SHREVEPORT, La. - Greenwood Acres Full Gospel Baptist Church will pay white people to attend services during August to increase the diversity of its congregation.

Bishop Fred Caldwell says he will pay $5 per hour for Sunday services and $10 an hour for the Thursday service. The idea came to him during his sermon Sunday.

"Our churches are too segregated, and the Lord never intended for that to happen. It's time for something radical," Caldwell says.

He is basing the initiative on a parable from Matthew 20:1-16, the story of the workers in the vineyard. A landowner hired men to work in his fields for the day and throughout the day kept seeking more workers. No matter what time they came to work, the workers were all paid the same.

Church member Criss Williams says paying people to attend is a bold step but doesn't have a problem with it.

"I don't see it as any different than a lot of the churches that have different social functions to attract visitors," Williams says. "Bishop just kind of cut to the chase and went to the money."
[Full Story]

What a concept. We could get people back into confession by offering 20$ per mortal sin and 1$ for each venial sin confessed. I know I would have raked in some cash to rival Bill Gates for my first confession. We could even call it the confession concession and advertise with the slogan "Your soul feels lighter and your wallet heaver." The arrangement of us having to pay for our sins could be reversed and ours sins could pay us instead. The only problem is you know the government would get involved since they are already keen on sin taxes. It would be funny though if you could pay these taxes through a computer and if you make a mistake it would say "Sin Tax Error."

If you pay someone to receive a sacrament that is called simony. I wonder what it would be called to use money encourage someone to receive a sacrament? Would it then be a sacramint?

Tomorrow the letter "Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons" will be released by the Vatican and the Church of England has just released the 138-page document, Being Human.

The Church of England sought to shed its puritanical image on sexual issues yesterday in a report that could pave the way for further liberalisation.

Its Doctrine Commission admits that the Church has "acquired a reputation for being negative about sex". It should celebrate it as "a wonderful gift from God".

Pejorative language, such as the phrase "living in sin", is absent from the report, which instead encourages "covenanted relationships".

The Rt Rev Stephen Sykes, the commission's chairman, says that any man and woman who make a lifelong commitment to each other are in such a relationship, whether or not they are married.

However, the Church will still urge such couples to marry, although it increasingly recognises that the institution is far from perfect.

The report says that the Church remains divided on whether homosexual couples can be in such relationships.

Even so, liberals will seize on the 138-page document, Being Human, which has been endorsed by the House of Bishops, to reinforce their arguments that the Church needs to relax its strictures.
[Full Story]

This is what happens when you don't have the living authority of the Church to protect the truth. The Protestant ideas of Sola Fide and Sola Scriptura have broken down to Sola Cultura. While the concept of Sola Scriptura is deeply flawed it is preferable to just looking at the culture around you and priding yourself on being a modern and taking your cues from that. I am sure that the Greek and Roman cultures in decline felt exactly the same way.

It is no surprise that the Church of England which started because of a annulment dispute and subsequent remarriage of the king could degenerate down to this concept of marriage and sex. You would think that they were using a totally different Bible by the doctrines that have resulted. You would believe that by their interpretation of scripture that Jesus' first public miracle was the cohabitation at Cana. That King Herod Antipas was a hero and that John the Baptist was a judgemental intolerant fool because he didn't approve of Herod's "covenanted relationship." That Jesus only urged people to marry and didn't have anything to say about sex outside of marriage.

The report said that, given the changes in society's attitude towards sex and relationships, "a merely nostalgic or conservative reaction is out of the question". The report also argues that people need ever greater wisdom to deal with modern pressures such as power and money.

How about unchanging moral truth? Oops sorry if I have offended anyone by that statement.

After slaughtering a Muslim-turned-Christian, Islamic extremists have reportedly returned the man's body to his Palestinian family in four pieces.
[Full Story]

WINK-TV North Naples : Ave Maria College can now officially be called Ave Maria University. The Florida Commission for Independent Education gave the school a license on Monday. The license is a big step for the school's goal of building a campus on 5,000 acres of land in Collier County.

The school has opened a temporary campus in the Vineyards in North Naples. This year, 100 students have signed up to be part of Ave Maria's first class. "It will be almost like a family," said incoming student Mary Megan Barone. "We'll start out small and grow big together." Barone is a graduate of St. John Neumann High School in Golden Gate, she will join students from 29 states in Ave Maria's first freshman class.
[Full Story]

Social change cannot be shifted into reverse by fiat, even by papal fiat.

Moral truth cannot be shifted into reverse by fiat, even by Boston Globe fiat.

The march toward equal rights for gay and lesbian couples will not stop for religious leaders of any denomination who exercise narrow selectivity in their embrace of social justice.

In New Hampshire, a gay priest has been elected a bishop in the Episcopal Church, a reflection of greater societal acceptance of homosexuality even as the church debates his confirmation. In Boston, an intolerant friar today will be elevated to archbishop, a commentary on the homophobia that still pervades the Roman Catholic Church.
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The Intolerant Friar sounds like a great mystery book title to me. Just to bad that this writer does not tolerate the new Bishop of Boston. This article is a commentary on the Romeaphobia that still pervades the Boston Globe. Since they always refer to us as the "Roman" Catholic Church I think the term I just coined "Romeaphobia" is apt.

The two men inside make final checks before maneuvering the aircraft toward the runway.

After just a few minutes they get the "all clear," and the plane begins its short trip down the concrete stretch, gathering speed before the nose lifts off the ground.

For the Rev. Mel Hemann this flight is like many others, but for his co-pilot, Jacek Rejman, it's like very few he's flown.

Hemann, 74, is one of the founding members of the National Association of Flying Priests. He's been making flights like this one to St. Louis for years, ferrying members of the clergy and himself to meetings and conventions across the state or country.

"I was stationed in Dubuque for a while, and as a rule of thumb anything west of Waterloo and I would fly (there)," Hemann said. "If you look at the priests as the CEO of a business, from a business point of view, it just makes sense. Time is money."
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National Association of Flying Priests? I wonder if their patron saint is Joseph of Cupertino. I guess a plane is more sensible than an aerodynamic habit like Sally Fields.

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- The Vatican hopes to rally public opposition to gay marriages in a worldwide campaign spurred by its alarm over growing legal acceptance of same-sex unions in Europe and North America. Pope John Paul II has been speaking out for months against legislative proposals to legalize same-sex marriages. But instructions to be released this week go a step further by outlining a course of action for politicians and other lay people to oppose extending the rights accorded to traditional couples, Vatican officials told The Associated Press.

The document is titled "Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons." It was prepared by the church's guardian of orthodoxy, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and is to be released Thursday, the officials said.

One official familiar with the document called it a "practical reflection" for both Catholic and non-Catholic politicians and public opinion in general.

It asks that the legal recognition accorded the traditional marriages not be extended to same-sex unions, the official told AP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The document prescribes a course of action for politicians and lay communities and does not involve the clergy, Vatican officials said. It is expected to detail how the issue should be dealt with in public forums, including legislatures. The officials did not give provide examples.
[Full Story]

Isaac Asimov's in his Robot novels developed laws that governed the possible actions of the Robots with positronic brains.

The Three Laws of Robotics are:

1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

In his novels apparent contradictory actions of robots occurred even though they were following the three laws. I have noticed though that there is a similar set of laws governing Democrats running for national office. These laws appear to perfectly describe the behavior of these candidates and can be used in all cases to determine their actions in relation to abortion.

The Three Laws of Robotic Democrats

1. A Democrat may not injure a woman's right to abortion, or, through inaction, allow a woman's right to abortion to be overturned.

2. A Democrat must obey the orders given it by focus groups except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A Democrat must protect its own political existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Asimov used the three laws in his stories and the mystery would be how a Robot might have committed a murder even though bound by the three laws. The Three Laws of Robotic Democrats seem to be tighter and with better enforcement of possible contradictions. If you are a Pro-Life Democrat then you are barred from support in seeking national office and will not be allowed to speak at a convention, even if the topic is not about abortion. The Democrats running for President can probably only agree on two things. 1) That they should be President, and 2) Abortion no matter what.

