Knights of Columbus – 125 and counting
Congrats to the Knights of Columbus for their 125 years of service to the Churches that we pray in and the Communities that we live in.
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Finally….
A politician who is not afraid to say what he believes. Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback publicly stated that he agrees with General Pace that homosexual acts are immoral.
“I do not believe being a homosexual is immoral, but I do believe homosexual acts are. I’m a Catholic and the church has clear teachings on this.”
While other candidates tried to sidestep the issue, Sen. Brownback was straight forward and bravely took a stand. Brownback went on to call the criticism of General Pace
“both unfair and unfortunate.” “We should not expect someone as qualified, accomplished and articulate as General Pace to lack personal views on important moral issues”
Now I have two reasons to be thankful that I am a Kansan today; Senator Brownback and the Jayhawks. Rock Chalk!
Constitution Party
The Catholic Knight has a good posting on the Constitution Party and why he is going to be supporting them. The Constitution party is the fastest growing 3rd party and I think it will grow even faster as we approach the 2008 election cycle.
Like the Catholic Knight, I too became disgusted with the status quo in American politics. In 2004, I voted for the Constitution party candidate for President. This was the first time that I had voted for a 3rd party but when it came down too it, neither the Democrats nor the Republicans represent my views and my beliefs.
Did I throw my vote away? Maybe, but no more so than if I had voted for one of the other candidates.
I Was in Prison, and You Tortured Me
Godspy has a good article posted that is a must read for any Catholic. In the article Paul Grenier reminds us all that there are prisoners held today by the US that are not allowed access to visitors or to legal representation.
It is easy to argue that the prisoners are terrorists and that treating them way helps to keep us safer. This may or may not be true. Without going through the legal process, we will not know for sure. However, we still have the responsibility to act; as Catholic Christians. To turn our heads is to provide implicit approval.
“The thought of Jesus being stripped, beaten and derided until his final agony on the cross should always prompt a Christian to protest against similar treatment of their fellow beings. Of their own accord, disciples of Christ will reject torture, which nothing can justify, which causes humiliation and suffering to the victim and degrades the tormentor.”
- Pope John Paul II, Address to the International Red Cross, June 15, 1982
Portugal approves abortion legislation
Let’s all keep Portugal in our prays as they head down this misguided path.
Dorothy Day
Here is a great posting on Dorothy Day over at Evangelical Catholicism. Check it out.
Bishop’s Pastoral Letter on Pornography
by Bishop Robert W. Finn
Diocese of Kansas City ~ St. Joseph
Kansas City, Missouri ~ February 21, 2007
To the clergy, religious, lay faithful of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and to all people of good will:
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8): A way of discipleship
In the Beatitudes Christ offers us a perfect model for true Christian living. Even more than the Ten Commandments themselves, they are a charter for the high moral calling Christ sets for His disciples.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. This one line from the Beatitudes offers a most sublime beginning point to our reflection. It tells us about God, ourselves and our ultimate goal. A pure heart is “blessed” or “happy.” Seeing God and being with Him forever in heaven is God’s plan for our eternal well-being. The Old Testament teaches that this purity is required if we are to approach God. “Who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord? And who shall stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false” (Psalm 24, 3-4).
To be pure in heart implies that our love is wholly directed toward the good of the other person. We are “single-hearted,” and not divided in our love. Israel ’s first and most important commandment is to love God with o
ur whole heart, soul, mind and strength (Deut 6: 4-5). Jesus added definitively that we must also love our neighbor as our self (Mk 12: 29 -31). This pure love – as demanding as it may be – is the high destiny to which we are called as children of the Father. Is it possible to fulfill such a love? Yes. It is possible because God has first loved us (1 Jn 4:10 ). As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to the happiness that comes from a clean and undivided heart.
Pornography: Epidemic Attacking Human Dignity
Daily there are challenges to this pure Christian love. For some months, representatives of our Catholic Diocese have been working with leaders of other faith traditions to address the serious dangers represented by the steady increase of pornography in our culture. Pornography is not new, but it has become a kind of plague in our society, reaching epidemic proportions. It is being propagated more widely than ever. Well beyond magazines, it is widespread on the internet, television, movies and videos, and now on cell phones and other handheld devices, many of which are marketed to children and youth. Pornography has become the secret entertainment of many people of all ages, walks of life, and economic backgrounds. Use of internet pornography is perhaps the fastest growing addiction in the world.
Pornography perverts the beauty of intimate love proper to marriage, presenting images of the body and sexual acts for base pleasure – regarding other persons as objects to be used, manipulated, and sold. It is a multi-billion dollar industry, eclipsing the amount of money generated by professional sports (cf. Chapter II, below). In this way pornography distorts the proper meaning and purpose of our sexuality and does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, consumers).
Use of pornography is a serious sin against chastity and the dignity of the human person. It robs us of sanctifying grace, separates us from the vision of God and from the goodness of others, and leaves us spiritually empty. Attraction to pornography and its gratifications is a false “love” that leads to increasing emotional isolation loneliness and subsequent sexual acting-out with self and others. It depends on the exploitation of other persons: frequently the desperate or poor, or the innocent young. Use of pornography has cost persons their jobs, their marriages and families. Traffickers in Child Pornography may end up in prison. It has often been associated with and has contributed to, acts of sexual violence and abuse.
In this pastoral letter, I wish to appeal to you all as members of the Body of Christ redeemed by His love, to reflect on the dangers of pornography in our society. We will see how pornography is a serious affront to our human dignity. I will share some strategies in response to this problem. I ask you to join with me in the Diocesan effort to combat this plague by recommitting ourselves and our families to purity and chastity. In this way we will live more completely as Christ’s disciples, growing each day in the freedom of the children of God. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
CHAPTER I
THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
We Can Win
Telus, a large telecommunciations company in Canada had planned to begin selling pornography via cell phones but reversed course at the last minute following a two-week campaign led by Vancouver Archbishop Raymond Roussin. 
According to a Telus spokesman, “We heard from a broad range of customers … who made it clear they were not supportive of this initiative,” she said. “We listened to our customers.”
It is heartening to know that it’s still possible to stop offensive material from being sent out to mass audiences. What can you do in your community?
