, including the head of the California Medical Association, sat together indoors, without masks, and certainly not separated by any social distancing. This elitist and grossly incompetent governor threatens citizens with arrest for breaking his rules, but willfully violates them whenever he pleases. Below is a  photo of the governor and his friends flaunting what they demand of regular Californians. Oh, yes, if you think the governor used his own money to pay for his meal, guess again. I’m pretty sure it was paid for by either of two possible sources: the taxpayers or one of the lobbyists who was present that evening.


In the former Soviet Union, the Communist Party elites were called the nomenklatura and enjoyed extensive privileges unavailable to the average citizen. In other words, they lived like royalty while the people lived in a socialist hell. This is the kind of society the American left would love to see. It’s another good reason for voter-imposed term limits. Send them all packing before they discover how easy it is to feather their own nests. As one wag stated the other day, “If you want to live well during a pandemic, just get yourself elected to something.”

U. S. Bishops. The U.S. Bishops were quick to congratulate Joe Biden after the election. Following the lead of the mainstream media, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, stated, “We recognize that Joseph R. Biden, Jr. has received enough votes to be elected the 46th President of the United States. We congratulate Mr. Biden and acknowledge that he joins the late President John F. Kennedy as the second United States president to profess the Catholic faith.” 

Of course, the USCCB said nothing about Mr. Biden’s rejection of Catholic teaching on a multitude of moral issues. But they did say a lot about “democracy.” This makes one wonder about their understanding of our almost 250-year-old political system which, as a constitutional republic, is in no way a democracy. Assuming Mr. Biden ultimately becomes president, it will be interesting to see how the bishops react when a President Biden implements his distorted moral vision through legislation, regulation, and executive order.

It seems the bishops of Italy responded very differently to the pandemic. The following observations were taken from an article by Sofia Abasolo published in late September in the Catholic Herald. (Click here to read the entire article.) I thought it worth including some of her comments here;

“One example of this occurred during the pandemic emergency. When the country went into lockdown, the bishops were slow to point out that religious worship was a constitutionally protected right, and as such could not be subject to state intervention. Mass was interrupted for several weeks, provoking much criticism from clergy and laypeople alike. And yet I couldn’t help but notice that at no point were churches shut. They remained open for solitary worship every day of lockdown, and worship was legally protected as an essential need, just like buying newspapers or groceries.


“There were two weeks when going out for a walk was prohibited, but going to kneel before the Eucharist was not. What’s more, the sacraments were always available – priests had to be approached to hear Confession and administer the Eucharist (complying with the new hygiene standards), but they were never legally prohibited from doing so, and they never rejected my requests when I asked.

“When it looked as if cinemas would open before Mass was reinstated, the bishops finally spoke up in resistance, and the government responded by amending their decree, announcing the return of Mass (with limits on numbers of attendees) as restaurants and cafes opened up their doors.”

“The bishops finally spoke up in resistance...” How many of our bishops have publicly resisted the government’s intrusion into the religious freedom protected by our Constitution?

Persecution of Christians. Pew Research Center, among the more reliable sources of information on what’s happening in the world from a religious perspective, has issued a study on religious persecution for 2018. This is the most recent year for which complete data is available. The results of their study are not encouraging. The persecution of Christians has increased worldwide to a level higher than any year since 2007, when Pew began these annual studies. The study claims that Christian persecution and harassment occurred in 145 of the world’s 198 countries. It also determined that 75% of all victims of religious persecution are Christians. Some other shocking findings: 

  • 8 Christians are killed every day because of their faith;
  • 23 Christians are raped or sexually harassed daily;
  • 182 Christians churches or buildings are vandalized weekly
  • 102 Christian homes or businesses are damaged or destroyed weekly

Every year these numbers have grown, something that should give us pause and prepare us for things to come. President Trump has aggressively pushed for greater emphasis on religious freedom at the United Nations. He has consistently called on the entire international community and business leaders to protect this most basic human freedom. He also established a new Conscience and Religious Freedom division within the Department of Health and Human Services. We can only hope that a Biden administration will continue this focus on religious freedom and not just resurrect the failed policies of the past. Some links to relevant Pew Research:

Increased Government Restrictions on Religion

Religious Restrictions Around the World

COVID-19 Deaths. Here’s an interesting fact you probably won’t encounter in the mainstream media because they seem to focus only on that which increases public fears. Do you know that 1% of U.S. counties account for 34% of U.S. deaths from COVID-19? Isn’t that interesting? Also, almost 15% of U.S. counties have experienced one or no COVID-19 deaths. 

I’ve included below a list of the 50 U.S. counties with the greatest number of COVID-19 deaths (as of November 14). I am fairly certain most, if not all, of these counties are run by Democrats. Mayor Bill de Blasio’s city is represented by 4 of the top 10 — Brooklyn (Kings Cty), Queens, Bronx, and Manhattan (New York Cty) — a fact he and Governor Cuomo inexplicably blame on President Trump. The rest of the “top 10” include Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix, Miami, Detroit, and Houston. 

50 Counties with the Most COVID-19 Deaths

RANKCOUNTY NAMESTATETOTAL DEATHS
1Kings CountyNY7,450
2Queens CountyNY7,321
3Los Angeles CountyCA7,266
4Cook CountyIL5,797
5Bronx CountyNY5,019
6Maricopa CountyAZ3,797
7Miami-Dade CountyFL3,707
8New York CountyNY3,204
9Wayne CountyMI3,119
10Harris CountyTX2,908
11Middlesex CountyMA2,351
12Nassau CountyNY2,229
13Essex CountyNJ2,172
14Bergen CountyNJ2,083
15Suffolk CountyNY2,023
16Philadelphia CountyPA1,934
17Hidalgo CountyTX1,765
18Palm Beach CountyFL1,622
19Clark CountyNV1,617
20Broward CountyFL1,585
21Hudson CountyNJ1,542
22Hartford CountyCT1,532
23Orange CountyCA1,524
24Westchester CountyNY1,486
25Middlesex CountyNJ1,462
26Fairfield CountyCT1,454
27Bexar CountyTX1,449
28Union CountyNJ1,391
29Essex CountyMA1,390
30Dallas CountyTX1,373
31Riverside CountyCA1,367
32Oakland CountyMI1,282
33Passaic CountyNJ1,277
34Worcester CountyMA1,212
35Suffolk CountyMA1,205
36Macomb CountyMI1,166
37New Haven CountyCT1,157
38Norfolk CountyMA1,147
39Richmond CountyNY1,105
40San Bernardino CountyCA1,097
41Ocean CountyNJ1,087
42Hennepin CountyMN1,044
43Cameron CountyTX996
44Providence CountyRI986
45San Diego CountyCA926
46Tarrant CountyTX924
47Montgomery CountyMD905
48Montgomery CountyPA904
49St. Louis CountyMO901
50Prince George's CountyMD883

It’s all very interesting. 

No comments:

Post a Comment