Steve Skojec is quickly becoming my favourite commentator/writer.[Not quite no1 yet] He cuts through the crap, and is always balanced and fair.
‘Terrible & unnatural’: Pope Francis slams gender choice being taught to kids https://www.rt.com/news/354425-pope-slams-gender-choice-kids/ good, nice to see a response that does not have a modernist tone
I'm fairly amazed I have to say with the way that commenters here happily quote, seemingly in an approving way, the words and thinking of ISIS, a truly evil organisation. Harper quoted them earlier, followed by his own justification in doing so and now we have Brian come in repeating the whole thing via the 1P5 website, with Mac's firm approval. Their opposition to Pope Francis is so extreme that they are ready to use ISIS propaganda to try to show Pope Francis in a bad light. I am really horrified although not surprised.
Paris Cardinal woke up ...http://remnantnewspaper.com/web/ind...:paris-cardinal-under-fire-for-speaking-truth
Fr. Rustler can hardly be accused of bias or employing ISIS rhetoric; this isn't about ISIS, it's about Islam's 1400 year history of violence, and the modern West's denial of same. Liberalism hates the Church. So does Islam. So liberalism covers for the sins of Islam as Islam carries out its war on the Church. http://www.lifezette.com/faithzette/christian-duty-in-face-of-murder/ A Christian Duty in the Face of Terror After another devastating ISIS attack in France, this time against a priest in his 80s while he was saying Mass, the answer isn’t just, “Do nothing.” As racism distorts race and sexism corrupts sex — so does pacifism affront peace. Turning the other cheek is the counsel Christ gave in the instance of an individual when morally insulted: Humility conquers pride. It has nothing to do with self-defense. Christ warned the apostles, as shepherds, to beware of wolves. The Catholic Church has always maintained that the defiance of an evil force is not only a right but an obligation. Its Catechism (cf. #2265) cites St. Thomas Aquinas: “Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for someone responsible for another’s life, the common good of the family or of the State.” A father is culpable if he does not protect his family. A bishop has the same duty as a spiritual father of his sons and daughters in the church, just as the civil state has as its first responsibility the maintenance of the “tranquility of order” through self-defense. Christ warned the apostles, as shepherds, to beware of wolves. This requires both the "shrewdness of serpents and the innocence of doves." To shrink from the moral duty to protect peace by not using force when needed is to be innocent as a serpent and shrewd as a dove. That is not innocence — it is naiveté. Saint John Capistrano led an army against the Moors in 1456 to protect Belgrade. In 1601, Saint Lawrence of Brindisi did the same in defense of Hungary. As Franciscans, they carried no sword and charged on horseback into battle carrying a crucifix. They inspired the shrewd generals and soldiers, whom they had assembled through artful diplomacy, with their brave innocence. This is not obscure trivia: Were it not for Charles Martel at Tours in 732 and Jan Sobieski at the gates of Vienna in 1683 — and most certainly had Pope Saint Pius V not enlisted Andrea Doria and Don Juan at Lepanto in 1571 — we would not be here now. No Western nations as we know them — no universities, no modern science, no human rights — would exist. In the ninth century, the long line of martyrs of Cordoba told the Spanish Umayyad Caliph Abd Ar-Rahman II that his denial of Christ was infernal, and that they would rather die than surrender. Saint Juan de Ribera (d. 1611) and St. Alfonsus Liguori (d. 1787) repeated the admonition that the concept of peace in Islam requires not co-existence but submission. The dormancy of Islam until recent times, however, has obscured the threat that this poses — especially to a Western civilization that has grown flaccid in virtue and ignorant of its own moral foundations. The shortcut to handling the crisis is to deny that it exists. On the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, there were over 60 speeches, and yet not one of them mentioned ISIS. Vice has destroyed countless individual souls, but in the decline of civilizations, weakness has done more harm than vice. "Peace for our time" is as empty now as it was when Chamberlain went to Munich and honor was bartered in Vichy. Hilaire Belloc, who knew Normandy and all of Europe well, said in 1929: "We shall almost certainly have to reckon with Islam in the near future. Perhaps, if we lose our faith, it will rise. For after this subjugation of the Islamic culture by the nominally Christian had already been achieved, the political conquerors of that culture began to notice two disquieting features about it. The first was that its spiritual foundation proved immovable; the second, that its area of occupation did not recede, but on the contrary slowly expanded." The priest in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvrary in Normandy, France, was not the first to die at the altar — and he will not be the last. In his old age, the priest embodied a civilization that has been betrayed by a generation whose hymn was John Lennon's "Imagine" — that there was neither heaven nor hell but "above us only sky" and "all the people living for today." When reality intrudes, they can only leave teddy bears and balloons at the site of a carnage they call "inexplicable." Fr. George William Rutler is a Catholic priest and the pastor of the Church of St. Michael in Manhattan.
