Where the Rubber Hits the Road

" Not controversial ?" I doubt that very much. The die is not yet cast when it comes to people's opinion on this issue, especially in light of recent statements reported by some in the mainstream media by some medical ethicists. They advocate that after reaching a certain age (75 Yrs was proposed) citizens should no longer have access to medications or procedures that are aimed to extend their life. Be kept pain-free and comfortable? Yes. But their argument asserts that once you hit a state established age you will be deemed to be no longer a "productive member" of that society. Thus, you should be denied any procedure or medication that would extend a life past that point.  The simple act of permitting what had been considered to be a major crime (the taking of a human life by another person) to now become accepted, state-sanctioned law will soon lead to it being declared mandatory for citizens down the road. It is wrong to give the government the power t...

Child sex abuse victim to advise pope on reforms after challenging ‘lies and hypocrisy’ in Catholic Church | National Post

'Stay longer'? Dear God.... Noooo. The last visit of this weather phenomenon resulted in an oil bill that topped $13,200 for the three churches that make up my current assignment. Another that might last for most of a month will bankrupt us! Sigh... I guess Mother Nature really doesn't take instruction from her 'higher-ups' when it comes to making it easy on we poor country parishes. C'est la vie.  Time to lower the thermostats again and break out the sweaters. Return of the polar vortex: Arctic air to bring bitterly cold sub-zero temperatures to much of Canada | National Post

Here's an interesting story from the Holy Post discussing the fact that 1/3 of all Canadians state that they intend to go to Church this Christmas. A poster going by the handle of Whistlerskier responded with a different framing of this stat, pointing out that fully 2 in 3 Canadians didn't plan on going to Church. I wrote in response with how I viewed the issue as a Catholic priest. Do you agree with my answer? Whistlerskier Or to put it another way...." 2 in 3 Canadians don't plan on attending religious services this Christmas". Fr_ Tim Whistler: You are 100% correct. Let's also admit that of the 33% who will show up in a Church this Christmas that the majority of them are not regular church attenders. Personally I look upon such stats as both a challenge and an opportunity. A challenge in as much as it reminds me of the work of evangelization that needs to be accomplished by all serious Christians throughout the other 364 days of the year to bring peo...

Resurrection

‘Bones of St Peter’ shown to public for first time since disputed relics were discovered in the 1940s | National Post

C.S. Lewis: No mere Christian | National Post

Sylvia & Michael MacEachern Gentle Reader: Below, I offer as exhibit #1 of what I am speaking about as regards the malice that is being encouraged on Sylvia's Site (S.S.) that is so corrosive to justice and truth.  I  said that I was going to bring my message to other forums.  To raise the alert about what had happened on the S.S. regard her  publishing that +Robert Harris (St. John, NB) had endangered the children in a Miramichi parish, when in fact he fulfilled the letter of the law perfectly and with a true pastor's touch as well. Too bad Sylvia decided to blow-up the Bishop's good works and efforts. I believed it important to challenge this calumny before it took root in the public square. I told her what I was going to do... and I did it. ( Yeah for me! Sorry. )   Here we have someone by the handle 'jg' who was one of the individuals with whom Fr. SFB and I tangled with on Sunday. He's writing in response to Sylvia's announcement that I ...

Charlie Lewis of the National Post writes in response to a column by Margaret Wente in which he takes exception this her assessment of the state of the faith in Canada. He writes: "Many people have written that the re-evangelization of the West by missionaries from the Global South is becoming more commonplace. In Canada and the United States there are, for example, a number of African priests now ministering to mainly white Catholic parishes. Canterbury has already been supplanted in terms of credibility by the more orthodox Anglican bishops in Africa and Anglicanism will become more orthodox as a result of that shift. In fact, the radical growth of orthodox Anglicanism in Africa will make Anglicanism the number two Christian faith in the world, behind Roman Catholicism, by 2050 or so. The priest in my own Catholic parish in Toronto is originally from Columbia and he considers himself a missionary to Canadians. He also spent many years in Africa, living rough and...