In some ways you can admire their tight control of the pro-death party line and I wish that the Republican had such control over their members in regard to being pro-life. Pro abortion Republicans are not only allowed to speak at the conventions but are in prominent positions in the President's cabinet.

Five months ago in my role as armchair investigative reporter I looked at the seamy underbelly of St. Blogs and turned up many scandalous facts in this post.

This exposure has not stopped the scandalous activity in this parish, I now turn my attention to blog coups. Blog coups is a phenomenon where group blogs get dominated by one member.

The blog Christus Victor lists four people as members of this group blog, but only Christine seems to now post. Was their a midnight coup and why have we never heard form the other posters again. They did not start new blogs and seemed to have disappeared. Looking though the archives I determined their disappearance happened April.

Another blog Whys Guys has Mark a Catholic and Rich an atheist two physics students at Cornell. Soon after launching the blog Rich stopped posting. Now their seems to be a new poster a Catholic named Joseph.

In the early days of Catholic Light, brothers Steve and John Schultz both posted on this site. Steve disappeared and was later replaced by a motley crew of other Catholic bloggers.

Now I am sure that they would want us to believe that the other posters had other time commitments or tired of blogging, but is that the truth? supposedly Steve Shultz has gone on to the seminary, but is that the real story. Has anybody actually seen any of these bloggers lately.

Now there are a couple possible scenarios and I will look first at Christus Victor. This blog was a mixture Protestant/Catholic blog and I wonder if there just might have been one two many Martin Luther jokes or reformation celebrations and Christine in a fit of rage done them in during a heated battle. I am also suspicion of her name. Wasn't Christine the name of the demonic infused car in a Stephen King novel? Coincidence? I wonder.

You can also imagine the heated discussions with those two students at Whys Guys about the existence of God. Now possibly this coup involved murder but I also wonder if Rich really ever truly existed. Possibly Mark has a split personality and in temptations of faith battles his atheistic personality. Mark seems to have won out for now but he bears watching. Now with the addition of Joseph we will just have to wait and see if he a real person separate from Mark. I imagine he added another person just to keep the pluralistic Guys for Wise Guys.

Now there have been multi-person coup at HMS Blog before when Greg Popcak was out of town. In reality a coup has already taken place with Kevin Miller who out posts everyone else a 100 to 1.

So if any of you missing bloggers are still alive I would appreciate you to email me a picture of yourself with todays newspaper. Please no crappy sounding audio tapes like Bin Laden's.

If you copied a prayer and then presented it as your own would you be guilty of praygiarism?

Go read William Luse's latest post at Apologia.

Chris of Rosa Mystica has a funny story on CorruptChristianMusic.com. His comments cracked me up, especially:

(DANGER, DANGER!! FULL BLOWN ANTI-PAPIST FUNDY KOOK! GUARD YOUR CHILDREN FROM THE NUN-HONORING, LED ZEPPELIN-REMINDING WITCH)

Jerusalem - Israeli police have arrested an antiquities dealer in connection with two alleged forgeries, including a burial box once thought to belong to the brother of Jesus.

Oded Golan appeared in a Jerusalem court Tuesday, a day after police picked him up at his Tel Aviv home.

Police allege Golan faked an inscription on the so-called James ossuary to make it appear it belonged to the brother of Jesus.
[Full Story]

Now this is old news, but I was thinking about them going to Jerusalem to forge this. In other words "It's a long way to rip an ossuary."

This article details the relation of some people's last name and their consequent careers. Many interesting name-job coordinations including this one:

Demetrius Dumm, a Benedictine monk from Latrobe, Pa., said that, with his "idiotic name," he had no choice but to become a scholar.

"I always had to work a little harder in school," said Dumm, who holds a doctorate in theology.

Here is the first part of an interesting column about a colorful priest.

"When I was a little, I wanted to be a garbage man or a priest. Now I'm both. And I'm a really happy man." - Father Domenic Jose Roscioli

It also contains this funny story.

...That led him to volunteer his services at The Hole-in-the-Wall-Gang Camp in Ashford, Conn. It was a summer camp founded by a guy named Paul Newman - yup, Paul Newman the actor - to provide a week's worth of peace to children with cancer and similar life-threatening illnesses.

"Paul is always around, riding his bike, eating lunch with the campers," says Father Dom. "It's a place where he is left alone, too. Most of the kids have no idea who he is.

"One day he was sitting at lunch having a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich when a little girl noticed his face on a carton of 'Newman's Own Lemonade.' She looked at the picture on the side of the carton, then at Paul next to her, back at the carton, then once more at Paul.

"Then she got it. 'Are you a lost boy?"

Here is a story about the Franciscan Sisters of Christ the King who have decided not to charge rent for a football field on their property.

Why the change of heart for the nuns?

“They say they have no money,” said Sister Mary Bonaventure, the corporation treasurer.

“We can try it for this season and see how it goes. We've never had a football game in our back yard. Anybody who might have a football game literally in their back yard would be concerned.”

You would think that someone wanted to put up a nuclear power plant or some chemical plant. I just think that it is funny that someone would be concerned about a football game in their backyard.

Sister Bonaventure isn't sure whether the nuns will attend.

“Maybe that would shake up the opposing team,” she said with a laugh. “We'll see about that.”

A tyrannical nun wielding a lightsaber has unspeakable power over Jake Wyskalker.

She is from the dark side ... of the Catholic Church. Her emperor is the archbishop. And Jake ... may be her son.

It's goofy but hilarious. Brent Hartinger's comedy play "Nun Wars" brings the force to the closing weekend of the 13th annual South Sound Playwrights Festival.

Hartinger is a published novelist whose works are light but never lightweight. "Nun Wars" is a silly, good-natured skit, but it also portrays a grown man struggling to let go of his childhood anger at the church and, maybe, find some semblance of God. That's a lot to accomplish in 15 funny minutes.
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Going once, going twice: A monastery can be named in your honour for a price.

A small cash-strapped Benedictine order that wants to build a new monastery and headquarters in eastern Pennsylvania is selling the "naming rights" - much as sports teams do for stadiums and arenas.

In a seven-day auction that began Monday on EBay, the Benedictine Order of St. John the Beloved opened bidding at $1 million for a package including a church building, monastery and bell towers.

The structures can be bid on separately, and the highest bidders will have their items named for them or people of their choice.

If marketing the buildings is a success, future auctions will sell naming rights to choir books, stained-glass windows and church pews.

The order follows the teachings of the Old Catholic Church, which split from the Roman Catholic Church more than a century ago in a dispute over papal infallibility.
[Full Story]

Maybe Disney can get in the bidding for "Mickey Mouse Monastery" and phone companies could bid for the "Ma Bell Towers"

From "A Tour of the Summa" by Msgr. Paul J. Glenn:

1. Liberality is a virtue, for it puts to good use the things that might be used, for evil purposes--such, for instance, as more or other material things.

2. And, indeed, liberality deals, first and foremost, with money. A liberal man is an open-handed man, who is ready to "liberate" money from his own possession, and thus shows that he is is not inordinately attached to it.

This is a concept of liberalism that I would never have extrapolated for what passes as modern day liberalism. If what I have read about the meager amount of charity given by liberal lawmakers according to their tax returns is true and that the so-called "Bush Country" out gives to charity then those Democratic enclaves of big cities then I would write the definition for liberalism as expressed now as follows:

A liberal man is a closed-handed man, who is ready to "liberate" money from others possession, and thus shows that he is inordinately attached to his own money and inordinately attached to their money.

Now of course this is a generalization and doesn't apply to each individual who identifies themselves as liberals, but I believe it does encapsulate the main trend of today's liberalism. Maybe some of the factors for this are as follows. Many democrats view people as groups vice individuals. You are seen and sorted based on race, income, age, sexual preference, et cetera. These groups are played off against each other and promises are made that the government can correct any perceived wrongs between these groups. If there is a problem then the solution is always with the government. This view removes all problems from the realm of the individual into the realm of government. This is why we have lost personal accountability, since no person is really responsible for their actions but instead it is attributed that there wasn't a big government program to help them or prevent the problem in the first place.

