Does our society hate itself?

Something rather amazing has occurred. Recently I have been pondering whether we as a society have started to hate ourselves, and the closer we come to "us", the more we despise it. I wondered that question even today. Then I happened to come across, by chance, and without searching, an article written by Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI on Europe's self-hatred. Part of what he says is the following:

My last point is the religious question. I do not want to enter into the complex discussions of recent years, but to focus on only one aspect that is fundamental for all cultures: respect for what the other holds sacred, and in particular respect for the sacred in the highest sense, for God, something that we can legitimately suppose to find even in one who is not disposed to believe in God. Wherever this respect is denied, something essential in a society is lost. In our present-day society, thank God, whoever dishonours the faith of Israel, its image of God or its great personalities, is fined. Whoever scorns the Koran and the basic convictions of Islam is fined, too. Instead, with regard to Christ and to what is sacred for Christians, freedom of opinion seems to be the supreme good, and to limit this would seem to threaten or even destroy tolerance and freedom in general. Freedom of opinion, though, finds its limit in this, that it cannot destroy the honour and the dignity of the other; it is not freedom to lie or to destroy human rights.

The West reveals here a hatred of itself, which is strange and can be only considered pathological; the West is laudably trying to open itself, full of understanding, to external values, but it no longer loves itself; in its own history, it now sees only what is deplorable and destructive, while it is no longer able to perceive what is great and pure.

It seems Cardinal Ratzinger was thinking the same thing I am now. Is this idea of self-hatred plausible? I think we just need to look at the evidence around us to find the answer.

As Ratzinger points out, there is this overwhelming need to be politically correct when it comes to other faiths. We must say all the right words, even use the right pronunciation. Nothing negative can be said of another religion, even if it's true. But when it comes to Christianity, and specifically the Catholic faith, anything goes.

A good illustration of this is an incident which happened to me several years ago. A lady at work very much lost her cool in an email to me after I had sent her an innocent message say I am Christian. Her response said vile and angry things about priests and the church, she even blasted the Bible and Mary. Her anger knew no bounds but were not spurred by anything I said. However, sometime close this to incident, this same lady corrected me hastily and with bitterness when I called what Jewish men wear on their heads a skull cap. She snapped at me and said "It's not a skull cap, it's a yamulke!" Her reaction was visceral. I felt as if I must have said something extremely offensive. It's important to note that this lady is a Christian (or former Christian) and indicated that she wanted to marry in a church.

It's rare to find someone who identifies as Christian and will stand up for Christian beliefs. You are much more likely to find people who identify as Christian or Catholic, but nonetheless feel it appropriate to bash their religion. It's common to hear people say things like "I'm Catholic, but I believe women should be allowed to have abortions if they want, and they should be allowed to be priests." People will say they are Catholic but believe gay people should have the right to marry or that they think contraception is fine.

If you have watched any television lately, you will notice something. The media will gleefully bash the Catholic Church on her stance on abortion, female ordination, contraception, married clergy, and any other issues. Comedians will constantly make crude jokes about pedophile priests, or to mock the Holy Father. If you are offended by this or object to this, you are condemned as a tight wad who doesn't know how to have fun. But if you even stated something that was factual about another religion you would be in the hot seat. Whenever there's a terrorist attack, media reporters and politians will bend over backwards to emphasize that Islam is in fact peaceful. Do we see these same reporters making sure to indicate that the vast (98% or more) or priests are faithfully celibate and wouldn't hurt a fly? Of course not!

How often do you turn on the TV and hear that HALF of all AIDS patients in Africa are receiving direct care from Catholic Aid organizations? I didn't even know abou this until I did some research. Of course you will hear about the pope being opposed to condoms in Africa.

You may hear the fictitious story about how the Catholic Church bullies its way into India to forcefully converts people against their wills. But do you hear the actual information that although only 2% of the population of India is Christian, a whopping 22% of hospitals are run by the Catholic Church? I doubt it.

