extreme Catholic
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Friday, August 15, 2003
Neighborhood
Matthew 25:34-36 Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:57 PM Permalink
Senator Hillary Clinton's political cheapshot Congressman Peter King, R-N.Y., fired back at Sen. Hillary Clinton today, saying that her repeated attacks on President Bush as New York City slipped into darkness during last night's blackout could have provoked civil unrest. Senator Clinton could have done many things, like returning to New York City area where she lives and show some solidarity with the people who elected her, and stand up next to Bloomberg and Pataki. But no. Her contribution was an attempt to get New Yorkers angry at Bush, angry at Pataki, and angry at Bloomberg pouring gas on a fire. As if riots would help her get elected in 04 or 08...
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:37 PM Permalink
Glory Be To God My computer screen blinked for a second and kept running. I was unaffected. Where I work, I'm considered "critical" -- I didn't know that. Others discovered their computers were being shutoff to conserve our battery backup power. I had a radio and began to listen and knew that it was time to join the evacuation? exodus? Since I work near St. Patrick's Cathedral and Rockefeller Center, I saw many, many confused tourists. You will have interesting stories to tell when you get home. No traffic lights. Almost total gridlock. Had there been a need for a fire engine or ambulance to move through Manhattan it would have been impossible. My path took me across Manhattan to 59th Street and 2nd Avenue which was wall to wall with people. It was rather strange as traffic was still entering Manhattan. Whenever people who moving slowly even hobbled -- I noticed the 4 inch heels, you look taller but when the phones begin to work again you will need to make an appointment with a podiatrist. A flood of people, happy to be on their way home. People started to walk along the route they were familiar with Queens Boulevard, also locally known as the Highway of Death for the frequency of its fatal pedestrian accidents. The subways and cars go along this route. Wide is that leads to perdition. The shorter, narrow road is Skillman Ave. So I found myself on road empty of cars and people. I bought a coke and passed by many people who just put their lawn chairs on the sidewalk and were talking. It was like the summers of my youth (the 1960's) where because everything on TV was a repeat, people would start talking to their neighbors. As I entered back into a more populated area I saw people with signs of exhaustion. I saw Fr. Kevin who was telling a handful of people that there would be no vigil Mass of the Assumption. l live about 200 feet from the subway so many people were following the subway line on foot being unfamiliar with the geography of West Queens. When I got home, I gathered up all the plastic cups and filled some two liter bottles and did what the folks who organize a marathon do -- I handed out 6 oz. cups of cold water. The reactions were "I don't believe it -- you mean it's free?", "God Bless You", and "Thank you". Some of my neighbors spontaneously joined me with their own liter bottles of water and plastic cups. I had no trouble giving it all away. I listerned to the president and I looked up at the stars. Even though it was pretty close to a full moon, more than the usual number of stars were visible on this clear night. I walked with my family to the Church and there were others sitting on the steps -- there still was a parade of people leaving Manhattan and moving west towards Long Island. There we prayed Rosary -- Luminous Mysteries (Baptism of Jesus, etc.) Thoughts: New York City is a wonderful place. Many compared this ability to work together and helping each other without counting the cost [to 9/11/2001] When my cable system started to work the very first program I saw was RAI -- Italian Television -- showing the black and white newsreels of the 1965 blackout/power failure in New York with the narration in Italian. It was the one and only station available on cable. The 1977 blackout with its riots and deaths are forgotten now. It's a bad dream. In 2001 and now 2003 we are a city that's learned to live with itself. 26 years, times change, people change. Dependency. We depend on the technology. People need a reminder of this dependence, likewise we need to be reminded of our dependence on God. We take the power for granted. We take God for granted. 0550 AM: power is restored. Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Critical or not. The subway is still not running so I'm not going to work.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 8:01 PM Permalink
Thursday, August 14, 2003
Prelates with too much time on their hands Dept. You may wonder what the "Blame America First"-crowd moved onto after the United States liberated Iraq, brought peace, order, and justice to this part of the world that did not know it -- and our brave armed forces are taking bullets every day in the name of maintaining this peace. After demanding more American boots on the ground in Liberia, they are onto something new: Guardian (UK): Vatican backing sparks GM row GM is genetically modified food. Row is "debate". An Italian archbishop, Renato Martino, is the prelate behind the pro-GM lobby and the equivalent of a minister in the Pope's government. His department, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, which deals with ethical issues, is preparing to publish a report on the use of biotechnology in agriculture which, the archbishop has already hinted, will give a favourable verdict. Around the world, some bishops have objected to GMF and, don't believe the Vatican should interfere in their local decisions regarding it.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:13 AM Permalink
Wednesday, August 13, 2003