Since the government is responsible and not the individual you never have to reform yourself. If you see a problem you don't have to personally try to help another individual, but instead you can bemoan the fact that there isn't a government program to help this person. Why open your wallet when it is the group that is responsible and not yourself? If only we had the right laws and programs all injustices would disappear. If people are not saving enough for retirement, institute social security. Your neighborhood schools are failing to teach your children, simple add another cabinet position to the federal government. People can't really live on Social Security and schools are still failing, oh well it's not my problem; I have bestowed all responsibilities to the government.

G.K. Chesterton when asked to write an essay on what was wrong with the world replied "I am. Yours truly, G.K. Chesterton." This is the antithesis of modern thinking. The concept of sin has passed away and is replaced by genetics or the actions of others. How can you repent when it is not really your fault? This attitude is pernicious and has done much damage to both the individual and society. Now I would't want us to go the other direction into radical individualism, yet we need to reorder ourselves and then society on the proper balance of each unique individual and their roles together as first person, family, community, and then nation.

Today marks the one year anniversary of when I decided to inflict my opinions and puns on others. Yes one year ago today I started blogging at my old blogspot blog Atheist to a Theist. I blogged there for six months and considered that penitential enough before moving over to this site and Movable Type.

I have learned a lot during this year. I know this because I am more aware of how much I don't know. I thought when I started my first blog that even though I was a fairly recent convert that I was very knowledgeable of the faith. I had spent about three years deeply immersed in the great writings and depth of the Church. After reading the posts of others in St. Blogs parish I now realize how foolish that notion was and I am daily humbled by the depth of knowledge and writing abilities of others. I am glad though that I did not know this or I would never have started and blogging is definitely cheaper than therapy.

Now some might think this blog was only an excuse to make bad puns, and they would be correct. I have never understood people apologizing for puns. Here puns are always intentional. I am a great admirer of Dr. Scott Hahn and would like to emulate him and so I evaluated my abilities next to his. Brilliant theologian, no. Able to explain complex ideas to others, no. Well written prose, well no again; mine is more like grammatical speedbumps. Bad puns, bingo! The other day in response to one of my puns, Greg Popcak left this comment "You are truly a twisted man." Ah, praise indeed.

I keep waiting to receive the blogger's charism of prophetic inference. Some bloggers have the ability to read a short news story about someone they don't know in a place they have never been, and then to be able to give a detailed analysis of the thoughts and motivations of the people in the story and then sum up their life in two words. I read the same story and wonder how did they come to those conclusions, oh well - maybe some day.

When I first started I was well pleased with the five or so people who would come to my site during a day. I figured this was at least a minimum of a 500 percent increase of people paying attention to my thoughts. Once the hits started to increase a little bit I got greedy and dreamed of being mentioned in prominent Catholic blogs, The Corner, and of course InstaPundit. I am pretty much over those silly aspirations and mainly just enjoy blogging. I have included one of my song parodies at the end of this post to mock my previous attitude.

Thanks to those who read my blog on purpose, have linked to me, blogrolled this site, and left comments. Especially useful were those comments that reminded me when I was less than charitable or had generalized or missed an aspect of a topic. So before I pull a Sally Fields, here is a song parody based on "THE COVER OF THE ROLLING STONE" by Dr Hook & the Medicine Show

Well, were big blog slingers, we got golden fingers
And were linked everywhere we go [ that sounds like us ]
We rant about D.C. and what we say is the truth
At ten thousand hits in a day [ yeah right ]
We use all kind of sources, and talk about the Armed Forces
But the thrill we've never known, is the thrill that'll getcha
When your post that's pure conjecture linked on the cover at the InstaPundit

CHORUS:

InstaPundit,
Wanna see my link as I mouse over
Wanna email the link to my mother [ Yeah! ]
Wanna see my smilin' URL, my site to discover on the cover of the InstaPundit

I got cable news and RSS feed aggregators,
News sources from both Clinton and Bush haters
I am a chair bound world wide reporter,
Whose analysis is true all others distorters
The world is my venue, I even fisked a restaurant menu
And the ego that'll getcha when you get your conjecture on the cover of the InstaPundit

CHORUS

On my site I got a InstaPundit link button
What's wrong, are all my posts rotten?
Hat tips and credit I always supply to him,
Please turn your attention to my blog won't you mention
Stunning insights and reasoned writing just waiting for you Glenn
My counter keeps a countin' but I can't get my writin',
Linked on the cover of the InstaPundit

CHORUS

MADRID (Reuters) - The mayor of a southern Spanish town has declared Thursdays "ladies' night" and says he will fine any man found strolling about town in the evening, in an attempt to encourage them to stay at home and do the chores.
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I don't know if women will agree with this program and the tickets given out as a result. After all women know that a good man is hard to fine.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter may visit North Korea in September in an attempt to break the stalemate over Pyongyang's nuclear program, a Japanese TV network said. Private broadcaster Fuji Television reported on its Web site Wednesday that Carter was making arrangements to visit North Korea, perhaps early in September, and would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
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ELEANOR HALL: Some priests are said to be in shock and there's talk of an atmosphere of tyranny inside the Sydney Catholic Church today, amid accusations that Sydney Archbishop Doctor George Pell is stacking the Church Council with conservative religious leaders in tune with his own views on abortion, euthanasia and contraception.

The criticism concerns Dr Pell's appointment of two new bishops in New South Wales, and some bishops are vowing to confront their leader to ask whether the appointments are part of a Vatican push to purge the Sydney Church of its liberal tendencies.

As Hamish Fitzsimmons reports, senior figures within the Church say the appointment of conservative clergy members to high office is part of a global trend in Catholic administration.
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Notice the "with his own views", as if his views might be different than the Churches view. It is sad that the definition of liberal now means that you approve of abortion, euthanasia and contraception. It is also sad that some bishops would confront another bishop for appointing people whose views actually are in line with the Catholic Church.

It was David Hannum, not P.T. Barnum, who said, "There's a sucker born every minute."
[Link via Stupidus]

It is now official accord to this new story from the BBC that the Missionaries of Charity have received a copyright on Mother Teresa's name and a logo that she had designed.

...Today -- the official feast day of Mary Magdalene -- is a good time to restore her honor.

Lest anyone see this as feminist-inspired rhetoric, the Vatican stated in 1969 that Mary Magdalene (sometimes referenced as Mary of Magdala and Mary Magdala) was not a harlot.

But, poor woman, the stories are still going around. Probably because it is a good story.

Mary Magdalene, it is usually told, was among the women who used their tears to wash Jesus' feet. (These women are unnamed in Scriptures).

Mary Magdalene was at the Crucifixion. She was among the group of women who discovered the empty tomb after Jesus rose from the dead. She first saw the risen Christ.

Biblical scholars, however, say Mary Magdalene might not have even lived. Or, they say, her image is a compilation of Marys -- including Mary of Bethany (Lazarus' and Martha's sister).

"We know virtually nothing about this woman," notes Jean Porter, a professor of theology at Notre Dame University. "The figure of Mary Magdalene is most probably a consolidation of at least two, possible three, women mentioned in Scriptures."
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I just love these well rounded and researched articles, especially where they quote unnamed Biblical scholars as if they were some homogeneous group who all agree with each other. You keep hearing quotes from these scholars but they always remain anonymous. Maybe these Biblical scholars have never lived and were only a compilation of liberal Biblical scholars imagined by the writer. Whenever you see something on A&E or Bravo that is somehow Biblically related they almost always trot out the same one or two scholars. And coincidentally they are always "Biblical scholars" who don't believe in the resurrection or anything else from the Bible.

Now what I would like to see is a tag team match between those scholars who say that Mary Madalene didn't really exist with those who say that she married Jesus. I would pay to see the Jesus Seminar Smackdown on Pay-Per-View. Or better yet a grudge match between Attila the Scott Hahn against Charles "Peter is not the Rock" Curran.

A priest has been accused of blasphemy for allowing a fashion show featuring scantily clad models to take place in his church.

Clothes created by Polish designer Arkadius Weremczuk were modelled at the Holy Mary of Lourdes Church in Jette.

