The Most Violant

We hear a lot about violence today. The Left screams about the so-called violence of January 6 "insurrection" at the Capitol; although from what I've read, nobody who took part was armed, so I'm not sure how they intended to overthrow the government. Of course, the Right tries to shout just as loud about the far worse summer of violence by the thugs who carried out the violent and often deadly dirty work of BLM and Antifa in the streets of our cities. But the most violent Americans of all are those who support abortion. They encourage or actively take part in the slaughter of the most innocent human beings among us, and they do so with almost indescribable violence. If anyone actually saw what is done to an unborn child during an abortion, I don't know how they could possibly support this unspeakable act of violence.

Today on the news I saw several videos of large groups of pro-choice protesters attacking police officers. To put this into perspective, over the years I made probably ten trips to Washington, DC to take part in the annual March for Life in January. And I also attended several similar marches in Boston and here in Florida. During all these marches -- or "protests" as the media labels them -- I never saw any violence from the pro-life participants. In fact, the only violence I ever saw or experienced came from pro-abortion protestors who tried to interfere with the marches. They often threw objects, including bottles, at the marchers and always accompanied these acts with screams of profanity-laced insults. Even more amazing, I never saw a pro-lifer try to respond in kind. Yes, indeed, to be pro-abortion -- and, folks, if you call yourself "pro-choice," you know full well that you're really pro-abortion -- is also to be pro-violence.

When our ostensibly Catholic President blathers about the wonders of abortion and how the Supreme Court is trying to take away this "sacred right," all I can do (after I try to avoid getting sick to my stomach) is pray for his immortal soul. That he would utter such drivel, really a stream of blasphemies, and then receive Our Lord Jesus in the Eucharist...well, that is the ultimate blasphemy. Speaker Pelosi is no different, except she seems to be able to read her teleprompter a bit better than President Biden. In the end, though, she mouths the same talking points that try to change evil to good. And through their verbal attacks they encourage physical attacks. Just listen to their words.

Thank God for those five Supreme Court Justices who seem poised to overturn the unconstitutional and murderous Roe v. Wade decision of January 22, 1973. I believe the Left made a huge mistake by leaking that draft of the court's likely decision. Too many Americans are ignorant of what abortion really involves and what the Left hopes to achieve. This controversy will not only force the truth out into the open, but also show the nation the kind of violent people who support this evil. Of course, the decision would simply return to power to the states where it would be decided by legislators and executives who are elected by the people. 

The pro-life view is simple to state and easy to understand: 

1. Life is sacred. 

2. An unborn child is a human life, the most innocent of all human lives. 

3. Abortion, then, is nothing less than the intentional slaughter of an innocent human life. 

Pass it on.

Around the World...

Pakistani Christians Protest

Pakistan [from AsiaNews]. Finally, out of Pakistan comes some good news for Christians. Asif Masih (24), a young Catholic from the village of Kathore, had been falsely accused of blasphemy by two Muslim neighbors and subsequently arrested. Blasphemy is a very serious offense in Pakistan and can result in life imprisonment or even the death penalty. Defending oneself against such accusations is problematic for Christians since the trial usually turns into a he-said-he-said situation in which the testimony of Muslims carries more weight in court than that of a Christian. This time, however, young Asif was supported by a wealthy Muslim landowner, Chaudhary Khalid Cheema, as well as by most of the villagers (all Muslim) who came to his defense at his trial on May 9.

During the trial, testimony showed that the main accuser, Muhammad Boota, had falsely accused Asif, who was then released for lack of evidence. Asif's parish priest spoke of how the blasphemy law had been often abused in the past, but this time he "was touched by the solicitude of Muslim landowners, the Muslim community and the local administration." Afterwards, Chaudhary Khalid Cheema, Asif's prominent defender, stated that "being Muslim is no reason to defend Muhammad Boota because his behavior towards Asif Masih was repugnant." He then went on to say, "I have no doubts that the young Christian is innocent...We will stand by the Christians for their rights, and will live together with equal respect and dignity."

May his tribe increase...