The Catholic Church is the largest charitable organization on the planet, but you are far more likely to hear about the inappropriate behavior of one of her 500,000 priests before you ever hear that important stat. As professor Philip Jenkins says, Anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable prejudice.

The bottom line is the Catholic Church has done far more for the benefit of humanity than all other organizations combined. We ought to be very proud of our Christian heritage and understand that sharing it with others is helping them. We need to stop being ashamed of ourselves and start to realize the real contribution our faith has made to the world. But at the same time, we needn't be surprised by the persecution. Jesus promised we would be persecuted because of our belief in him. Any time we are persecuted, let us think of that as Christ's promises being fulfilled.

Amnesty International Slams Nicaragua for Abortion Ban

Amnesty International Slams Nicaragua for Abortion Ban

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Opposition to gay marriage: not an exclusively Christian position

I find people often characterize the debate on same sex marriage as a progressive, liberal, and even society-at-large vs. Christianity issue. Christian beliefs on homosexuality are characterized as bigoted, intolerant, hateful, and homophobic. Many often assume that other religions are much more lenient on the issue and either take a pro-gay stance or none at all. But after doing some research, I discovered that far from being hateful to homosexuals, Christianity, and specifically the Catholicism were probably the most understanding.

Every religion I found, especially the largest ones, were all against homosexual activity and condemned it in various ways. Here's a sample of some of the condemnation:

- Orthodox and Conservative Judaism are strongly opposed to homosexual activity and many Biblical references refer to this as being evil.

- Islam completely condemns all homosexual activity.

- Zoroastrianism is against homosexuality and says: "The man that lies with mankind as man lies with womankind, or as woman lies with mankind, is a man that is a Daeva [demon]; this man is a worshipper of the Daevas, a male paramour of the Daevas"

- Ancient Hindu law books from the 1st century onward characterize non-vaginal sex as impure.

- Buddhism refers to homosexuality as a deviant behavior

- In 2005, the world's highest Sikh religious authority described homosexuality as "against the Sikh religion and the Sikh code of conduct and totally against the laws of nature," and called on Sikhs to support laws against gay marriage.

- In Jainism, marriage is the only place in which sexual activity is appropriate, and homosexual acts give bad karma.

- Taoism is about yin and yang, male and female, and it believes sex must be complementary in order to bring harmony.

But if you think there are religions that do not have an issue with homosexual activity, you're right. The one religion I found that had no problem with homosexual activity is neopaganism. Surprise, surprise.

Catholicism has one of the most compassionate positions with regards to homosexuality. First of all, the Church does not regard same-sex attraction in itself to be a sin, like many Christian denominations do. They only regard acting or lusting on these attractions to be sinful. For someone to simply consider themselves "homosexual" would not be sinful.

Secondly, the Church recognizes it as a struggle, or cross to bear, and considers it in a similar way as it does with other sexual temptation, such as adultery, fornication, masturbation, etc. The Church believes these can all be gravely sinful.

The point is, the Church does not wish to gay-bash. She simply recognizes that a person is most happy when he or she fulfills his or her nature. A man is designed to be with a woman, a fact which is obvious from our biology. Homosexual relationships do not fulfill the deepest desires of a person's being. Violence is much higher in gay relationships than in heterosexual relationships. Children grow up happiest and healthiest in a home with a mother and a father. There are many reasons why a marriage must be between a man and a woman and that sex is reserved for marriage.

Let us pray for those who struggle with the cross of same-sex attraction, that they may find Christ's healing.

New York - US Jews Protest Catholic Salvation Text -- VosIzNeias

I'm always a little confused by these types of stories. In this report, it says some Jews are angry because the Bishops' Conference has declared that Christians must share their faith with everyone, including Jews and share with them the Truth about Jesus Christ. Christians have been doing this since the beginning. Jesus was a Jew, and he taught his message and preached to everyone, including Jews. He revealed himself as the Son of God. Obviously if we believe Christ is the Son of God and that he has an important message for the world, we would want to share it.