They included see-through blouses with embroidered crucifixes and small tops featuring portraits of Jesus.

Priest Marc Scheerens said he was challenging the last taboo of nudity in church.

Het Nieuwsblad reports an organisation called Belgium and Christianity has accused the 54-year-old of blasphemy.

Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels said he wants to watch a film of the invitation-only event before deciding whether to take action. He said: "A priest is free to do in his church what he likes but we can punish him afterwards."

Mr Scheerens is reported as saying: "A church is not the house of God. A church is the house of everyone, fashion designers included.

"And God couldn't have been shocked by it, since he was not invited. All guests knew exactly what they could expect. There was no churchgoer present who could take offence."
[Full Story]

Now a dedicated 20-something PETA staff member, formerly known as Karin Robertson, has decided to up her carrot power by legally changing her name to GoVeg.com.

As PETA’s youth projects specialist, GoVeg.com—“GoVeg” to friends, family, and coworkers—spends her days talking to high school and college audiences around the country. Her former moniker would occasionally stir others to blandly comment, “You spell ‘Karin’ with an ‘i’ instead of an ‘e’? Interesting.” Now when GoVeg.com introduces herself to others, their eyes grow wide, their heads cock to the side, and they soon find themselves deep in conversation about why they should, well, go veg.
[Full Story]

A PROTESTER ran on to the track during the British Grand Prix yesterday, forcing drivers to swerve at up to 185mph as they narrowly avoided him.

Defrocked priest Neil Horan, 54, wearing a kilt and Tam O'shanter, was carrying a placard saying "Read the Bible - The Bible Is Always Right".

He was bundled to the ground by a race marshal as organisers sent out the safety car to slow down the Formula One cars. Toyota driver Cristiano da Matta said: "I missed him by centimetres. God knows what would have happened to him and me if I had hit him."

It was later suggested that Horan - who says his mission is to spread joy in the world - was trying to perform his peace dance.

It was Lap 12 when Irish-born Horan, with his country's tricolour around his waist, scaled a 20ft fence and got on to the fastest section of the Silverstone circuit, Northants.
[Full Story]

Maybe he misunderstood Hebrews 12 and thought it said.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance into the race that is set before us

Nice article on the Dominican Sisters in Nashvile.

The other day Fr. Bryce Sibley of A Saintly Salmagundi posted that St. Bonaventure was the patron saint of bowel disorders. Well after reading today's Office of Readings of a letter to the Magnesians by St Ignatius of Antioch, I would recommend him as the patron saint of constipation. After all who would be better than a saint who wrote a letter to the "ilk of Magnesia."

Well not quite, but it makes a good headline at least.

Manila, July 20, 2003 (MALAYA) The Vatican may extend the service of Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin although his archdiocese is already preparing for his retirement by the end of August, Msgr. Hernando Coronel, spokesman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said yesterday.
[Full Story]

The lemon has finally come out with a new issue and it is pretty funny. There are some good remarks in the Ask a Random Person: The partial-birth abortion Ban section.

The Diocese of Palm Beach has announced a new game show format for selecting their Bishops the diocesan spokesman has announced. "We were getting tired of the multiple bishops moving through our diocese so instead of complaining about it we decided that at least we could have a little fun and entertainment value from our revolving door episcopacy. We were constantly changing bishop seals and putting up new name plates until we got smart and just wrote their names in chalk on the door and attached their seals with velcro. Each day five contestants will each explain why they should be the Bishop of Palm Beach and audience members will select the winner. After their one day service as Bishop they can come back the next day for the next and final round. Losers of this round are either forced to retire in disgrace or bumped up to another diocese. Contestants have to be a baptized unmarried male with no impediments to their one day of service. Contestants can apply at the diocesan office for apostolic game show bishoprics."

Katy Zeitler is seeking help to pay of her student loan so that she can enter the convent with the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. Two articles here and here have more information and an address for donations.

Dairy and investment magnate Jim Oberweis launched his campaign for U.S. Senate on Thursday, declaring abortion should be illegal and pledging to consider a constitutional ban on the procedure even in cases of rape and incest.

Just 21 months later, Oberweis insists it's not a flip-flop.

"I think it's a clarification," Oberweis said. "I don't think I explained my position very well two years ago."

Here is his previous statement:

"I've been a lifelong Catholic--still am," Oberweis told Dahl. "Obviously, I have concerns about that particular issue. However, I think that right now we're getting a very, very strong symbol in the Taliban of what can happen if we try to impose our religious beliefs on others. So I really think that that issue is a choice that government should stay out of, and let people make that the way they see fit."

Keeping from not imposing beliefs on others does not fit within the definition of a representative politician. Unless every vote comes to a 100% agreement, you are imposing beliefs on others especially with regards to legislation that addresses morals in some way.

...Oberweis made similar remarks to the Chicago Sun-Times and a Springfield paper. Throughout the campaign, he portrayed himself as personally ''pro-life'' but supportive of others' rights to the procedure.

"What I was talking about two years ago was the discomfort that I have in enforcing my religious beliefs on others," he said.

Oberweis said it should be illegal for women to have abortions unless their lives were in danger. He said he would consider supporting a constitutional ban.

"There are circumstances under which America as a country can pull together and agree on certain issues," he said. "If the right opportunity were there, phrased in the right way, I could support a constitutional amendment."

Later, he told a reporter he would only support the amendment if the nation reached consensus that life begins at conception.
[Full Story]

First we had "personally opposed" and then we come to consensus. Phrases from the verbal toolkit of the modern Catholic politician. There are also some other linguistic gymnastics in this article; a flip-flop becomes a clarification. When Jesus asked the Apostles "Who do you say that I am?", only Peter answered correctly. The consensus was that he was Elijah or one of the prophets. Seeking consensus is for those who do not have a clear moral vision and/or leadership abilities.

Maureen McHugh of A Religion of Sanity made an excellent point the other day when she compared the Tower of Babel and language today.

"Although we appear to share the same language, we are attaching increasing divergent meanings to the words we employ. "

A HEADTEACHER stunned a pupil's parents when he wrote a "sarcastic" letter telling them he would not be able to respond to their complaints for three years.

Michael Brennan, head of All Saints Roman Catholic High School in Rawtenstall, wrote to Billy and Linda Tompkins after they complained by e-mail that their son Mark was being unfairly treated.

Mr Brennan also told them that he "never reads" e-mails and suggested they send a letter to which he would decide "how or if" he responded.

He wrote: "Our sole job is to educate and teach our pupils, not spend our time listening to complaining parents."

He then told them not to "waste your time" complaining to Lancashire County Council or the education offices, known as the Globe.

He added: "They do not run this school. I do."
[Full Story]

Yesterday I worked on upgrading my computer with more memory and added a video card that had two monitor outputs and a TV tuner. I got used to using two monitors at work which gives you a lot of screen space to use and it has the added advantage of looking really geeky. As a kid was influenced by the Dr. Suess movie "The 5000 fingers of Dr. T", it had keyboards everywhere. So I have worked to be surrounded by keyboards, monitors and other peripherals to match that theme.

Originally in High School before the advent of the personal computer I learned BASIC but only had the school mainframe to work with via teletype. A little later I worked with the first PC the ALTAIR 8080 that inputed information via octal switches on the front. Over time I went through a couple Commodore 64, Commodore 128, Amiga 500 (a great computer), IBM XT, 286, 286, 486. and many flavors of the Pentium. What this all leads to is an "old timers" attitude in relation to technology.

If I buy memory I think "I remember only using 36k" or buying 1 Meg at $100. When I get a hardrive I remember using tape drives, and then floppies, and then a whopping 10 Meg hardrive. Each purchase brings a "remember when." So far these thoughts have been mainly internal and I have resisted telling my kids things like "When I was young I didn't have a calculator, but a slide rule and I knew how to use it" or "I remember file sharing was borrowing a record and copying it to cassette."

Are Deal Hudson and Ralph McInerny always in Crisis management mode?

EDWARDSBURG -- To residents and regular area motorists, the Rev. David Otto pedaling around on area roads is a familiar sight. The legally blind and arthritic priest from Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Edwardsburg "stays loose" by faithfully riding his bicycle.

