The May 2010 Euthanasia Prevention Coalition Newsletter can now be found at: http://www.euthanasiaprevention.on.ca/Newsletters/Newsletter108(May2010)(RGB).pdf Bill C-384 was soundly defeated by a vote of 228 to 59. Check how the Members of Parliament voted at: http://www.euthanasiaprevention.on.ca/HowTheyVoted.pdf On June 5, 2010, we are co-hosting the US/Canda Push-Back Seminar at the Radisson Gateway Hotel at the Seattle/Tacoma Airport. The overwhelming defeat of Bill C-384 proved that we can Push-Back the euthanasia lobby in the US and Canada and convince people that euthanasia and assisted suicide are a dangerous public policy. Register for the Seminar at: http://www.euthanasiaprevention.on.ca/2010SeminarFlyer(RGB)(LetterFormat).pdf The Schindler family are being attacked by a Florida television station and Michael Schiavo. The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition is standing in solidarity with the Schindler family. My blog comments: http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/2010/05/att...
Reflections from the pastoral ministry of an Evangelical Catholic Priest.
She's right... her brother makes more sense than she does. I agree with just about everything he says.
ReplyDeleteI browsed through some of her previous columns and found much that was problematical. There is a tendency to use the scandal to flog her own pet issues. Her brother, on the other hand is brutally honest, on topic and quite focused.
The Catholics I know are all profoundly disturbed by the abuse scandal. They want to see that the issues are being dealt with honestly and justly without wholesale destruction of what they hold dear. And there's the rub...
There are those both inside the church and outside it for whom this is nothing more than an opportunity.
It is worthwhile to remember that both Judas and Peter betrayed Jesus. The only difference between the two is the fact that Peter repented and Judas hung himself.
There is no question in my mind that the Catholic Church has sinned in the person of priests who abused and bishops who put the institution ahead of the victims. We must repent.
Unfortunately we are living in an age which doesn't understand sin and repentance. For many people, Judas made the correct choice and anything that does not involve hanging ourselves will be seen as insufficient.
"There are those both inside the church and outside it for whom this is nothing more than an opportunity."
ReplyDeleteYou speak as though "opportunity" has a pre-determined negative value, and should be avoided. Why?
"...Judas hung himself."
Did he? Or was he murdered? Or was it a simple accident? That particular coroner's jury has been out for two thosuand years, and the mystery is no closer to being solved now than it was then. With no evidence to examine, it's all guesswork and interpretation.
And I found it most interesting, given her first two sentences (opening paragraph) that she still thinks of Judas' act as a betrayal. As, apparently, do you.
What if it wasn't a betrayal? What if it was part of the plan? After all, according to the story, Jesus knew about it all along and did nothing about it. What if Judas was actually a facilitator -- God's second? Chosen especially to put "The Plan" into gear?
That would put a whole different spin on things, wouldn't it?