I don't understand how these groups suddenly think these statements are shocking. It reminds me of when the Pope said condoms aren't the solution to AIDS, and everyone was shocked. Do they not realize the Catholic Church has been teaching this since its beginning (against contraception)? The Catholic Church has also been teaching the conversion of all people since its start. None of this is new.

It always seems like these groups are surprised that the Church is maintaining a constant teaching on various issues.

Check out the article:

New York - US Jews Protest Catholic Salvation Text -- VosIzNeias

Obama's 'gay marriage' doublespeak (OneNewsNow.com)

This is a really great article. One shocking part was that the author mentions how Obama is trying to present a new gospel and message from Jesus, where Obama claims Jesus supported gay activities and that references against homosexuality in the New Testament were somehow "obscure". This is a very common sense article which needs to be read.

Obama's 'gay marriage' doublespeak (OneNewsNow.com)

Céline Dion Pregnant with Embryo Frozen for 8 Years

In my last post about Céline Dion and her new pregnancy, I wondered if the embryo with which she is pregnant was one that she froze over 8 years ago. Turns out it is. See the article below:

Céline Dion Pregnant with Embryo Frozen for 8 Years

Céline Dion pregnant again - but is it moral?

Céline Dion, 41, is apparently pregnant again with her husband, 67 year old René Angélil. Her first child was born in 2001 when she was 32, and was conceived using fertility treatment. It is unclear exactly what fertility treatment was used, however her last child was conceived via in-vitro fertilization, and shortly afterward she said she had frozen an embryo for later, so the child could have a "twin".

Is the child she is pregnant with now, that child from over 8 years ago? There are many immoral things happening here, including in-vitro fertilization, freezing embryos, etc. But just think about this from a practical point of view. If this is the embryo from 8 years ago, that could mean the child with whom Dion is pregnant with now could be the twin of the 8 year old. In that case, they would be twins separated by 8 years. Does this not sound absurb.

Of course, all children are gifts from God, despite how they were conceived. However, conception has to be done morally. A good example I hear one time was if a couple was infertile, so the man, unbeknownst to the wife, had sex with a prostitute, she got pregnant, then he adopted the child and raised him as his own. The method of conception was immoral (having sex with a prostitute and violating wedding vows) but the child himself is not immoral or bad or evil.

People need to realize that children are gifts from God, not personal rights!

Let us pray for all those with difficulty conceiving that they may choose licit and valid ways to give birth.

Céline Dion pregnant again

Dead N.L. woman 'angel' to rescued girl's family

There is no greater love than to lay down your life for a friend, says the Lord. This is a truly amazing story. It is sad but also shows amazing bravery and love. And it's from my home province, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Dead N.L. woman 'angel' to rescued girl's family

End-of-Life Counseling in the US

This is an interesting article. I'm sorry I haven't been posting much lately. This have been very busy. My brother got married on Saturday. It was a beautiful day. My grandmother, who is very frail, made it out. That was very nice. It really made my day. She can rarely leave the home where she now resides, so this was very special.

Like my grandmother, many people are quite old and frail. In the United States, they are now looking at a bill which would pay doctors to have talks with patients concerning end of life issues. Of course, this in and of itself is not a bad thing. Catholic teaching would encourage people to consider end of life issues, especially the state of their soul. Also, people must decide how extraordinary the level of care they would like in case of great illness.

In the absense of any information, medical personnel must presume that a person ought to receive an ordinary level of care at the minimum. Anything less would be immoral. Therefore, food and water, and basic medical care must be provided. There are many ethics concerning this issue in Catholic teaching.

The fear I have about something like this is our culture of death. The culture of death promotes euthanasia and suicide as good ways to die, but they are contrary to Christian morals. Some people say we ought to have the right to die as we see fit. I believe our life is sacred and that we do not take our own lives just as we did not give ourselves lives. We owe everything, including our lives to God, and he chooses what we do with it.