On Thursday, he's taking to the road with 20 other cyclists who will leave St. Mary's Catholic Church in Niles to travel 14 miles along U.S. 12 to Our Lady of the Lake. They're part of a contingency for The Catholic Campaign for Human Development's "Brake the Cycle for Poverty in America Bike Tour."

They're not raising money -- they're raising awareness of the plight of those caught in poverty.
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Doesn't this priest know that a inordinate attraction to bicycling can lead to pedalphelia? Even if the he doesn't manifest this condition he still might become a bike-sexual. Also having all of those gears and speeds can lead to ratio problems. Well these are bad puns but they started it with "Brake the Cycle."

SANTA FE, N.M (Reuters) - A New Mexico family is suing their local Catholic church over a funeral Mass in which the priest allegedly said their relative was only a middling Catholic and going straight to hell.

Lawyers for the family of Ben Martinez said on Tuesday they had filed a lawsuit in June against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe and one of its priests.

Court papers filed last month say that Reverend Scott Mansfield said at Martinez's funeral last year that the deceased was "living in sin", "lukewarm in his faith" and that "the Lord vomited people like Ben out of his mouth to hell".
[Full Story]

I wonder how they are going to prove that the priest was wrong? Oh I forgot, they hired lawyers; they are sure to have connections down there.

Would a beautiful and extremely arrogant actress be called a "haughty?"

A rally to celebrate the first anniversary of the death of a euthanasia campaigner who took her own life has raised objections from the Roman Catholic Church.

Labor, Liberal and Democrat politicians will come together at Parliament House in Adelaide in support of a rally organised by the South Australian Voluntary Euthanasia Society (SAVES).

It comes a year to the day after Shirley Nolan, who suffered with Parkinson's disease for 25 years, took her own life.

"It is a source of deep shame that our present law prohibiting choice for voluntary euthanasia effectively forced Shirley to take her own life as the only means of escape from her intolerable suffering," said euthanasia society president Frances Coombe.

So shame is now not stepping in to kill someone so they don't have to kill themselves. It is sad enough that there are those who desire to kill themselves, but to demand that the government step in and provide people to kill you is much worse.

"What a cruel and tragic irony that the law perpetuated Shirley's suffering when she had devoted more than 25 years to alleviate the suffering of thousands of people around the world as founder of the world's first bone marrow donor register."

But Catholic priest and the director of the Southern Cross Bioethics Institute, John Fleming, said the rally was misguided and insensitive.

"It is misguided because Ms Nolan's death was not a case of euthanasia where one person kills another, but a case of self-killing," Dr Fleming said.

I must have misread or read too much into this last statement. It sounded like it would have been okay if it was euthanasia instead of suicide.

"It is insensitive because the decision of some politicians to celebrate her death by speaking at a political rally sends a clear message to the community as a whole, including young people, that suicide is somehow OK."
[Full Story]

Petersnet now has the Carroll History Database.

The database is currently complete from 7 BC through 1662 AD and is being expanded rapidly from Dr. Carroll's notes which thus far extend through the 16th century. Search for a word or phrase relating to events within this time period; or select a year
[Link via Stupidus]

I have been reading through Dr. Warren H. Carroll's volumes of Christian History* and have been greatly impressed by the wealth of historical information in relation to the Church. These books are heavily footnoted and mentions when there are disagreements on historical events.

*Volume I, "The Founding of Christendom" (to 324 AD) (1985); Volume II, "The Building of Christendom" (324-1100) (1987); Volume III, "The Glory of Christendom" (1100-1517) (1993); Volume IV, "The Cleaving of Christendom" (1517-1873) (2000). Christendom Press

Mark Shea posted a story and peoples reaction to the Christianity of a mystery writer.

It jogged some ideas in my deranged brain which really have nothing to do with that story or Mark's post.

Random thought 1: All good religious writers are in fact mystery writers. What can be a greater mystery than the Trinity, the Incarnation, salvation, and redemption. To plunge ahead and write about the inexhaustible depths of these mysteries and to try to ply the finite against the infinite.

Random thought 2: The Bible itself can be viewed in the sense of a mystery in the Columbo style. At the beginning we find out whodunit, Adam and Eve, and towards the end we find out whoundunit - Christ. As in the traditional rules for a mystery we are giving clues pointing towards the solution that we could work out ourselves to some extent. The Psalms and prophets pointed ahead to Jesus.

Random thought 3: The Jesus - Columbo connection.

When Columbo would appear on scene people would doubt that he was a police lieutenant; he did not fit their preconceptions of what a police lieutenant should look like. Jesus did not fit the Israelites perception of what the Messiah would be. They expected a warrior-king that would open a can of whoopass on the Romans. Even at the end his own disciples did not expect the scourged and crucified Jesus.

Columbo can even be thought of as a modern day metaphor for the famous poem The Hound of Heaven by Francis Thompson. Columbo was relentless in his pursuit and never gave up. Just when you thought you had intellectually given him the slip and that you had outsmarted him he came back to ensure justice prevailed. Jesus also never gives up on us until we have chosen with our lives in the instant between this life and eternity. He never leaves us and pursues us no matter what intellectual arguments we use to ignore or deny him. He keeps showing up when we least expect it and had thought we had put him far behind us.

I better give up on this Columbo/Jesus metaphor before it's too late or I will start imagining Jesus wearing a crumpled gray robe in need of dry cleaning and driving around in a Peugeot 403 Cabriolet while I pray the rosary.

Some church-goers in Canada switched to a different Catholic church after officials set aside “perfume” and “non-perfume” sections for Masses.
[Full Story]

Not exactly the odor of sanctity but I guess it makes scents.

Interesting interview with Robin Marantz Henig a science writer who wrote a book called "The Monk in the Garden: The Lost and Found Genius of Gregor Mendel, the Father of Genetics." The interview was on the occasion of the 25th birthday of the Birth of first "test tube baby." Surprisingly she actually knows and can articulate the Catholic position on IVF.

Arlington, Va.: Is it true that Pope John Paul I (not II) sent a telegram congratulating the Brown parents on the birth of their child?

Robin Marantz Henig: Yes, I heard that too. It sounds hypocritical, doesn't it? But even though the Vatican has always been opposed to any form of reproductive technology, it has always made a distinction between the children who are the result of that technology and the adults, scientists and parents alike, who use it. The Pope was glad to welcome Louise into the world, but that didn't stop him from condemning the way she was conceived. The Catholic Church still considers IVF to be an illicit act, they see it as morally equivalent to contraception, because IVF, like contraception, separates sexual intercourse from reproduction.
[Full Story]

China erects 'world's biggest condom'

China has the most number of people in the world. So it was fitting that the world's biggest condom was displayed in the south Chinese city of Guilin.

The novel move to attract public attention on population control was launched by the city's birth control department in cooperation with a local condom factory.

The yellow PVC (polyvinyl chloride) condom is so huge that it can envelop the Xiangjiang, or fragrant river, hotel in Guilin, Xinhua news agency reported.
[Full Story]

This is a fitting icon for the culture of death.

It's not the physical attributes or medical history of sperm donors that worry many Indian couples opting for assisted reproduction.

Their main concern is religion, a report said yesterday.

Infertility specialists in the western city of Bombay said two in every 10 couples contemplating in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) insisted on knowing the religion of the donor, the Asian Age newspaper reported.

Gynaecologist Hrishikesh Pai said: "Recently a couple insisted the sperm be from a Catholic donor. After a lot of counselling, they agreed to a general donor. Muslims, too, are particular about the religion of the donor."

One couple from the Parsi community decided to remain childless after their request for a Parsi donor was turned down, the report said.
[Full Story]

Now a faithful Catholic sperm would know that IVF is always wrong and would refuse to mingle in the petri dish. Maybe he would protest and ask for "conscientious injector" status. It is pretty ironic that a Catholic couple would use IVF and then be concerned that the sperm be from a Catholic donor. I guess knowledge of the faith is no better in India then it is here.

As a result of photosynthesis do plants always have a light meal?

The greatest challenge the Catholic Church has today is thinking “out of the box,” said the Rev. Peter Phan, a leading theologian on religious dialogue and Christianity in Asia.

