Youths in Paris Riot, Identities Unclear...

Those darn 'youths' are at it again. Rioting broke out at the Gare du Nord train station in Paris after a man attacked two inspectors after being asked (and failing) to produce a train ticket. The violence quickly spread outside of the train station and into the streets, and the 'youths' took to looting stores and hurling dumpters and plants at the police who were called in to quell the unrest.

Sound similar? It should. These 'youths' bear a great deal of resemblance to the 'youths' who plunged France into civil unrest in 2005 after two 'youths' electrocuted themselves to death while running from the police.

When soccer fans riot, the press does not refrain from pointing out the common denominator. In fact, we're constantly warned about the 'football riots' of Europe and even to be wary of 'footbal fans' while we're in Europe. We don't call these folks 'youths', even though most of them are, nor do we try to protect their common denominator by calling them 'sports fans'. Yet when 'youths' riot in France, we're told that they are simply 'youths'. We're told that commentators think these 'youths' are rioting because of racism and inequality and poverty in France, despite the fact that France has one of the most accessible and rewarding welfare benefits program in the world. It's as if we're supposed to think that these 'youths' feel alienated and prone to violence because it's our fault; whereas when the football fans riot, we waste no time casting blame where blame is due. What is it about these 'youths' that makes our media so anxious to point out their common denominator?

I have a pretty good idea.

Abortion: What you should know

Intrigue in the Dark Corridors of Power...

... could have as much to do with the shuffling of Fr. Fessio at Ave Maria University than anything else. Some people have contended that Fessio's removal as Provost had something to do with the liturgical divide within the faithful - which when you pause to think about it is only a little short of ridiculous. Others have claimed that it was to do with nepotism and patronage-staffing. Finally even others think it was as simple as making the offices of the university as efficient as possible, and that having two offices with equal power, the Provost and the President, was a serious detriment to the development of the university.

Still, it's troubling to read on other sites that there are many Catholics who seem bent on opposing the Ave Maria project. Sure, you may not agree with Tom Monaghan and his decisions, but I'm sure you could agree that the creation and success of a vibrantly orthodox university is in the best interests of the Catholic Church in America, if not the rest of the world. I've even read that 'parents don't like AMU and students are interested in it' - that could be nothing farther from the truth. Even up here in Cold Canada, AMU is a school many of our Catholic youth are interested in visiting and hopefully attending.

I also sense some naivete out there too, embodied in the much expressed shock that a Provost would be removed in such a way at a Catholic university. Well folks, these things happen all the time at universities, secular and religious. Usually it boils down to people of principle wishing to take the school in certain directions, which unfortunately can as often be opposite than similar. In fact at my alma mater, a secular school if ever there was one, several influential figures were forcibly removed in the late 1990's, simply because many at the university felt that new leadership was required. These things happen; get used to it.

Falling Like Domino's...

Fr. Joseph Fessio was fired yesterday from Ave Maria University. Fessio is a well known figure in Catholic circles - he studied under Pope Benedict, founded Ignatius Press, and contributes to First Things on occasion - and as such is well respected amongst other scholars and professors. I've heard it more than once that Fessio was instrumental in keeping some of the faculty after the contentious move from Michigan to Flordia.

It's a shame he's gone. The last thing we Catholics need is another bitter division. Hopefully more details will be revealed over the next few days.

The Federal Budget...

... is here.

No word yet if Jack 'Lend me Your Car' Layton wants to consult the Taliban first.

Global Warming Cooling Down?

By golly! Even the New York Times, the syndicated herald of pulp-hubris, is getting chilly with global warming, at least global warming according to Al 'I got my Oscar now please elect me' Gore. The Times is saying, of course, what most level headed folks of all walks of life have been urging since Global Warming Is Here became the new mantra of the politically correct/progressive liberal establishment - get the facts straight before you make public conclusions, and public denunciations.

Quote of the Week

Corrupters of families will not inherit the kingdom of God. And if they who do these things according to the flesh suffer death, how much more if a man corrupt by evil teaching the faith of God for the sake of which Jesus Christ was crucified? A man become so foul will depart into unquenchable fire: and so will anyone who listens to him" (Letter to the Ephesians 16:1–2 [A.D. 110]).

Communion Denied...

Lifesite reports that a Wyoming lesbian couple who were 'married' in Canada, and have been publicly outspoken in their support of the gay agenda, have been informed that their pastor will no longer offer them the Eucharist. Being faithful Catholics, the couple immediately went to the press and complained.

Rev. Jacobson, the pastor, notified the couple through a private letter. The two women had been vocal opponents of a Wyoming bill that would have legally defined marriage as between one man and one woman, and apparently, weekly recipicents of Corpus Christi. Leah Vader, the aptly named lesbian-scorned, had this to say: “This is the one food we all need, [of] all the sacraments, it’s the one that should be taken frequently.”