David, why do you persist in your juvenile mislabeling? It is simply Harper, and I am female. This is the third time you've done this -- maybe fourth -- and the third -- maybe fourth -- correction I've posted. If you honestly think MOG is infested with ISIS supporters, why not leave? You said in another thread that you were going to take a principled stand against the Pope bashing and depart. But you're still here. Now you are horrified anew! How much more can you take?
For what its worth .... David is correct. I give my firm support to the Ip5 article. Which you already posted Harper.
Factually incorrect assertion from CJ's blog. If you take Pope Francis and his comments on Islam, and this blog post as indicating the true state of world affairs, you are woefully mistaken and unprepared. ISIS ‘heat map’ shows the group spreading worldwide posted at 10:21 pm on August 2, 2016 by John Sexton http://hotair.com/archives/2016/08/02/isis-heat-map-shows-the-group-is-spreading-worldwide/NBC News has obtained a “heat map” of ISIS expansion around the world dated August 2016. The map, which was prepared by the National Counterterrorism Center, shows the group is now operating in three times as many countries as it was two years ago: U.S. State Department documents indicated that in 2014, when the U.S. military began its campaign to destroy the extremists, there were only seven nations in which the fledgling state was operating… The current briefing map shows 18 countries where ISIS is fully operational. The map also displays a new category — “aspiring branches” — and lists six countries where they’re taking root: Egypt, Indonesia, Mali, the Philippines, Somalia and Bangladesh. Here’s the map: President Obama has been wrong about ISIS from the outset. He was wrong when he referred to them as the JV Team and wrong again when he said “ISIL is not Islamic.” Obama still frames the group as a regional threat not a global one. CIA Director John Brennan offered a more sober analysis of the ISIS threat in June, noting that even as we make progress in Iraq and Syria the group is growing quickly in other places. From the Hill: The U.S.-led effort has lowered the number of ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq from roughly 32,000 last year to between 18,000 and 22,000 now, Brennan said. But in the same time, the number of ISIS fighters has doubled in Libya, where the organization has gained a foothold, to between 5,000 and 8,000 fighters. People from around the world, including some from America, have responded to ISIS’ violent and uncompromising message. But as this map indicates, it is in countries with large Islamic populations where the group is gaining a foothold. That shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone but it does run counter to the message the President has been pushing for the last two years.
I think I need to respond to this as the matter clearly upsets you but I can say with complete firmness that I have not intended to cause you any upset over this at any stage. The first time I addressed you by name was as 'Mr Harper' simply because to an old Englishman like myself it is a bit rude to call people by their second name. You then informed me that you were a lady so I changed 'Mr Harper' to 'Ms Harper'. You then indicated you didn't like that either so I have ended up calling you 'Harper'. When I made my post above I simply didn't think about you being male or female but maybe in my mind I think of you as male from the style of your writing, I just don't know. I will try to remember to be more careful in future. And yes, I'm still here but can't say for how long. I did decide to stop contributing after some particularly disrespectful posts had been made of the Pope and hierarchy but when Kevin Symonds started contributing posts about Fatima I was drawn back because I wanted to ask him various things. Of course he was also driven away by the behaviour of some posters. Once back, I was tempted to come in again and support Joe in his valiant defence of Pope Francis. I'm definitely unsure whether I'm serving much purpose in remaining on the forum but unlike many 'traditionalist' blogs, there are, I believe, quite a lot of lovers of Pope Francis who read the forum and I feel I may be helping them in trying to balance out the comments.