Maybe there's hope for Canada yet! Moral dictatorship over abortion debate obscures range of Canadian opinion | Holy Post | National Post

Gender identity disorder, or transgenderism, afflicts from 0.25 to 1.0% of the population. Reacting to pressures from ideologues, it is being renamed 'gender dysphoria,' relieving the condition of any pejorative association.... Barbara Kay: Between two sexes | Full Comment | National Post

In June 2010, the Crown brought in Katherine Young, a professor of religion, as an expert witness. Prof. Young said she could not see anything in the Church of the Universe that resembled ritual, sacred spaces or symbols, or helped its members deal with life’s paradoxes. The only “ scripture ” or other literature she could find was from Cannabis Culture magazine, a secular journal, and some information on a website. Crown attorney Nicholas Devlin called the religious defense “ inside joke among people who like to smoke marijuana .” Church of the Universe ministers Peter Styrsky (L) and Shahrooz Kharaghan Mr. Filipovic said Prof. Young’s definition was too specific and countered by quoting American philosopher William James: “Religion shall mean for us the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider divine.” Any article that includes a quote from William Jam...

I've always been a fan of Conrad Black. He is the anti-typical Canadian: forceful and blunt in his opinions which he freely shares. But I fear in this column that his opinion is 'on the mark'. We (the Western democracies) are headed for massive economic trials ahead. Our only hope in Canada is that we are at least doing what needs to be done to put our own fiscal and monetary policies on a solid footing for the future... assuming the Americans don't sink us as they walk the path to insolvency. Conrad Black: A world of financial ruin | Full Comment | National Post

A reflection written by Fr. Fred Dolan, the vicar of Opus Dei in Canada. Well worth the read. Why bother believing?

Charles Lewis, religion editor of the Holy Post blog recently closed down the comment function of the blog because of a plethora of inappropriate comments. Perhaps he should post this article from the NC Register for all his readers and then pray that at least the majority of these rules might be respected. At the very least, this post is a reminder that just because people can post anonymous comments on line does not mean that they can violate the rules of civil discourse. Since I moderate comments on this blog, this is not too much of an issue. It permits me to keep 'trolls' off the blog... although they do try. (eh, Johnny?)  14 Do s and Don ts for Blog Commenting | Blogs | NCRegister.com

The latest column from Fr. Raymond DeSouza, dealing with the fact that the advance poll for the Canadian election falls on Good Friday. This side of Eden

There's a neat email that made the rounds in recent years. I suspect it springs from the pool of urban legends that besot the virtual world, but it carries an appropriate message for idiots like Terry Jones. (I won't dignify him by calling him a 'Pastor'.) He recently burned a Koran in a public event covered by the media in Florida. From there the news spread  across the globe faster, than a rumor of some misdeed by a neighbor fires across a village's old time 'social network' system. It's set in a university lecture hall and involves a challenge that an atheist professor puts to God to 'knock him off his feet' if he actually exists. He then gives the Almighty 15 minutes to effect his punishment. As the clock ticks by & the lecture continues, he glances at his watch and reminds God that his time is running out to prove that he exists. As the final few moments approach, and the professor prepares to launch into his usual boastful g...

I'm half blind today and it's almost impossible to use the computer so today I'm just cross posting to my latest column in the National Post. Where is God in the wake of all the world’s misery? | Holy Post | National Post

Some rebellion! A dozen priests out of 1600 don't like the new translation. Too bad boys. It's time to get with the program. This is not some sort of attempt to stifle the 'aggornamento' (renewal) of Vatican II. It is an expression of the sister imperative, 'resourcement' (connecting to our traditions). In other words, it simply brings the english text into closer harmony with the other languages the church uses as it better reflects the text of the original latin. Fr. Tim Australian priests rebel against new Mass | Holy Post | National Post

Beautiful inside & out! Dianne Wood, a friend of this blog and a frequent letter writer within the virtual and real pages of the National Post remarked the other day that Catholics are called to walk a 'hard road' in these times. She offered this in defense of an argument that such a journey can be successfully accomplished with faith, discipline and the grace of God. As always, she is so RIGHT ON! I wanted to let her know of my appreciation for her witness that I posted the comment below in the relevant thread on the Holy Post . I post it again here to ensure that she (and others who do the same) might find it to be of encouragement in this difficult times for those who argue in defense of the Catholic faith and Church. --------------------------- Dianne: You are so right! It is a road made hard by the sinfulness of clergy who both enabled and committed these heinous crimes. Yet we continue to believe in the truth the Church contains, soiled but not stained ...