The Vietnamese priest has been teaching religion and culture for 25 years at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

...“In another 20 years in this country, who will the Catholics be? Latinos. So how many Latino bishops are there? There will be more and more, and churches will be putting more and more money into Latino ministry,” he said.

This also requires reframing our thinking. “Pastors think about Mass as 9:30 to 10:15. With Hispanics? Who are you kidding?” he said. “If the majority of your Catholics are not white, how do you deal with them?”
[Full Story]

Peter Phan, what a great name for a theologian. I wonder if he leads a pack of children called "The Lost Sheep Boys." and gets art advice from Sister Wendy. He probably told Michael Rose that there are too many Tinkerbells in the seminaries.

Interesting story about the Einsiedeln Monastery in Switzerland sponsored a pilgrimage. The article is titled "Roman Catholic Church lures back flock", nice unbiased headline if you ignore "lures". It also goes on to mention people worshipping the "Black Modonna", but I guess you can't expect theological precision in newspaper articles.

I was raised as a Catholic and that is something I feel inside and I can’t change it,” said Verena Huber, who is uneasy at being called a pilgrim.

“Even when I declared myself an atheist, I was still comfortable when I entered a Catholic church. It was probably because I was brought up as a Catholic, I don’t know.”

Huber formally left the Church 20 years ago as a teenager. When she was six years of age, she lost a sister, and her father died when she was 12. These events made her lose her faith.

Now with three children of her own, she is looking for a way back to God and the Church, since she wants her offspring “to be at home in a religion”.

The unique pilgrimage at Einsiedeln gave her that chance.

At loggerheads

Titled “At loggerheads with the Church”, the event was the brainchild of the Einsiedeln abbot, Martin Werlen.

Werlen said he was inspired by the biblical story of the shepherd who leaves his 99 sheep to search for the one that is lost.

“There are many people who are struggling with the Church,” explained Werlen. “They sometimes go to church but don’t approach us with their problems. This pilgrimage is our invitation to them, so we can address their needs.”

Pilgrims have journeyed to Einsiedeln for centuries to worship before a wooden statue, the “Black Madonna” (see related story).

This three-day pilgrimage was of a very different nature.

It included a series of talks by prominent members of the Swiss Roman Catholic clergy, musical performances by guest choirs from abroad, guided hikes in the rolling hills around the monastery and wine tastings.

...When the discussions came to an end on Saturday, Huber said she was very impressed with what she described as a "wonderful experience" and that it represented for her a big step toward rejoining the church.

Still not entirely convinced by the Roman Catholic Church structure, she said "it cannot be changed from the outside. You have to go inside".

Hopefully this effort to bring back lost sheep can help to get people to go from "wonderful experience" to intellectual belief in the truth of the Catholic faith. Of course as Fr. Pacwa says "That is dependent on upper management (God)." It is interesting to note that some people see "Church structure" as more important than whether the Church is true. Multi-syllable words like Modernism, Relativism don't cause most people to flinch - but mention hierarchy and they will run screaming from the room.

In response to a 14-year-old-girl's question about blogging, Dear Abby gives advice to bloggers that all online journalists would be wise to follow: "The written word takes on a life of its own and never dies -- particularly in cyberspace. That is why it's important that a person carefully consider what he or she is posting before making it public. I cannot urge people strongly enough to remember that on the Internet there is no such thing as an eraser."

Go here and make a movie trailer for your own bad movie.

This must be Number of the Beast week since I just found another not-so-surprising fact.

The first Apple computer was designed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in a California garage and sold as a kit in 1976 for US $666.66. I long guessed the Apple Computer-Devil connection, after all Eve was tempted by an apple*. Notice that both founders of Apple computers have "eve" as part of their first names and Jobs is a reference to Job who was tormented by the devil. Also Wozniak is an anagram for NAZI WOK an obvious reference to the end times when Germans and Chinese will be part of the final battle. Are these coincidences? - I think not. Apple computers are more than likely connected together using a Beezelhub.

The Mac gives you a pretty and stable operating system and you are lured in the false belief that an operating system and life can both run well if designed correctly. Windows is the operating system that correctly reflects reality. Things don't always work as planned and clicking on things can have undesired consequences, just like life. Windows reminds us that we are not self-sufficient and working with it often leads to prayer when things inevitably go wrong. The frequent crashes remind us to pick up the cross-linked files daily and then we also ponder if there is life after "Blue screen of death."

So my advice to Mac users is - repent and reboot.

*Yes I know the Bible doesn't actually say what kind of fruit it was, but I will go with the common belief here.

In today's Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours they used a selection of Psalm 44.

This befell us though we had not forgotten you;
thought we had not been false to your covenant,
though we had not withdrawn our hearts;
though our feet had not strayed from you path.
Yet you have crushed us in a place of sorrows
and covered us with the shadow of death

I have more difficulty saying and praying Psalms in this vein. Sorry but I have strayed from your path and been false to your covenant. I have a much easier time praying the following psalm usually recited for morning prayer on Fridays.

Have mercy on me, God in your kindness,
In your compassion blot out my offense.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.

My offenses truly I know them;
my sin is always before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned;
what is evil in you sight I have done.

Now that is a Psalm I can sing easily with Psalmist and I don't have to use any devices of the imaginations to understand what he was trying to get at. I can also get right in to character and say with the publican "Lord, have mercy on me a sinner. I grew up heavily involved in the theater and acted in many plays but I don't have to resort to any of Stanislavsky's school of acting to say those words.

I also have problems with some of the phrases like "Remember your assembly, Lord." I don't think an omnipresence God needs me as a walking Day Planner to remind him what to do. He doesn't take a nap after a long day of holding the universe in existence and then use me as a snooze alarm when I say "Arise Lord and wake." Now I know these are for our edification and to remind us of God, but I can take thinks too literally while I read them.

Reading the Liturgy of the Hours my favorite Psalm has become Psalm 63 and I can well understand why this is included in Week 1 Sunday Morning Prayer and is used for many feasts.

O God, you are my God, for you I long;
for you my soul is thirsting.
My body pines for you
like a dry weary land without water.
So I gaze on you in the sanctuary
to see your strength and your glory.

For your love is better than life,
my lips will speak your praise.
So I will bless you all my life,
in your name I will lift up my hands,
My soul shall be filled as with a banquet,
my mouth shall praise you with joy.

On my bed I remember you.
On you I muse through the night
for you have been my help;
in the shadow of you wings I rejoice.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand holds me fast.

This Psalm is extremely powerful for me. As an atheist I was like an evaporated sponge totally devoid of water and shrunken and closed in on itself. The line "My body pines for you like a dry weary land without water" describes my conversion. During Eucharistic Adoration I often think of this line "So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory." And the last segment "My soul clings to you; your right hand holds me fast" will give me much to think on for the rest of my life.

Nice story of a new priest who is a convert to the faith.

ALLEGANY - On a mild February morning, about a dozen girls circled around the Franciscan nun on the Reilly Center court. They had a basketball game that night, and they wondered if she wouldn't say a prayer with them. With a big smile on her face, she led them in the Hail Mary.

Then she signed a few autographs.

Sister Miriam Cecil cut an unusual celebrity figure, but her popularity among the 100 or so high school girls rivaled Mia Hamm's that day at St. Bonaventure University's annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day, when she was honored for her 16 years as a professional baseball player in the 1920s and '30s.

At 96 years old, she's small in stature, a little on the thin side with a slumped shortness that naturally comes with old age. Her simple brown habit drapes over some still good muscle tone.

Old, yes. Frail, no.
[Full Story]

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Tracy Marciniak survived a Feb. 8, 1992, assault for which her then-husband was later convicted. Her unborn son Zachariah did not survive the attack. She has since become an advocate for legislation to protect unborn victims of violence and told members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution about her experience Tuesday.

"The first time I ever held him in my arms, he was already dead," Marciniak said, pointing to a photo of herself holding Zachariah's body at the child's funeral.