New Sins that Cry Out to Heaven Dept. Washington Post: Cloning Yields Human-Rabbit Hybrid Embryo Scientists in China have, for the first time, used cloning techniques to create hybrid embryos that contain a mix of DNA from both humans and rabbits, according to a report in a scientific journal that has reignited the smoldering ethics debate over cloning research. Required reading: Brave New World This is so totally evil -- to create human life only to destroy it.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:57 PM Permalink
The Weekly Standard: The Catholic Test, Part 2 Big media has been avoiding the new Democratic religion test, but the blogosphere has answered the bell. The blogs that Hewitt mentions are the legal/political blogs not the blogs of Catholic orthodoxy and pro-life topics, but I'll take any tip of the hat from old media to new media. This story as we pseudo-journalists has legs. Even today in the New York Post Eric Fettman in making the case the Charles "Chuck" Schumer is not anti-Catholic only to wind up proving he is anti-Catholic. Fettman's test basically is "if Schumer says he's not anti-Catholic, then he's not anti-Catholic". Fettman accuses the Democrats of hypocrisy but not bigotry. Fettman is missing the game Schumer is playing: Schumer wants to deny appointments to the federal judiciary not on a policy basis but because a faithful Catholic is "too far left or too far right". It's the equation of "Catholic" with "extreme right" that's bigoted.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:35 AM Permalink
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
Plan B is ready. It's Zyklon B for unborn children This is the photo I promised earlier. The advertisment appears on the walls of the New York City subway system. This is the 45th Road station in Queens. "Plan B" is an emergency contraceptive which has the potency to induce an abortion, that is to expell a fertilized egg after conception has ocurred. Levonorgestrel is the formal drug name. It is, in theory, only available by prescription, but there are plenty of web sites that will sell it to you without a prescription. Look at the woman. What emotion is that? fear, anxiety? Look at the guy. What emotion is that in his face. Or is it just a blank expression?
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 8:10 PM Permalink
Reuters/Yahoo Deutschland finds a Flashmob in New York City. (Narration is in German) You don't find coverage of this in New York City. I leave it to you to figure out why.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:00 AM Permalink
Monday, August 11, 2003
BBspot: SCO Group to Shoot Babies It's a satire about the UNIX/Linux/SCO battles. Nothing to do with the Catholic faith.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:37 PM Permalink
Phil Lawler in Catholic World News found an interesting story in the Washington Post (tedious reg. reqd.) on why Archbishop Sean O'Malley OFM Cap cannot be made a cardinal. Parts of Catholic World News are subscriber-only. You should become a subscriber. Besides being a professional news service that you can trust to report on all things Catholic with honesty and fidelity, it has blog-like features: candid opinions from intelligent and witty Catholics, links to extrernal news sites, comment boxes, and links to great Catholic blogs. (like this one!) I've been a member of Catholic World News since they launched.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:53 PM Permalink
Worth reading: in National Review Corner history of Catholic teaching on slavery refuting Andrew Sullivan. Thank you, Mark Shea
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:15 PM Permalink
Wall Street Journal: Gospel of Inclusion? (subscription required) By KATHERINE KERSTEN This is another great comment on the Episcopal Church. Google "Katherine Kersten" and read more of her stuff. I was not able to find her religious affiliation.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 7:43 PM Permalink
Opinion Journal: The Way We Live Now "Sodomy is an abomination before God": These days, it almost sounds silly. Excellent and concise explanation of how this social revolution is unfolding before our eyes.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 5:26 PM Permalink
Town Hall: Robert Novak: Religious Code Words The Senate was in its August recess last week, but the Knights of Columbus were meeting in Washington. The world's largest Catholic fraternal organization Thursday passed a resolution condemning opposition to federal judicial nominees because of "deeply held beliefs" stemming from their Catholic faith. That follows intense debate on the Senate floor just before the Senate recessed. I'm generally not of fan of Robert Novak. I think he's just too close to the establishment Republicans to be a good pundit and he's too much into the "game of politics" (seeing everything as a horse race) but here he is on target and it's nice to see more than just the National Review (who many dismiss as a Catholic cabal) call attention to this. What a semantic sleight of hand Scuhmer make: God cannot dictate government policy but he can infuse our values. To that I reply: "Go tell Pharaoh: Let my people go".
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:06 AM Permalink
Sunday, August 10, 2003
Photo Credit:Bauer-Griffin.com, New York Post (8/10/2003 page 11). Sorry, no on-line link Jennifer Lopez walking in Los Angeles
Is she giving witness here to the Gospel? Or is this a fashion accessory?
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:36 PM Permalink
(AP Photo) Mel Gibson directing the "Passion" and speaking to James Cavizel. The "double" is on the left.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 4:05 PM Permalink
Blogger Grief So I go away for a day and Blogger has screwed up the archives. Absolute link: archive link with the subdirectory. archive link without the subdirectory Relative link: archive link with the subdirectory archive link without the subdirectory current archive with the subdirectory. current archive without the subdirectory BlogArchiveIndex expansion: <$BlogArchiveIndex$>
Blogger Archives
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 2:32 PM Permalink
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