WASHINGTON, D.C. (Catholic Online) – The newly-formed Virginia Chapter of a more than 50-year-old Catholic peace movement, Pax Christi, was refused access to Holy Family Church in Virginia Beach for their organizational meeting in the Diocese of Richmond as they were not a diocesan organization.

Retired Richmond Bishop Walter Sullivan, a former president of the international movement, was one of the featured speakers. He, along with Marie Dennis, the global-concerns director for Maryknoll, a Catholic religious community of priests, nuns and laypeople, keynoted the event, which was held at Virginia Wesleyan College.

Asked Tuesday by Steven Vegh, a reporter from the Virginian Pilot, why the event was rejected, Vincent Sansone, the diocesan theologian stated that Pax Christi is not a diocesan organization.

Bishop Sullivan and other chapter organizers expressed surprise at the decision of the diocese.

The “Guidelines for Speakers in the Richmond Diocese” state that those “from outside the diocese must be approved through the Office of the Diocesan Theologian. Keep in mind that the approval process must be completed and the proposed speaker must be approved before an invitation is extended to the speaker.”

According to the qualifications instituted shortly after the installation of Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo in 2004, speakers must be in good standing in the Church, possess proof that they have taken a course regarding child abuse, provide their curriculum vitae and a letter of confirmation regarding their orthodoxy from a bishop or pastor. [reference]

Well considering the dubious orthodoxy of so many in Pax Christi this decision is not surprising. Pax Christi concentrates on a subset of social justice issues and has been know to support contraception and homosexual acts. It is also not surprising that Bishop Sullivan is associated with them.

From the Catholic parody paper, the National Catholic Reporter.

Jesus was perhaps one of the world’s first health care reformers. During a time in history when Greeks and Romans often traveled to a temple with offerings in exchange for healing, Jesus and his early followers healed free of charge wherever they encountered the sick, often at great peril to themselves.

In fact, healing is a constitutive element of Jesus’ ministry. His first miracles in the Gospel of Mark are casting a demon from a man and healing a woman with a fever. In the whole of the gospels, there are 41 distinct stories of physical or mental healing. Jesus heals the blind, cures the withered hand and stops the bleeding.

He called his followers to do the same. Jesus instructed his disciples to go into towns and “cure the sick who are there” (Luke 10:9). Religion, caste or payment is not a consideration; instead, mercy and healing is extended to everyone.

I wish that were true in the United States.

What fine reasoning. Who Would Jesus Bill? Yes let us make healthcare policy decisions based on Jesus’ miraculous healings. Jesus didn’t heal any rich people so no health care for the rich. Jesus didn’t use medicine so we shouldn’t either. Well actually we would be allowed to use dirt and saliva as Jesus did in one case.

Thankfully Creative Minority Report gave this thought process the parody it deserves. Pretty funny.

The silly thing about But Nicole Sotelo of the National Catholic Reporter is that I guess she has no idea what free means because surely she is not suggesting that doctors, nurses, pharmacists, research labs, medical equipment makers, etc should all work for free? The idea that any government service is in fact free is to totally misunderstand economics. Free does not mean forcing one group of people to pay for something just as charity does not mean just paying your taxes.

• Videos show Planned Parenthood’s attempts to cover up statutory rape.
• Videos show ACORN workers willing to go along with importing 13 year old sex slaves and to give advice.
• The defense by many to excuse the behavior of Roman Polanski in the drugging, rape, and sodomizing of a 13 year old girl.

It is not that these people think that that that this is a fine thing, it is just that they are willing to excuse the behavior for something they support. I am sure they would be properly outraged if a conservative did such a despicable thing.

But modern liberalism seems to mean never having to say your sorry about murderous regimes and sexual perverts just as long as they are on your side. That you can go around wearing Che t-shirts and Chairman Mao handbags and not even think about their victims.

International Blasphemy Day is not just a day. It is a movement to dismantle the wall which exists between religion and criticism.

The primary focus of the Blasphemy Day movement and indeed this website is not to debate the existence of any gods or deities (there is an abundance of fantastic websites which deal explicitly with that argument all over the internet, check the Web Links section).

The objective of International Blasphemy Day is to open up all religious beliefs to the same level of free inquiry, discussion and criticism to which all other areas of academic interest are subjected.

Why September 30? The last day in September is the anniversary of the original publication of Danish cartoons in 2005 depicting the prophet Muhammad’s face. Any visual depiction of Muhammad is considered a grave offence under Islamic law

Well I can get behind them as far a free speech goes and think laws on blasphemy are stupid.

Blasphemy is a joyous, funny, socially progressive, and profoundly moral act. It deserves its own day. Join the group. Spread the word.

Well if God does not exist then cursing him is not a moral act, just a wasted one. Defiling sacred things if they are in fact not sacred is time spent in your very short lifetime. The main purpose of a blasphemy day is for atheists to call attention to themselves to mock theists. And of course P.Z. Myers has to weigh in.

I only have one reservation. Every day should be Blasphemy Day

Well as a former atheist I can also speak some atheist blasphemies.

• Darwin not only did not come up with evolution, but he said some racist things and lived a double life to hide his convictions.
• Schopenhauer, Nitsche, and Rand and countless other atheistic philosophers were all selfish jerks who alienated those around them and died miserable.
• Theists are free to believe or disbelieve whether a miracle occurred in a specific circumstance. Atheists must dogmatically reject that a miracle occurred.
• Theists are free to accept or reject evolutions based on evaluating the scientific evidence. Atheists are not free to reject evolution.
• Freethinkers are not free to believe in God.
• The scientific method is a fruit of the theology of Christianity. The scientific method was stillborn in all other cultures because of their philosophy.
• If extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, then where is the extraordinary evidence that matter could be ex nihilo – out of nothing.

Of course the main focus of Blasphemy day is Christian Blasphemy Day. As Chesterton said:

Blasphemy is an artistic effect, because blasphemy depends upon a philosophic conviction. Blasphemy depends upon belief and is fading with it. If any one doubts this, let him sit down seriously and try to think blasphemous thoughts about Thor. I think his family will find him at the end of the day in a state of some exhaustion.