"I know that some lawmakers and some groups insist that there is no such thing as an unborn victim and that crimes like this only have a single victim, but that is callous, and it is wrong," she said. "Please don't tell me that my son was not a real victim of a real crime. We were both victims, but only I survived."
[Full Story]

A Roman Catholic priest has confessed he broke his vow of celibacy by fathering two children, to his congregation during Mass.

Father Oscar Ornopia's public confession in Cebu, the Philippines, revealed he fathered two sons with a woman and asked for forgiveness, according to Victor Maliluya - president of a church pastoral council.

Maliluya says Ornopia deliberately did not wear a ceremonial sash used for Mass, when he made his confession to churchgoers.

He quoted the priest as saying: "I feel that I'm no longer worthy to say Mass with you now because of the incident that had happened. That I have two sons is true, so please forgive me because I have sinned against my vow of celibacy."
[Full Story]

For those out there who are superstitious of the number 666 and worry about embedded chips with those numbers or in a house address or telephone number then I will add to your superstitious repertoire.

If you are a superstitions geek then also watch out for these numbers representing 666.

Binary: 1010011010

Octal: 1232

Hexadecimal: 29A

So if when you brought your child home and made sure there was no 666 birth mark on their head like Damien in the Omen and you breathed a sigh of relief when you found 29A instead, sorry.

See Reginald at Disputations.

We are sorry, but a temporary problem is preventing your request from being completed.

The system administration team for Blog*Spot has been notified.

Error: 500

Since all of Bloggers blogs seem to be down right now, good thing there are some blogs on other systems still accessible. Yesterday Blogger blogs were giving you the random blog or just showing a picture instead. I think that they should rename their service to Bloggrrrrrrrr since grrrrrr is is the sound I seem to make trying to access them.

For 22 years, stressed-out parents in dire need of an emergency timeout from their children have found help at the Bay Area Crisis Nursery.

No matter the hour, the modest but attractive house in Concord has kept its porch light on for parents struggling to maintain their sanity while dealing with a range of pressure-cooker situations, from a lost job to a lost home.

Here, parents find a safe haven to leave their children while they take care of other pressing matters or get a needed respite. Parents can leave children for up to 30 days in the care of trained staff.

As the only facility of its kind in the Bay Area, the nonprofit organization rolls out its welcome mat to anyone in the nine-county region, with the one caveat being that it only accepts children 5 and younger.

Being unable to serve children in the 6 to 11 age group ate away at founder Sister Ann Weltz.
[Full Story]

"Emergency timeout from their children" and "get a needed respite" are statements that I find as evidence of the total selfishness of our culture. I know that there are situations where it is a good idea to get children out of the house while the parents sort things through, but in these cases it would be more accurate to say that the children need a emergency time out from their parents. Up to 30 days seems more like a kennel than a nursery.

I thought "The Italian Job" was biblically based and would be about an Italian who lost his children, oxen, servants, land, and was covered with sores and who had some jerk friends who kept telling him he was being punished by God for his behavior.

On a related note my wife and I watched Terminator 3 and I agree with Steven D. Greydanus of DecentFilms.com take on it. I found it enjoyable and definitely a worthy successor to the previous two films.

One good thing about the previews shown before the movie, I now have a list of about fifteen films that I don't want to ever see.

LOS ANGELES - A victims' advocacy group called on California's 12 bishops Sunday to offer rewards for information about Roman Catholic priests who commit sexual abuse.

The rewards would signal the church's commitment to stopping child sex abuse after last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that could result in the dismissal of hundreds of California molestation cases, said David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

The proposal, detailed in a letter to Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony, asks church leaders to help establish a fund supporting payments for information that leads to the successful conviction of priests who have abused children.
[Full Story]

James Watson would have aborted his son if a genetic test had been available at the time warning that his child would be born with severe epilepsy.

Declaring "I'm not a sadist", the man who co-discovered DNA said that parents, especially mothers, should have a right of genetic veto over the make-up of their child.

"Any time you can prevent a seriously sick child from being born, it is good for everyone," Dr Watson told The Sunday Age. "Most mothers wouldn't want to have dwarfs."

Dr Watson's views are based on a fierce libertarianism and personal experience. One of his two sons is severely disabled from complications caused by epilepsy, and will soon undergo a type of surgery in Switzerland only done 11 times before.

Problems with his son's health left Dr Watson unable to open the International Congress of Genetics today in Melbourne. Instead he will appear before the conference, which is held every five years, by videotape.

..."Who would be against having better children?" he said. "If it goes wrong and creates a social problem, then maybe you ought to do something about it."
[Full Story]

I can just imagine the cheerful family conversations in the Watson house.

You know daddy it is just too bad there weren't any of those genetics tests available before I was born, you would have been able to safely abort me and not deal with my problems. I know son, if only we could have known ahead of time you wouldn't be alive. Can you read me a bedtime story from Kevorkians book of Biblical tales? I just love that line from Kevorkians translation of Jeremiah "Before I formed you in the womb I genetically tested you, and before you were born I checked your genome; I aborted you if you are not a profit to the nations."

SAN BERNARDINO - The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino has agreed to withdraw a cross-complaint filed against the Boston archdiocese seeking to hold it liable for damages in a lawsuit filed against both dioceses by an alleged sexual abuse victim of retired priest Paul Shanley.

The action was a show of support for Boston's new archbishop-elect, The Sun in San Bernardino reported Saturday.
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There is just something about a diocese filing a cross-complaint. Is a cross complaint "Pick up the cross daily and follow me - gee do we have to, I don't wanna."

LAFAYETTE - Celibacy isn't the only aspect of Roman Catholic priesthood that is dissuading young Catholic men from entering the seminary.

Salary, insurance and retirement plans need to be updated for the modern Roman Catholic church to be more viable in today's competitive business climate, according to some Acadiana Roman Catholic priests.

"It's the modern world we live in," said the Rev. Robert Fisher, St. Anthony Church pastor. "There are countless other opportunities today for younger people to make a better living for themselves that weren't there in the early 20th century, when being a priest was a more prestigious occupation."
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And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men." Simon Peter then asked "Do you offer a 401k plan with health benefits" and Jesus answered "Come and see my competitive offer for Tuition Reimbursement, Disability, Dental & Optical, and full medical coverage."

The government has given the clearest hint yet that it is ready to spend big money to ensure a blockbuster fantasy tale is filmed in New Zealand.

The director of big budget movie "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" says he will only bring the production to New Zealand if he gets government support.

Now Finance Minister Michael Cullen says he is "not ruling out some form of assistance" for the project.

The $170 million version of the CS Lewis novel is being directed by New Zealander Andrew Adamson, who made blockbuster movie Shrek.

Although Adamson is now based in Hollywood, he wants to film his next movie in New Zealand. He says he cannot afford to do so without tax breaks.

Adamson says Australia and Britain offer rebates to filmmakers and it does not make sense if New Zealand refuses to do the same.

He says he has already scouted and found great locations in New Zealand in the hope that a tax incentive or rebate will eventually come through.

"We have prepped and scripted a lot of the movie with New Zealand in mind."

The movie involves 18 months of filming and digital effects work, all hoped to be carried out in New Zealand. It will be the first of possibly five in the Narnia chronicles.
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A Romanian priest is facing punishment after refusing to baptise a child because its father was wearing an earring.

Father Mihai Duma, from the Timiseni-Sag monastery near Timisoara, refused to baptise Mircea and Andrea Opris's new-born son after noticing Mircea had a pierced ear.

Mr Opris, 27, told the Evenimentul Zilei daily: "When he saw me, he said that he didn't want to talk to me. I was stunned. I couldn't understand it.

"He turned his back to me and I asked him what was the problem and he told me: "Sir, I don't speak to men who wear earrings"."

The couple have since complained to the Timisoara bishopric and have been given an official apology. Father Duma is also likely to be disciplined.

But Father Duma insisted: "I have a duty before God and I told that young man that when he steps inside God's house he should be dressed accordingly.

"If he were really a believer he would have admitted that he was wrong to come with those earrings."
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That is pretty silly, we are called called to holiness and so it has to be a good thing that the father had an extra hole to be holey with.