But another more down to earth issue about this is that a lot of older people are being pressured into assisted suicide. Relatives complain about how much they must spend on their dying relative, how much time and effort they must put in. The elderly person feels very guilty and bad about this. Then the elderly person mentions assisted suicide. The same people who made her feel guilty are all too happy to show her the literature concerning assisted suicide and encourage her to do it. The elderly person feels the most compassionate and loving thing to do is to give up her life so that she is not so much of a burden. The last thing any elderly person wants is to feel guilty.

If someone wants to commit suicide, whether you call is assisted suicde, euthanasia, or anything else, there is a serious reason. No one just decides to kill themselves for something to do. I believe the only good reaction to this is to help them and counsel them and reassure them that their life is valued and that God loves them, not that they are a burden and disposing of them makes everything easier.

Let's stand up for the sick and elderly, and let them know they are loved. Help them, don't kill them.

End-of-Life Counseling Had Bipartisan Support - ABC News

Reaction to Tim Hortons and Traditional Marriage Post

To date, I have not received the kind of reaction I have for the blog I wrote concerning Tim Horton's and its on-again, off-again support of a gathering in support of traditional marriage and families. After receiving some flack from gay-marriage groups in Canada, Tim Hortons decided to scrap its sponsorship of the program in Rhode Island. I feel this was an unfortunate choice.

I would like to respond to some of the comments I received. Most of the comments were angry, and some were personal attacks. Some were quite vitriolic. I even had to remove some of the comments because they had absolutely nothing to do with the argument, or were practically spam. I know they were not pure spam because in order to post a message on my blog, you must enter a code, which proves you are human.

For some reason, the comments completely went off track and started to become a theism vs. atheism debate. One particular individual posted the same link several times to an atheist website. Another affirmed his belief that Jesus did not exist and that Constantine invented him. I'm not sure what these things have to do with the gay marriage debate. Perhaps it is because as a philosopher once put it, if God doesn't exist, nothing matters. This came from an atheist. He understood that logically, once you remove God from the picture, morals have no force anymore. It's simply one person's desires vs. another's. Therefore, the argument perhaps was that if God doesn't exist, then gay marriage is valid, but so is any other "sin", such as adultery, or rape. Once morals are personal and relativist, one person cannot claim their set of morals is superior to another's and the weakest are forced to accept the dictates of the strong.

Humourously, one person posted a comment which seems to indicate that Hitler was a Christian. This must be an example of the Godwin's Law, which states that "As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1." The user's comment, as can be seen on the bottom is:

"My feelings as a Christian points me to my Lord and Savior" - Adolf Hitler

This quote represents an incomplete truth and something of an academic dishonesty. I'm not saying this particular poster is dishonest. Perhaps this quote came from somewhere else. The complete quote is as follows:

"My feelings as a Christian points me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter. It points me to the man who once in loneliness, surrounded only by a few followers, recognized these Jews for what they were and summoned men to fight against them and who, God's truth! was greatest not as a sufferer but as a fighter. .. How terrific was His fight for the world against the Jewish poison." - Adolf Hitler

Now, we have a completely different picture. Hitler was not affirming his Christianity, he was turning Jesus into an anti-semite. Hitler is claiming that Jesus fought for the world against what he calls a "Jewish poison." He downplays Christ's suffering and flips him around into a fighter against Jews. Is there someone else you can think of who fought against Jews and who considered them a poison? Hitler. Bingo. Hitler's only point here is that he wants to make those who fight and kill Jews heroes, and he wants to be the foremost.

The real story is that Jesus loved Jews, and most of the first followers of Christ were Jews. Christians constantly remind each other that it wasn't Jews that killed Christ, it was all of us, with our sins. Hitler was simply using Jesus as his justification for genocide.

