Round-up

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I’ve been pretty busy, so I haven’t had time to post much. Here’s a round-up of some links and thoughts I’ve been accumulating:

On the Pope

Conclave set for April 18th.

Even the sun mourns: There will be an eclipse on the Pope’s funeral day.

For Lisa:
Michael Jackels ordained as tenth Bishop of Wichita. The ordination came just two days after the Pope’s death. A letter from the Pope making the appointment of Jackels as bishop was read at the Ordination Mass. I can’t imagine the emotion that must have accompanied it.

Tired of all the silly drivel calling for the next Pope to “liberalize” the Church? Well here’s a much saner piece from the Washington Times pointing out the extreme unlikelihood of such a thing happening. I'm not a big fan of the Times (the whole Moonie thing), but they do hit the nail on the head or close to it more frequently than most beg media.

Finally, I just have one comment I need to get off my chest. I have seen/heard/read about a half of a dozen pundits refer to JP2 as Reagan’s “ally” or (worse) “right-hand-man” in the fight against Communism. This makes me nauseous. Yes they both hated Communism, but they used vastly different methods to fight it. Furthermore, their ideologies – though both opposed to Communism – did not line up. True Catholic teaching opposes soulless Capitalism as much as it does soulless Communism, and they differed on many of the nuts and bolts of social justice as well. Capitalism in and of itself may not violate the dignity and freedom of the human person in the same way that Communism does, but the soulless Capitalism practiced by most western societies does. I don’t think Ronald Reagan (or frankly, 99% of elected Republicans and Democrats alike) would buy into the Pope’s and the Church’s full vision of a society that is organized to promote the full moral and spiritual development of every human person.

On Life Issues

Dawn Eden (as always) has been doing excellent reporting on life issues. Here are three posts of hers that caught my attention:

Here she reveals an incredibly offensive attempt to euphemize the reality of abortion by referring a fertilized egg (i.e. a person) as a “blighted ovum." That term has a real meaning, which a commenter on her post aptly describes:

In the era of ultrasound and genetic testing, we don't use this term, but instead use more specific terms, based on what can be seen (by U/S and pathologic examination) and, often, what can be additionally determined by cytogenetic testing. Examples include things such as partial molar pregnancy or trisomy 18.

Now think as to why this is so Orwellian: a medical term used to indicate disease within a fertilized egg rendering it incompatible with life is now being suggested as a euphemism for the active intervention to prevent normal fertilized ova (i.e., human embryos) from implanting. Drugs that do this are properly called abortifacients, and the process is properly called abortion. This is the MO of the IUD and emergency contraception (more Orwellian language—what is being contra-ed? Not conception!).

She also has fires two rounds (1, 2) in her ongoing war against Planned Parenthood. Good stuff both.

The Anchoress points out a Zogby poll which was released last week which can best be classified as “too little, too d*** late.” The poll asked about the terri Schiavo situation in a much more accurate way than any previous polls that had been released. The results show that an overwhelming majority of Americans – 79% - said that in such a situation a feeding tube should not be removed.

Elsewhere, our friend and poker buddy John Bambenek points us to this post at Myopic Zeal listing some of the persons complicit in the starving of Terri Schiavo, and revealing many conflicts of interest that never managed to catch the eye of major media outlets.

Miscellany

The Pertinacious Papist has a long list of prominent converts grouped by century, original faith and occupation/vocation. U of I folk will note that Dr. Kenneth Howell is listed, though Monsignor Swetland is not.

The Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) hosted an event last month where Mary Eberstadt, author of Home Alone America, discussed her book. Patrick Fagan of the Heritage Foundation and Christine Rosen, fellow of the EPPC, also were there and discussed the book and Eberstadt's ideas. The website features an audio recording of the event.

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2 Comments

Wow! I and the rest of Wichita are noticed in the Blogdom. :) Thanks, Chris.

My coworker is Catholic, and he actually goes to the church (Church of the Magdalen) where the new bishop was ordained. Last week, we wondered what would happen to the ordination if JPII died; as it turned out, it went ahead anyway (too close to the time, I guess).

Of course, I didn't go, and he didn't go, either. But there's another guy we both know who works in another stress group who went (invited as a K of C). He said the whole Mass took about 3.5 hours. They're broadcasting it locally on Saturday, so the little people like me can see it. :)

:) Hi Lisa! I hope things are well!

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This page contains a single entry by Papa-Lu published on April 6, 2005 3:10 PM.

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