A good verse to dwell on today .... especially for for folks like me!!! HeartLight Daily Verse - 3 August 1 Samuel 16:7: The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Thoughts on today's verse: Have you ever wondered how many friends you may have lost simply by judging them on their first appearance or impression? I'm amazed at how the first impression very seldom tells us much of substance about another. We're not really going to be able to evaluate people properly until the Lord reveals at judgment what is really in their heart. Don't you think that we should give them time for their heart to show before we make a decision about them, too?! Prayer: Father, who alone knows each heart, help me be more patient with others before forming an opinion about them. Please give me eyes to see them as Jesus does. Through him I pray. Amen. Visit heartlight.org for more GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
Of course. Pope Francis was wrong to equate Islamist terror with ‘Catholic violence’ by Fr Raymond de Souza posted Tuesday, 2 Aug 2016 Pope Francis answers reporters questions on board the flight back to Rome (AP) The Pope made clear his current thinking, that there is no such phenomenon as Islamist violence, any more than domestic violence in Italy constitutes 'Catholic violence' Fifteen years after the September 11 attacks, and 10 years after Benedict XVI’s address at Regensburg, Pope Francis has adopted the consensus of the secular elite in relation to the threat of jihadist terror. Fresh from a triumphant World Youth Day in Kraków where he both inspired and challenged more than a million young people, Pope Francis explained why he did not speak about the Islamic dimension of Islamist terror. It was a replay of his first foreign trip, to WYD in Rio de Janeiro in 2013, when that magnificent occasion was completely overwhelmed by the airborne unveiling, en route back to Rome, of the unofficial motto of the pontificate, “Who am I to judge?” – Francis’s updating of John Paul’s “Be not afraid.” The question of Islamic jihadism pressed itself upon WYD Kraków with the murder in France, on the opening day, of Fr Jacques Hamel at the altar of his parish church during Holy Mass. How would the Vatican handle it in Kraków? There have been, it is fair to say, confusing messages on that front. In July 2015 in Bolivia, Pope Francis, emphasising the gravity of the word, insisted on speaking of a “genocide” against Christians unfolding the Middle East. More recently, in June, Pope Francis forcefully denounced the use of the term “genocide”, saying it reduced to political or sociological categories the spiritual reality of martyrdom. Fr Hamel was clearly a martyr. Pope Francis was in Kraków, in the cathedral of which he began his visit by venerating the relics of St Stanislaus, the 11th-century bishop martyred while celebrating Mass. (In Vilnius, which shares a long and complicated history with Poland, the painting over the main altar in the cathedral depicts the king wielding the sword while Stanislaus elevates the Host.) So it would seem rather straightforward to speak of Fr Hamel in light of St Stanislaus, as an indication that martyrdom is the ultimate profile of Christian witness. Yet that would mean speaking of Fr Hamel’s killers as motivated by the same hatred of the faith that motivated the killers of Stanislaus, Thomas Becket, John Fisher and Oscar Romero. And because the killers were ISIS-inspired, that simply was not going to happen. The nothing-about-Islamic-persecution-of-Christians line had been decided long in advance of Fr Hamel’s murder, for the Saturday WYD vigil included the testimony of a young Syrian woman. She gave a heart-rending account of a life destroyed by war, with nary a mention of the causes of the war or the particular plight of Christians in the ISIS-controlled territories. The testimonies are edited by the Vatican in advance, as the Pope’s official remarks respond to them. Yet something had to be said when even the French president declared that this attack on the Catholic Church was an attack on France as a whole. Pope Francis spoke on the plane to Kraków about how Fr Hamel was one of many Christians to be killed in this “piecemeal world war”. Immediately advised by Fr Antonio Spadaro, editor of La Civiltà Cattolica and the Holy Father’s de facto spokesman, that that could be interpreted as if Islam was waging war on Christianity, the Holy Father circled back to the journalists to take another crack at it, insisting that wars are never caused by religion. That seemed to do the trick for the plane, but on the ground in Kraków the pilgrims were talking about it, the journalists were still asking about it, the bishops from around the world were incorporating the martyrdom of Fr Hamel into their catechetical talks. Why did the Holy Father not say something, given that two of the patrons held up as models for WYD were the martyrs St Maximilian Kolbe and Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko? A hasty solution was adopted, with Pope Francis adding an unscheduled visit to venerate the relics of two recently beatified Polish missionaries, Franciscan friars killed by the Marxist Shining Path guerillas in 1991 in Peru. There the Holy Father offered a prayer for deliverance from the “devastating wave of terrorism” without further specification. There was though a hint of where the Holy Father was heading in the part of the prayer for the “families of the victims of terrorism”, asking that they might find the “courage to continue to be brothers and sisters for others, above all for immigrants.” The pivot from terror to immigration indicated the Holy Father’s frustration that the summer of Islamist terror is dampening popular enthusiasm for greater settlement of Muslim refugees in Europe. Finally, on the flight home, Pope Francis made clear his current thinking, that there is no such phenomenon as Islamist violence, any more than domestic violence in Italy constitutes “Catholic violence”. Going further still, he acknowledged that “there are violent persons of [Islam]… this is true: I believe that in pretty much every religion there is always a small group of fundamentalists. Fundamentalists. We have them.” It was not clear whether Pope Francis was speaking historically or contemporaneously, but if the latter, there is no evidence of violent Catholic fundamentalists at work anywhere in the world. That the head of the Catholic Church would suggest such is simply remarkable. Remarkable too, though, was that the airborne remarks, while covered in the Catholic press, were relegated to very secondary coverage in the secular press. Perhaps the novelty of the Holy Father’s airborne press conferences is wearing off. Which may be for the best. Better not to leave the final word from Kraków, a millennium-old city of hundreds of martyrs, by ignoring their contemporary companions.
Confusion reigns. Why? The Pope Condemns Violent Catholic Politicians Like Tim Kaine Dear Paul: Pope Francis nailed it! American Life League would like to thank the Holy Father for condemning as violent killers those who support and enable abortion in America. In particular, the supposedly Catholic, monumental hypocrite, Tim Kaine. The Holy Father was asked in an interview by the online Catholic website “Crux” at the conclusion of the recent World Youth Day gathering about the violence of radical Islam. Pope Francis responded, “They are baptized Catholics. They are violent Catholics,” Francis said, adding that if he speaks of “Islamic violence,” then he has to speak of “Catholic violence” too. The Pope made his remarks in a wide-ranging news conference with journalists traveling with him back to Rome after a five-day visit to Poland … He said that, in every religion, there are violent people, “a small group of fundamentalists,” including in Catholicism. We could not agree more. Catholic pro-abortion fundamentalists like Tim Kaine, Joe Biden, Nanci Pelosi, and Kathleen Sebelius are a cancer to the Catholic faith. They enable and espouse violence at incomprehensible levels as 3,000 children die horrifically violent deaths from abortion every day in America. They work against the Catholic Church’s fundamental teachings of the simple right to live. They hide behind a façade that falsely distinguishes between a public and private self, yet their deception fools absolutely no one, except those who are complicit and those who intentionally deceive. Thank you Pope Francis for speaking with clarity and strength in condemning the violent Catholic pro-abortion fundamentalist killers, be they politicians, judges, academics, health professionals, or apostate clergy. We applaud and support your courage Holy Father. Yours humbly in Christ, Judie Brown President American Life League P.S. Help support American Life League in fighting the culture of death and building a culture of life.
I tend to fall in the "confused by the pope camp", David, but I appreciate the balance you and the other posters bring. I learn from a vigorous debate though do get uneasy when it devolves into name-calling and snarkiness. I have to say I thought Kevin Symonds was way off base and seemed to be here just to go after Charlie. I find your posts thoughtful, however, and hope you'll continue.
David, I am not unduly upset. I work with a lot of verbally aggressive people and when I see a pattern of behavior -- getting someone's name wrong consistently -- I note it. Calling out bullies early on usually moderates things. If you're not a bully, then that's that. I was intrigued by "I simply didn't think about you being male or female but maybe in my mind I think of you as male from the style of your writing, I just don't know"... Tell me more. How does a man write?
Oh dear. Talk about taking liberties with the truth. Pope Francis was most definitely not referring to pro-abortion politicians in his speech (unfortunately).