Another commenter asked for a passage in which Jesus condemns homosexual activity. Jesus does do this.

In Matthew 19: 4-6, it reads:

He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female'5 and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?

Jesus does not mention homosexual acts. He reaffirms the Old Testament view on marriage and confirms its goodness.

Anther passage where Jesus refers to homosexual activity is Matthew 10:15, where he says:

Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

All people who were hearing Jesus at that time realized that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of their sexual activity including homosexual activity.

I want to just emphasize something. I believe there are many sins, and homosexual acts are just one of them. Premarital sex, masturbation, and other sexual sins which affect heterosexual, as well as homosexual, people are big problems also. Am I saying I'm above these? No, of course not. I must hold myself to a high sexual moral as well. People with same sex attraction have a great deal of struggle and life is sometimes difficult. They are asked to try their best just like everyone else is. God loves gay people like he loves everyone.

Let's say a prayer for all people who suffer from sexual temptation and sin.

Tim Hortons needs to show some back bone

Tim Hortons has made the unfortunate decision to back out of their support of traditional marriage. Instead of supporting the essential building block of all societies, Tims has decided to listen to a small but vocal group of gay activists.

Tims was supposed to be sponsoring a family event put off by the National Organization on Marriage in Rhode Island. Because of vocal protests they received from Canada, Tim Hortons decided to back out. This is very sad.

Gay marriage groups will be the first to say everyone should be allowed to live as they please. However, if someone affirms their belief that marriage is between a man and a woman, this same group reacts very angrily and tries to squelch free speech and others' opinions. I guess everything is fine and dandy until someone opposes them.

People are made to feel that if they do not support any union of two people and consider it good for society (contrary to the evidence), they ought to be labeled as bigots and religious fanatics. The message is that in order to be considered "normal", one must completely support any form of marriage put forth, including same-sex marriage.

Tim Hortons made a very cowardly decision. Canada was built by hard working families, and that's who they were there to promote. The vocal gay and lesbian community is a new phenomenon, but that doesn't stop them from enforcing a reign of intellectual terror.

At least Tims was originally planning on supporting this event. Too bad they backed down when the bullies came around.

Check out the article below:

Tim Hortons pulls support for rally against same-sex marriage in U.S.

'Family Guy' and its abortion episode: Should Fox air it? | EW.com

Fox made the right decision by not allowing an episode featuring two immoral activities to air. An upcoming episode, which will not air, but may be available on DVD later, handled the issue of Lois becoming a surrogate mother (immoral) and the parents dying in a car crash. She is then left with the decision as to what should be done about the baby she is carrying. Apparently it seems ambiguous in the episode, but then at the end, Peter Griffin makes clear that she had an abortion. This distasteful episode will not be seen on TV anytime soon. Check out the article below (viewer discretion advised):

'Family Guy' and its abortion episode: Should Fox air it? EW.com

Update: June 23, 2010

The episode described above was aired in the UK on BBC. Its title was "Partial Terms of Endearment", I guess referring to Partial Birth Abortion. Fortunately, Fox has still not aired the episode, and hopefully they never will.

Here is a picture from the episode:

Director of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and Home Alone has Passed Away

One of my favorite directors, John Hughes, has passed away at the age of 59 as the result of a sudden heart attack. I am very saddened by this news. Just last week, I rented one of my favorite movies of all time, Planes, Trains and Automobiles. My girlfriend and I watched it, but we still haven't finished it. We will watch the rest soon, probably this weekend. I really love that movie. John Candy, who is the main star along with Steve Martin, is one of my favorite actors. I think John Hughes and John Candy worked very well together because they shared a certain youthful optimism.

John Candy stands in stark contrast to many movie characters who are dark and mysterious. John Candy is open and innocent. He is a lovable guy who is not tainted by the evils of the world. He maintains his purity and innocence and often leaves his mark on the world that is much too cynical. Many parts of Planes, Trains and Automobiles will bring a tear to all but the most jaded of eyes. John Candy's character is not looking for wealth, fame, or power, but rather love and friendship.