On a related note, when I used to stand brow watches as a Chief on an aircraft carrier. We had to look for was males wearing earrings with their uniform. At that time they were not even allowed to wear earrings in their civilian clothes when coming onboard. If caught wearing a earring they would get sent down to the Master-At-Arms and written up. On a slow day if you were in a bad mood and you saw someone come onboard and noticed that they had a earring hole in their ear you could point at their ear. They would think that they had forgotten to take their earring and freak out before they had realized that they had been tricked.

Theodore R. Connors, whose daughter was a seventh-grader at West Middle School this spring, said an English class assignment requiring pupils to write a suicide note was highly inappropriate.

"It's a very dark, dark assignment," he said.

Connors, who recently ran unsuccessfully for the Auburn school board, wants the assignment dropped next year and said the school district should advise parents of pupils who completed the assignment to talk with the children about suicide.

Auburn School Superintendent John Plume said Wednesday he didn't think the assignment, as described by the school's principal, was inappropriate.

Plume said he's talked to the principal three times about the issue since it first came to light and that Connors has reached a conclusion that "is not based on fact."

"I'm not a teacher, but I know that's not an appropriate assignment," Connors said late last week. "So how is it a teacher would not think that that's not an appropriate assignment?"
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I think I would go farther then calling this "highly inappropriate", this is just plain wrong and evil. Requiring seventh graders to think up reasons why they should kill themselves and to put this to paper is total lunacy. What I can't believe is that they need to stop it from happening next year also. I wonder what they do for a science project - build a Kevorkian death chamber?

And while we are on topic of "Pubwick Educkatshun" here is another story:

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Apparently the truths in the Declaration of Independence aren't so self-evident. When Rep. Roger Wicker asked high school seniors in his Mississippi district to name some unalienable rights, he got silence. So the Republican congressman gave the advanced-placement history students some help.

"Among these are life," Wicker said, "and...."

"Death?" one student said. So much for liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

"It's not so much that they don't know the rote phrases and facts," said Wicker, the sponsor of a House bill to improve civics instruction. "It just demonstrates a real gap in the education of young Americans."
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This was bad enough, but an "advanced-placement history" class, the cream of the crop of students studying history.

This week, former quarterback Frank Reich, architect of the two greatest comebacks in football annals -- the greatest college comeback, the University of Maryland from a 31-0 deficit to defeat the University of Miami; and the greatest pro comeback, Buffalo from a 35-3 deficit in the playoffs to defeat Houston -- dons a robe as head of the Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, N.C. Reich, a committed Christian and frequent speaker on religious issues, had enrolled with the intent of becoming ordained; now he's the boss. If the Reformed Theological Seminary is behind in any membership or fundraising goals, expect a big comeback!
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I am a Bills fan and saw that game, talk about mood swings. Being a Bill's fan is worth 10,000 days indulgence under the previous accounting.

An Ontario court judge has dismissed an unusual lawsuit that sought to impose the Canadian Charter of Rights over a 300-year-old British act establishing the Rules of Succession to the Crown because it bars Catholics from ascending the throne.

Rejecting the case against the Queen brought by a former Toronto city councillor, Justice Paul S. Rouleau of the Ontario Superior Court suggested such a change could see a return to the bloody past when civil wars raged over who would inherit the throne.

"If the courts were free to review and declare inoperative certain parts of the rules of succession, Canada could break symmetry with Great Britain, and could conceivably recognize a different monarch than does Great Britain," he writes in his decision, released last week.

"In fact, Canada could arguably reanimate the debate regarding the heir to the throne, an argument that was resolved by the Act of Settlement. This would clearly be contrary to settled intention, as demonstrated by our written Constitution, and would see the courts changing rather than protecting our fundamental constitutional structure."
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Are they serious? Civil wars over who is to be king seems rather strange in this day of age, even for Canada. You just know that if homosexuals were barred from succession that they would find a way to overturn that.

King David's son Amnon raped his step-sister Tamar. Even though KIng David was angered when he heard about this he did nothing about "the situation" (sound familiar). King David in his naivet� had even originally sent Tamar to minister to Amnon who had pretended sickness. This lack of action in regard to Amnon festered among David's children, especially Absalom brother of Tamar. This ultimately ended up with Absalom having servants kill Amnon. So in reaction to King David's inaction we had Abasalom's reform group Voice of the Wrathful� (VOTW) "Keep the faith, Takeover Jerusalem" do the wrong thing and to eventually go into schism. King David again did not prudently handle what Absalom had done and this ended up with Absalom taking people with him and trying a hostile takeover, which ultimately resulted in Absalom's death. We had basically a good man in King David who's decisions not to act in response to a situation further escalated into more and more problems.
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The Navy s newest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) will be commissioned Saturday, July 12, 2003, during an 11 a.m. EDT ceremony at Norfolk Naval Station, Va..

Vice President Richard Cheney will deliver the ceremony s principal address. Nancy Reagan, wife of the ship s namesake, will serve as ship s sponsor. In the time honored Navy tradition, she will give the order to "man our ship and bring her to life!"

Capt. J. W. Goodwin of Dublin, Ga., is the first commanding officer of a ship named to honor America s 40th president Ronald Reagan who was born in Tampico, Ill., Feb. 6, 1911. With a crew of more than 5,500 men and women, including embarked air wing personnel, Ronald Reagan will be homeported in San Diego as a member of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Construction of the ninth Nimitz class ship took place at Northrop Grumman Newport News,Va., starting with the ship s keel laying Feb. 12, 1998, and christening Mar. 4, 2001*.*

Ronald Reagan towers 20 stories above the waterline, displaces approximately 95,000 tons of water, has a flight deck width of 252 feet, and at 1,092 feet long, is nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall. This floating airfield has a flight deck that covers 4.5 acres. Reagan s two nuclear reactors are capable of more than 20 years of continuous service without refueling, providing virtually unlimited range and endurance, and a top speed in excess of 30 knots.

The ship will support a wide variety of aircraft, including the F/A-18 Hornet and F/A-18 Super Hornet strike fighters, the F-14 Tomcat fighter, the E-2 Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft, the C-2 Greyhound logistics aircraft, the S-3 Viking anti-submarine aircraft, the EA-6 Prowler electronic warfare aircraft and the multi-role SH-60 and MH-60 helicopters.

A Web site with information mandated in a state law requiring women to wait 24 hours before having an abortion went online Monday, a day before the law went into effect.

Located at http://www.health.state.mn.us/wrtk, the site contains information about the characteristics of fetuses at different gestational ages, a link to the text of the Women's Right to Know Act, a directory of both abortion and adoption providers and an abortion Q & A.

The state had until Sept. 29 to make the site available, but Health Commissioner Dianne Mandernach said her department got the work done.

The state's web site specifies the information that women are required to know prior to an abortion and the term "unborn child" is used throughout except in a couple of cases like fetal pain. Addresses and phone numbers of adoption agencies and agencies that will assist the mother through pregnancy are to be provided. Women are also required to see pictures of development from two weeks on. So while some women will still go on to have an abortion, others might not since they will see other options and support available. They are also to be informed about abortion risks both medically and psychological including the risk of breast cancer and future sterility.

BOSTON (Reuters) - Sean O'Malley, the Catholic bishop picked to lead the Archdiocese of Boston, said on Tuesday protecting children was his top priority and vowed to heal a church still devastated by a clergy sexual abuse scandal.

Speaking to reporters here hours after the Vatican named him the new archbishop of Boston, O'Malley said he wanted to settle the hundreds of clergy sexual abuse lawsuits facing the church and criticized previous archdiocese leaders for their handling of pedophile priests.

"The entire church feels the pain of this scandal and longs for relief for the families and communities that have been so shaken by these sad events and by the mishandling of this situation on the part of the church's officials," he said.

O'Malley, currently bishop of Palm Beach, Florida, is known as a soft-spoken but very conservative bishop with wide experience in healing dioceses damaged by sex abuse scandals.
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They keep playing good news/bad news with this Bishop.

Last year it was "I got some good news for you, you are going to be a Bishop in sunny Florida, by the way it's Palm Beach."

This year it is "You are going to be a future Cardinal, by the way it's in Boston."