Well no, Lord Vader, it isn't. As an adult Catholic Vader should now that the Sacrament of Reconcilliation must precede the Eucharist, else we bring abomination upon our souls. The Eucharist was instituted by Christ and is maintained by Christ through His Church. To think that you could work openly against the Church, and therefore Christ Himself, and still receive the Eucharist, is a prideful, selfish thing.

Take the Cross He sends as it is and not as you imagine it ought to be.

More about Portugal...

'Omnis animal post coitum triste est'

To call the full legalization of abortion a tragedy is to engage in severe understatement. Portugal, whose birth rates are well below replacement level already, has now virtually all but committed itself to the historical waste bucket along with the rest of Western Europe. Men and women of good faith will continue to fight this and live their lives according to the Word, but so many will fall away. I suppose that's just how it usually is.

I read this morning that a massive, 3-story abortion clinic will be built in Lisbon as soon as the abortion bill is passed in full. It goes to show that abortion has never been about improving the 'plight' of women, but of making money off of death.

What it's interesting (or increasingly banal, depending on your level of apathy) is how virulently anti-life laws are made and passed. A small but well-supported group lobby politicians, the media supports, no public discussion occurs (and if it does, it is rushed or simply ignored) and the law is passed through chambers to which any attempt to stop it will surely fail. Portugal, it seems, has borrowed heavily off the Canadian-Spanish model of cultural destruction.

Portugal Falls...

It was announced today that despite the failure of the pro-abortion public referendum in Portugal last month, the parliament has passed a pro-abortion bill which effectively demolishes the previous restrictions. The bill will be pressed into law by the end of a 20 day period, subject to the Prime Minister's, pro-abortion Jose Socrates, signature.

90 or so years ago, Mary appeared and promised that the faith would always live on in Portugal. But Mary didn't specify how large or how vigourous that faith would be.

Another Blog

Another reason for my hiatus is that I and several other people (all much smarter and talented than me) are working on an explicitly Catholic blog - a First Things Lite, if we're allowed to indulge ourselves in delusions of grandeur for just a moment. Seriously, if all goes well, it will be a rich resource for all those 'embattled Catholics and people of good faith' who, like I once did, scavange the wasteland of cyberspace for oases of truth.

Once it is launched, I'll post the here and appeal to other blogs to mention it.

Where does the time go?

Wow. It's been almost a week since I've posted any significant (although everyone I've talked to seems to enjoy the cartoon). It's surprising when time flies by...

My 'hiatus' has everything to do with a major change in my life: I lost my job. Perhaps 'resigned' is more appropriate however, for I was the office manager/finanical officer of a design company that hit a major cash flow crisis. I can't say that it was a surprise though, as my weekly hours(but not my workload) had been cut down over the past six or seven weeks. But things came to a head last week, when I approached my boss to discuss the situation, and there simply wasn't any money to pay me. Sad how things end sometimes.

Now I'm planning on returning to university in the Spring to pursue a Master's in Political Science, which happens to be the very subject I studied for my Bachelor of Arts. I'm going to specialize in public policy and policy implementation - it ties my interest in law together with my much more profound interest in all things political science.

This is how I usually feel...

Yet Another Warmal Globing Post....

Here are three reasons not to buy into Global Warming:

1) The weatherman got the weekend forecast wrong, again.
2) It's been the coldest Winter in Victoria for 3 years.
3) Al Gore buys 'carbon credits' from himself and turns a massive profit.

You think Al Gore's involvement was altruistic, or even merely idealistic? Those folks who have forsaken common sense for popularity and the last remaining chance to join the 'In' crowd, and staked their integrity on the assumption that Al Gore's a bona fide eco-warrior and Global Warming will really mean more, meaner hurricanes, should take notice: Al Gore and his cadre want to make vast amounts of money off of you.

More On The Jesus Tomb

(h/t) to Bettnet.

Contrary to initial reports and what I previously posted, only the names Mary, Joseph, and Judas are the only clearly legible names on the tomb/casket/sarcophagus/ossuary. The fourth name is illegible, but James Cameron and his intrepid band of pseudo-archaeologists have interpreted it to read 'Jesus'.

The ossuary in question was actually discovered some 27 years ago, long before the trend of debunking Christianity became mainstream. Back then it garnered little, if any, press, for it was simply another inconsequential ancient discovery, so to speak.

Also, James Cameron's partner, Simcha Jacobovici (who is an Emmy winning journalist, go figure), claimed in the early nineties to have discovered the ossuary of Jesus' brother, James. Of course even then every single reputable archaeologist, historian and anthropologist dismissed his claims.

edit: Visit Extreme Theology for a comprehensive breakdown/takedown of the fraud.