Another great movie featuring John Candy, and directed by John Hughes, is Home Alone. One of my favorite scenes is when the boy meets the old man in church watching his daughter. The old man eventually tells the boy of his relationship with his son, and that they dont' talk anymore. The old man shares wisdom with the boy telling him he shouldn't be afraid of strangers or assume that they are bad people (judge not), and the boy equally gives advice to the old man, when he encourages him to talk to his son. Eventually the father and son are reunited.

John Hughes will be sorely missed. Why am I writing about him on a Catholic blog? I think John Hughes shows us values in his movies, more than most movies these days. He shows us a childlike simplicity, which echo Christ's words that we must be childlike to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He shows us that while we may have our own ideas about what's important in life, God has other ideas. What we see as childish, God sees as the most important. Virtues like brotherly love, love of spouses, forgiveness, happiness, joy, innocence, and non-judgementalism are most important than being rich and famous and powerful. These movies are great for young and old.

Maybe this weekend, if you're not too busy, you can pick up a copy of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and enjoy the innocent fun.

Robert Fulford: Western feminists mute on ravages of shariah

I don't need to add anything to this article. Take a read:

Robert Fulford: Western feminists mute on ravages of shariah

Sonia Sotomayor makes US Supreme Court 2/3 Catholic

Sonia Sotomayor (a Catholic), who was selected by Barack Obama to be the next Supreme Court Justice, will replace David Souter (an Episcopalian), to make the Supreme Court of United States two-thirds Catholics, or 6 Catholic and 3 Non-Catholic Judges. This is good news, but only to a certain extent. If these 6 judges followed Catholic moral reasoning and enacted and sustained laws which reflected Catholic beliefs, there would be a lot of healing and advancement in US law. But if these judges do not adhere to Catholic teaching and violate it on issues of gay marriage, abortion, fertility issues, embryonic stem cell reaserch, and cloning, then things will probably remain similar or become worse. But I would not lose hope. I believe there is a reason why so many of the Supreme Court Justices are Catholic. The Catholic religion has a long history of jurisprudence. Over the centuries, canon law was always seen as more important than civil law, because civil law deals with temporal earthly issues, whereas canon law deals with eternal issues of salvation.

Thomas Aquinas, the 13th century Dominican, was famous for writing his Summa Theologica. In it, he expounds on virtually every religious topic from the nature of God, to the nature of sins. He goes into great detail to explain how we ought to live and what we ought to do, as well as what she ought to believe and why. This tradition has continued. There has always been an understanding of law that could only come from the Catholic Church. We  believe in true right and wrong, in objective moral standards, in the law of non-contradiction. Other religions believe two contradictory statements can both be true. Our legal system would be doomed if this was the prevailing thought. Prostitution could be at once considered good and evil. Laws would go nowhere. Everything would be up to a personal decision each time. Another religion, Islam, sees moral laws as complete will of God. The only reason they believe something is as it is is because God is currently willing it to be that way. Therefore, moral laws for them could potentially change. Judaism has an understanding of God's divine law, and it's not surprising that 2 of the justices are Jewish. The remaining justice is Protestant. Protestantism does not have a thoroughly developed canon law, especially the more recent forms of it. For example, many will say all sins are equal. With no distinction between stealing a candy and murdering a family, you would be forced to violate your religious beliefs in order to enact laws which carry heavier sentences for certain crimes. There is no such dichotomy in Catholic teaching, where there is the concept of venial and mortal sins. Even within these sins, some are seen as greater than others. Pride is considered more serious than lust. This view of sin is very compatible with lawmaking. One could argue that serious sins cannot correspond to crimes. For example, someone could be the proudest person in the world, but they could not be convicted of pride. A person could be a major glutton, but they could not be sent to prison for that. This may be true, but we acknowledge that ultimately sins are between the person and God, and that punishment may come as a result of gluttony or pride, even if the state does not mete it out. Crimes which hurt society would be punished on a scale consistent with the crime.