Indonesia [from AsiaNews]. I'm all for freedom of speech, but I have to admit this little piece of news out of Indonesia generated some mixed feelings. It seems the authorities in Indonesia have cancelled Lady Gaga's concert, scheduled for June 3 in Jakarta, because they deemed it "incompatible with the culture and moral values of the country." Indonesia, of course, is a Muslim nation; indeed it is the most populous Muslim nation in the world. And yet, surprisingly, it's reported that Lady Gaga has quite a large following among young Indonesians, a fact not lost on Indonesia's influential Islamist organizations. While the growing influence of Islamist radicals cannot be considered a good thing for Christians living in the country, a small part of me wants to cheer them on for showing Lady Gaga the door. They have accused the pop star of being an "admirer of Lucifer," an accusation I am unable to affirm or dispute. I simply find her distasteful. The problem, of course, is that these Islamists would likely level this same accusation at Christians simply because we're not Muslim. As I said...mixed feelings.

Advertising the Lady Gaga concert in Jakarta

It's also important to realize that historically freedom of speech -- which today has morphed into "freedom of expression" so that it encompasses far more than speech -- once had its limits. I believe it's safe to say that our founding fathers would not have considered x-rated movies, flag burning, internet porn, or Lady Gaga shows acceptable forms of expression protected by the Constitution. They, too, would have considered each of these "incompatible with the culture and moral values of the country." My, how far we have come since those unenlightened days. We now permit virtually anything under the banner of free speech -- After all, it's a right enshrined in the First Amendment, isn't it? -- while at the same time we prohibit most religious speech in the public square. But isn't that right also explicitly guaranteed in the First Amendment? Well, yes, sort of...but our reigning cultural and moral values are different today and they don't include religious expression. All that religious talk irritates too many people.

And so Lady Gaga -- banned in Jakarta, but not in Boston -- will probably just add another concert here in the USA to enhance her bottom line. I'm so happy for her.

Washigton, DC [Cardinal Newman Society]. Georgetown University, the nation's oldest (1789) Catholic University, has invited Kathleen Sebelius, the Obama administration's Secretary of Heath and Human Services (HHS) to speak at the Jesuit university on commencement day. She is slated to speak at an awards ceremony for the university's Public Policy Institute. Normally, inviting a cabinet member to speak would generate little interest or controversy. But Secretary Sebelius is the author and future enforcer of the administration's recent decision to trample on the religious freedom of Catholic organizations by forcing them to either shut down or support government programs that are completely contrary to core Catholic beliefs. This decision has been condemned by the U.S. bishops who have declared that they will not comply with these unjust requirements.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I'll admit that I attended Georgetown for one academic year (1962-63) prior to receiving an appointment to the Naval Academy. I can say only that this university was a very different place back then. The decision by the school's current administration to invite Sebelius to speak is nothing less than a scandal, and in the minds of many will place the university in opposition to the U.S. bishops as they cope with what is perhaps the greatest threat to religious freedom in our nation's recent history. As Georgetown professor, Fr. James V. Schall, S.J., wrote today, "The rule of thumb in these matters is: 'Tell me who you honor and I will tell you what you are.'”

By the way, eight faculty members signed a letter asking the university's president to withdraw the invitation to Secretary Sebelius -- that's eight out of nearly 2,000. How very sad.

Support for Sharia Law

There seems to be a widely held belief in the West that only a small minority of Muslims support Islamist terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda or the Taliban, that most Muslims do not want to live under the harsh reality of Sharia Law, and that Muslims are generally respectful of other religions. And yet, when one looks for evidence to support these beliefs, there is little to be found. Perhaps the opinion makers who believe these things speak only with Muslims who not only live in the West but have drunk the Kool-Aid of Western culture. Or maybe they just listen to front organizations like the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) who love to tell us what we want to hear. As I stated above, there's little evidence to support these beliefs which are contradicted by the facts.

For example, a series of polls in which Pakistani Muslims were asked about their religious and political beliefs indicated that a solid majority support the idea of "strict Sharia Law" being the law of the land in Pakistan. (See one poll result here: Reuters Cites IRI Pakistani Poll.) There's also widespread majority support among the general population in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other Muslim nations for the strict application of blasphemy laws that call for the death of anyone who violates them. In Pakistan the blasphemy law is actually quite vague and has been frequently misapplied and even used by some to accuse others with whom they might have a dispute. Here's the core of the law as stated in the Pakistani penal code:

Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine." 

Lots of room for misapplication in those words, and many Christians and others have suffered as a result, And yet a vast majority of Pakistanis support the strict application of this law.

Obviously, if a Pakistani Catholic were asked to state the Church's teaching as it relates to Muhammad, and he replied honestly, he would be guilty of blasphemy and risk the death penalty. Indeed, such a law would pretty much preclude any serious religious dialogue between Christians and Muslims, at least inside Pakistan where the law is enforced. Is it any wonder that Christians tend to keep a rather low profile in Muslim nations?

