faith in the public order – Page 2

Fr Corapi placed on administrative leave

The sad news of Fr Corapi being placed on administrative leave is making the rounds. His own testimony of the facts is noted here.

Let us pray that Saint Joseph will intercede before his son and our redeemer, Jesus Christ, for a quick resolution. Justice delayed is justice denied.

Shahbaz Bhatti, Christian, murdered in Pakistan

Yesterday, Pakistani Christians –indeed, the world– lost a voice of reason and hope in the heinous, tragic death of Shahbaz Bhatti. He was the minister for minorities for the Pakistan government.

Let us pray for the peaceful repose of Shahbaz Bhatti, his mother and siblings. We’d do well to pray for the Church in Pakistan!

Read the story.

Asma al-Assad on St John the Baptist

Syria should be on your radar screen if you have an interest in the life of the Church. It’s openness to
Christianity today is startling bad. Freedom of religion and human rights lack;
political oppression and basic needs are always in question. The current regime
very likely nervous given the recent wave of political take-back. John Juliet
Buck’s Vogue magazine article on the Syrian First Lady, Asma al-Assad, “A Rose in
the Desert” speaks to many issues in Syria, not least is religion. Thoughts of
St John the Baptist’s tomb hearken back to when in 2001 Pope John Paul II visited Syria
and prayed at the tomb of the Baptist.

At first thought Ms al-Assad’s deference to the importance of the Baptist is impressive but there’s something that strikes me as false given recent history of her husband’s family’s rule of Syria viz. religious freedom. Plus, her interest in Christianity in Syria is not because the gospel is true, good and beautiful; her interest in the Church is cultural. The gospel in this context has been reduced to a system of culture and ethics –exactly what it’s not. Syria is Indeed, many religions have passed through those lands and one seems fairly certain that the current regime wants religions like Christianity to leave Syria and not turn back. Historically, Christianity has been in Syria since St Paul visited the country. It is the place, as we know, where the followers of Jesus were first called “Christians.” Christians in Syria comprise 10% of the population with the largest group being the Greek Orthodox Church.

For me here’s the relevant paragraph in the article:

Back in the car, Buck was answered about
his investigation “what religion the orphans are?” “It’s not relevant,” says
Asma al-Assad. “Let me try to explain it to you. That church is a part of my
heritage because it’s a Syrian church. The Umayyad Mosque is the
third-most-important holy Muslim site, but within the mosque is the tomb of
Saint John the Baptist. We all kneel in the mosque in front of the tomb of
Saint John the Baptist. That’s how religions live together in Syria–a way that
I have never seen anywhere else in the world. We live side by side, and have
historically. All the religions and cultures that have passed through these
lands–the Armenians, Islam, Christianity, the Umayyads, the Ottomans–make up
who I am.”

Nancy Davis killed by drug smugglers for her truck

Last week Nancy Davis, 59, drug smugglers wanted her pickup truck and killed her for it in Mexico. What Nancy and her husband, Sam, did was to build churches and orphanages but they found themselves trying to out-run drug runners with assault rifles. Nancy and Sam Davis have been missionaries in Mexico for the last 38 years.

Sam said he trusts that Nancy is with God and that he’s confident that she never suffered after being shot in the head. Ms Davis’ funeral was held in McAllen, Texas. May Nancy rest in peace!

Egypt leads the way to political overhaul

Official photograph of Egyptian President Hosn...

Image via Wikipedia

AsiaNews.it published this editorial today where the writer highlights some middle eastern countries. I recommend it. Interesting to note is the comment made by Syria president Bashir al-Assad who spoke with the Wall Street Journal calling the political upending a “kind of disease” due to political and economic stagnation.

The one million people gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir (Liberation) square are forcing the hand of Hosni Mubarak, 82, to leave office by Friday after what some have called a soft dictatorship for the past 30 years. He’s the 4th and current president of the Egyptian Republic. It won’t belong now before the many oppressive regimes around the world are taken down. Who’s next? Cuba, China, Iran?

Saint Menas, pray for Egypt, and for all of us.

Authentically Christian Politicians

Heightened
awareness in the days following the violence inflicted on a US Congresswoman
and several others and the deaths of a Federal Judge and several others leads
to ask what is transpiring in civil discourse. These issues are not merely a US
thing but the Australians are also dealing with the same. The Australian
Premier Kristina Keneally -a woman similar in style and content as our own
Nancy Pelosi, spoke against George Cardinal Pell, the ranking churchman of the
Catholic Church in Australia, saying she was saddened by the Cardinal’s
statements on Catholic faith and belief. So what’s been ignited by Premier
Keneally is also applicable around the world. Keneally becomes the lens to view
the issues.

Continue reading Authentically Christian Politicians

Obama’s new rules for Faith-Based Initiatives

President Obama revised 2001 faith based initiatives established by President George W. Bush with “Fundamental Principles and Policymaking Criteria for Partnerships with Faith-Based and Other Neighborhood Organizations” on November 17, 2010.

Catholic organizations like Catholic Charities, hospitals, clinics, assisted living organizations, adoption agencies would do well to review their policies and practices to see if the present policies cohere with what the President has set down in the executive order since there are some serious potential conflicts. Serious points of contention will likely be around the providing of religious services, counseling rooted in faith and to what degree you can apply pastoral practice to the workings of the agency. The secularists are already jumping for joy with the new amendments because they want more restrictive policies and stringent policies of accountability for the use of monies and practices by faith-based organizations. Having said all this, though, clarity of what can and cannot be done are helpful since they establish rules of engagement. Clear to all reasonable minded people, religious freedom needs to be respected. And we Catholics will hear more about religious freedom in 2011 with Pope Benedict addressing the issue of religious freedom at significant events like world youth day. The Pope is very clear that we propose and not impose our faith in Christ, even with those who claim to be Christians.

Continue reading Obama’s new rules for Faith-Based Initiatives

Vote: it’s necessary for Catholics

Just back from Mass for the Faithful Departed and from voting.

Have you prayed and voted???

Catholics vote because it is “… for the promotion of the common
good” (Benedict XVI)

Voting is a “… serious moral obligation…” and Catholics “…
can never vote for someone who favors absolutely what’s called the ‘right to
choice'” (Abp R. Burke)

Obama has a Catholic problem, big time

The other day the New York Times published a graph
showing, according to polls, that Catholic voters pose a serious problem for
tomorrow’s election. Interesting. The red bar demonstrates that a 24% lead for the
Republicans among US Catholics.
Remember, Catholics voted for Barack Obama, 54-44% in 2008. No poll
tells the whole truth and, in my are barely an indicator of what is really
thought by those polled. This poll is no different. However, if the pollsters
are remotely correct, Catholics could lead the way to change in the November 2election from Democrat-to-Republican.

Let’s be honest: Catholics are no
different in their voting patterns than the general public. Sad but true. And I
find this fact to be a disappointing fact. Discriminating who these Catholics
are as active (or non-active) is curious. The polls tell us that weekly
church-going Catholics in 2008 did not vote for Democrats, more or less.

See more info at Catholic Vote