Let us pray that these judges, whose profession is what it is largely because of the developments in the legal system by the Catholic Church, seek their Catholic roots when making decisions that affect all of our lives.

Government does not fund Montreal Gay Pride Parade

The Conservative government has a certain amount of money to spend on tourism, around $100 million in Quebec, and it denied a request to fund the Gay Pride Parade. I believe they wanted around $2 million for the parade. There are many reasons why I believe this is a good move.

First of all, no group should claim the "right" to have funding for tourism. If you read the complaints from this incident, most of those complaining seem to have some sense of entitlement. It's as though they believe gay rights are so entrenched in Canada that they not only have access to possible funding, but denying them funding at their whim is an injustice. They seem to want to be treated as a special group within society. They do not want equal treatment, they want preferential treatment. Any type of equal treatment is considered discrimination. Obviously this is not just in itself. I don't think gay people should be treated poorly, I think they should have the same treatment and standards as everyone else. But they certainly do not deserve special treatment.

The funding that was given out was appropriated in a way that the government saw fit and was within its jurisdiction. The government saw other programs as more meritorious.

Another issue is the nature of gay pride parades in general. Often, legitimate concerns are brushed aside or simply seen as homophobic. Many have rightfully complained that gay pride parades are largely a display of lewd acts, overt sexual behavior and other distasteful shows. If anyone speaks up against this, they are dismissed as homophobic or some kind of religious fundamentalist. In fact, these people are protesting lack of decency, which they should. Imagine if a group of chauvinistic men organized a parade where they drove along on booths featuring old men spanking young women, imitating lewd sexual conduct toward females, and having mottoes and slogans signifying male dominance and sexual aggression. I would imagine the entire community would react very strongly against this, and offer unfettered condemnations of this show. It would be considered lewd, sexually aggressive, and offensive. Any such concerns expressed against a gay pride parade are summarily dismissed. It seems many people want to bend over backward to not appear to have anything against gay people. I think this does an injustice to everyone if you treat one group specially.

Another point is that I wonder what benefit this type of parade could possibly have. Most other parades have some benefit to society. They may give money to charity, they support a worthy cause, they bring hte community together, etc. Gay pride parades are notorious for blatantly shoving offensive displays in peoples' faces. It does not politely ask people to accept them, but rather proclaims messages such as the famous "We're here, we're queer, get used to it". It's a very in-your-face proposition. They are essentially challenging others to accept them or too bad! They do nothing to win over people's hearts or to share genuine concerns to which people can react, but rather they force their ideology down your throat in the most distasteful way. In fact, moderate people could easily be turned off by the things they do at these parades. Their response to this: "Get used to it!"

I would like to applaud the Quebec government for not funding the gay pride parade. They made a wise choice.

To read more on the story, go to:

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2009/07/22/montreal-diverscite-funding.html

EWTN.com - Bishop Asks Australian Football League to Avoid Games on Good Friday

It's very heartening to see the culture listening to the Church. In Australia, the bishop of Melbourne asked that football and other sports not be played on Good Friday. I've always noticed that there are many basketball games and other games on during Good Friday. I guess people most people are off on holidays. So this is a really great thing to see. Maybe now that people's favorite game isn't on TV anymore, they will find time to go to Good Friday services and participate in various forms of penance.

EWTN.com - Bishop Asks Australian Football League to Avoid Games on Good Friday

Pope Benedict album set for holiday release

Great article on how the Pope will be making a music CD. Wonder if he'll get as many sales as Pope John Paul II, who also released an album. If you are a faithful Catholic, I would suggest skipping the comments below. Trust me, anything goes when the CBC posts a Catholic-related news story.

Pope Benedict album set for holiday release