Pelosi predicts that she will still be Speaker five weeks from now. I predict the sun will rise this morning. . .and tomorrow morning too. Since a newly elected House will not be seated until Jan 2011, Pelosi's prediction is safe one. After Jan 2011, not so much.
While touting his "stimulus" bill in IL at a Caterpillar factory, B.O. promised that the plant would be re-hiring workers rather than laying them off. He was right! Except that all the new hires are Chinese. . .ya know, in China.
Seminarians talk about their vocations in the post-scandal age. The most courageous response comes from a Dominican student brother in the Western Province (USA): "I find that it is difficult to not question the judgments of any priest or religious who has been ordained or professed longer than 10 years." We can argue for years about what caused the scandal. One thing is absolutely clear: something went terribly, terribly wrong with faith formation in the religious life between VC2 and the 1990's.
Ignorant of the facts. . .about religion. No, not the just MSM but Christians as well. You can take the quiz here. I got 100%. . .but I do this stuff professionally. :-)
Public trust in the MSM at an all time low. And yet they keep spewing the same old leftist nonsense.
To: B.O. Re: "climate change" legislation: "The country you left swimming in debt will not suffer another dime of its money to be confiscated for the benefit of global-warming carnival hustlers. The great bid to frighten Americans into handing over control of their lives to a junk-science religious cult has failed." Amen and amen.
Because, as we all know, going on strike is the surest and fastest way to create money out of thin air and magically balance national budgets. Only in the socialist LaLa Land of Europe does NOT working produce wealth. Time to re-think unions.
Heh. Bill O'Reilly (not a big fan, btw) spanks Bill Maher on the air. Maher has had a number of on-air spankings lately. Apparently, he's only brilliant on his own show where no brooks no opposition.
I'm just saying. . .The newly elected leader of the U.K.'s Labour Party is an atheist, a Marxist, and has yet to marry the mother of his children. There is no requirement that politicians be theists of any sort. Nor should there be such a requirement.
Conservative citizen-journalist who busted the ACORN criminal racket is himself busted for trying to punk CNN. Maybe the adulation he received after his masterful undercover work with ACORN went to his head. Regardless, if the reports are accurate, this stunt is just embarrassing and needs to be unambiguously denounced by his fellow conservatives.
Ace of Spades casts his ever skeptical eye on the O'Keeffe/CNN episode. Wait and watch, folks.
Don't be the fat kid. . .when the Zombies come. This reminds me of the tee-shirt that reads: "When a bear is chasing us, I don't have to outrun the bear. I just have to outrun you."
Free chicken strips! Who doesn't like free chicken. . .oh, nevermind.
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Four of my friends/relatives and I took the Pew religious knowledge quiz. None of us scored less than 14 of 15. One suggested that it may be easier to answer a written version than an oral version via phone.
ReplyDeleteI find it incredulous that someone studying for the priesthood would lump any priest or religious ordained or professed for over 10 years together and question their judgments. Who are forming these guys? I hope not someone ordained fewer than 10 years. If I were judging him I'd question his logic and analytical ability.
As for the scandal itself, let's please put it in perspective. Yes, it was/is horrible. But, I think to concentrate on it is like looking at the hole and not the doughnut. Focus the spotlight on the majority, the faithful men and women who have lived out their vows. Focus on the good accomplished by the Church and religious men and women day in and day out.
If it's tough not to be respected because someone hates the Church, isn't that their problem?
Thank you for your favorable comment about my small contribution to the article in OSV.
ReplyDeleteRe: the religious "quiz".
ReplyDeleteOh, puhleezzee! Who did they give that thing to, preschoolers? I scored 15 out of 15 without blinking an eye. If a retired submarine turdchaser/recovering drunk can do that well then this isn't a test of anything other than the gullibility of John & Joan Q. Public.
Seriously, someone got paid for thinking this thing up? I want to work for those people!
Ruth Ann, I don't think the OP student is literally mistrusting of every single friar older than ten years in the Order. He's using hyperbole to make a point.
ReplyDelete@Ruth Ann:
ReplyDeleteTo clarify, my background is a bit different than some others currently in formation who have had to deal with the so-called sex abuse crisis. My experiences of it dates back to long before the 2000/2001 revelations. Nearly my whole life has been saturated with this issue. I am also privy to many of the "behind the scenes" actions and in-actions of the American response to this issue.
So, yes, I do find it difficult to trust those placed in responsibility for the earthly governance of the Church. This is not only because of the concrete decisions that have been made over the course of the last number of decades but also because of the culture of avoidance that I have been witness to over the years.
Even today, few people are willing to engage the underlying issues of this problem. Rather, particular legislation was established that is both ineffective (in my opinion) and at worst, unjust (see Title 5 of the Bishops policies that was established at the USCCB conference in Dallas & the constant deferment of due process in favor of administrative actions).
Further, it is true that the accolades due to good and faithful priests & religious needs to be emphasized. However, to not focus on the underlying problems and the causes for those problems would be further avoidance. If a person is sick the doctor has to focus on the illness of the patient to cure the illness. If the doctor only focuses on what is healthy in the body then soon the illness will go untreated and the whole body will become corrupted.