Another element of Sharia Law widely supported in Muslim nations is the prohibition against "apostasy" in which anyone who converts from Islam to another religion must be put to death. In other words, if you convert, you die.

The following video (in German, but translated with subtitles into English) addresses the plight of Egyptian apostates who converted from Islam to Christianity. The Gohary and Hegazy families are living in terror under the constant threat of being killed. Jussuf al Badri, the Egyptian Islamic jurist depicted in the video states that under Sharia “God has commanded us to kill those who leave Islam.” Such is the fragile and tragic plight of apostates in Muslim countries who daily face the threat of vigilantism and death.

Sharia is designed to govern all aspects of life, from relations between the sexes to business ethics. In some nations, aspects of Sharia have become part of modern legal codes and are enforced by national judicial systems, while others are a matter of personal conscience. Entirely secular law is not an option under a classical interpretation of Islam. David Powers, Professor of Islamic Law at Cornell, stated, 'In Islam, there is no separation between the secular and the sacred. The law is suffused with religion.'

The increasing support for Sharia Law among the general population in Muslim countries often puts the people at odds with their political leadership. For example, in Pakistan and Egypt, while those in power have created a division between secular and Sharia courts, the people overwhelmingly favor the idea of Sharia Law as the sole judicial system. In this, then, the people are more in tune with the teachings of Islam then are their leaders. Terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, by strongly supporting the imposition of Sharia Law, have cleverly exploited this disconnect between the people and their current political leadership in some Muslim countries. And although most Muslims reject al-Qaeda and the Taliban and their terrorism, support for them and their policies is growing. The situation doesn't bode well for the future.

News from Baghdad. The Christian churches of Baghdad have called on Iraqi Christians to participate in a day of fasting on December 9 to commemorate those Christians who were killed when al-Qaeda terrorists stormed Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral on October 31. Women, children, and two priests were among the 46 Christians murdered in the attack. Over 70 others were wounded. More information here: IRAQ Churches Plan Day of Fasting. I think it would be a good thing for all of us to join our Iraqi bothers and sisters in the day of fasting and prayer.

International Blasphemy Day

You may well have missed it, but apparently yesterday, September 30, was International Blasphemy Day. This was a surprise to me, since I was unaware that blasphemers had claimed or even needed their own special day. After all, they seem to carry out their blasphemous activities and utter their blasphemous words on virtually every other day of the year. And why now must they claim the feast day of St. Jerome to focus the global community's attention on blasphemy? The "celebration" included art exhibits, contests, and all sorts of other fun things. It's all very strange...and sad.

The organizers at the Center for Inquiry claim that "Blasphemy Day International is a campaign seeking to establish September 30th as a day to promote free speech and stand up in a show of solidarity for the freedom to challenge, criticize, and satirize religion without fear of murder, litigation, and reprisal."

Now, I may be wrong but, at least in this country, I encounter blasphemy in many different forms every day. One need only turn on the TV. And I don't know of any Christians running around killing blasphemers on the streets of New York, San Francisco, or Norman, Oklahoma.

Here's what Catholic League president Bill Donohue had to say about Blasphemy Day:

The Center for Inquiry is factually incorrect to say that “Free speech is the foundation on which other liberties rest.” Freedom of conscience is the first liberty, and it is inextricably linked to freedom of religion. Moreover, the whole concept of inalienable rights presupposes a belief in the Creator. In other words, atheists have the right to mock religion because our Christian Founding Fathers afforded them human rights.

They are all such phonies. The stated purpose of Blasphemy Day has nothing to do with any religion but Islam, yet there is not one scheduled event insulting Muslims. We can only guess why. So who have they chosen to mock? You guessed it—Christians.

Artist Dana Ellyn will wander to Washington, D.C. to show her masterpiece, “Jesus Does His Nails,” a portrait of Jesus polishing a nail jammed into his hand. In Los Angeles, there will be a film about a gay molesting priest and another about a boy who is so angry about being sent to bed that he asks God to kill his parents. Oh, yes, American Atheists will conduct “De-Baptisms” in New Jersey.

Nice to know that even the atheists know that Christians can be counted on to react to their antics like good Christians. Which is why there will be no violence.

Click here to read another article about this Blasphemy Day. Let's hope our Congress and President don't declare it a national holiday.

"But whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin." - Mk 3:29

Pray for them all.

Pax