Monday, 20 August 2012
Thank God for priests who aren't nice!
Sunday, 19 August 2012
Quiz
Does anyone recognise the following view?
...or the surprisingly modern interior of this Church?
Where were we?
...or the surprisingly modern interior of this Church?
Where were we?
(...send guesses to the combox please)
Desecration, false tolerance, and the dangers of "traditional values"
Hot on the heel of ludicrous liberal media protests about the "severity" of the Pussy Riot verdict (look at the Guardian report - it doesn't even bother to mention that it's the most sacred of all Moscow churches, nor that a vile desecration took place - simply that there was "a protest" in "a cathedral", and even the usually sensible Spectator has been taken over by )... comes the very sad news that in Ukraine a group of self-proclaimed "militant feminists" FEMED have publically profaned a crucifix in the Kiev suburb of Majdanyj Nezalezhnost.
Equally stomach churning is the news that the OSCE (Organisation for Cooperation and Security in Europe) have criticized the verdict as representing a dangerous tendency towards curbing freedom of expression:
So in other words, you can go into a church and say or do anything you like, as long as you claim that you're exercising your freedom of expression.
Does the OSCE actually believe that "under no circumstances" freedom of expression should be curbed? Holocaust deniers? Individuals inciting violence against groups of people or against the state itself? Mad mullahs exhorting loners to blow themselves up? Under no circumstances? Or does that just apply to people dissing Christianity? Would this extend to calmly and respectfully explaining the biblical position on homosexuality and marriage in a gay nightclub?
...or would that constitute a hate crime?
This is also the week that the UN Human Rights Council declared that many "traditional values are in conflict with human rights" and that "traditional and cultural values in Western countries propagate harmful practices, such as domestic violence".
Pray that our children will survive spiritually intact in this Brave New World.
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour: Ora pro nobis!
Equally stomach churning is the news that the OSCE (Organisation for Cooperation and Security in Europe) have criticized the verdict as representing a dangerous tendency towards curbing freedom of expression:
Charges of hooliganism and religious hatred should not be used to curb freedom of expression. Speech no matter how provocative, satirical or sensitive should not be restricted or suppressed and under no circumstances should it lead to imprisonment
So in other words, you can go into a church and say or do anything you like, as long as you claim that you're exercising your freedom of expression.
Does the OSCE actually believe that "under no circumstances" freedom of expression should be curbed? Holocaust deniers? Individuals inciting violence against groups of people or against the state itself? Mad mullahs exhorting loners to blow themselves up? Under no circumstances? Or does that just apply to people dissing Christianity? Would this extend to calmly and respectfully explaining the biblical position on homosexuality and marriage in a gay nightclub?
...or would that constitute a hate crime?
This is also the week that the UN Human Rights Council declared that many "traditional values are in conflict with human rights" and that "traditional and cultural values in Western countries propagate harmful practices, such as domestic violence".
Pray that our children will survive spiritually intact in this Brave New World.
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour: Ora pro nobis!
One question
...for anyone who actually thought that the Pussy Riot fiasco had anything to do with freedom of speech:
Would it be legitimate freedom of speech if somebody went into a "gay" nightclub and, using language and gestures calculated to offend and upset those present, disrupted proceedings for several minutes, frightening and alarming those in the club - saying afterwards that it was a just protest against the hand-in-glove relationship that homosexual advocasy groups have with our current government....
...or would it be a hate crime?
Just asking.
For what it's worth, I think the three women got off lightly.
Would it be legitimate freedom of speech if somebody went into a "gay" nightclub and, using language and gestures calculated to offend and upset those present, disrupted proceedings for several minutes, frightening and alarming those in the club - saying afterwards that it was a just protest against the hand-in-glove relationship that homosexual advocasy groups have with our current government....
...or would it be a hate crime?
Just asking.
For what it's worth, I think the three women got off lightly.
Sunday, 5 August 2012
Birettas in the snow
I saw this poster in a neighbouring Chalet in the Swiss Alps where we're currently enjoying fresh air, good food and lots of steep, high-altitude walks. I'm not sure what the story is behind the picture - do any readers know? - but the scene of black-robed figures marching through the snow led by a biretta'd priest tickled me.
Where do you reckon they're off to, and why?
Sunday, 29 July 2012
Billet Doux
We had the pleasure of bumping into Archbishop Nichols today outside Westminster Cathedral this afternoon. I'd popped into town with my two eldest children to have a quick rummage through the CTS bookshop and nip into confession at the Cathedral. We had just enjoyed a sandwich on the steps of the Cathedral followed by a fruitful visit to the bookshop and were about to head inside to join the confessional queue when suddenly hundreds of people flooded out through the doors and we realised that Archbishop Nichols was only a few feet away. Apparently - we found out from an Italian sister - there had been a Mass to celebrate the start of the London Olympic Games this afternoon.
The children, particularly my son, were keen to meet the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales and so as the crowd thinned we joined the reception queue behind a man in shorts wearing a sombrero with "Mexico" written on it, and were very quickly in front of +Nichols. I knelt and kissed the Archbishop's ring, and the children knelt for a blessing... and that was that. As we walked away I internally kicked myself for not saying what I wished I had had the alacrity of mind to say which was: "Thank you for defending the Truths of the Catholic Faith, and particularly for defending the family, so bravely in the face of opposition in these difficult times"...
... Now, before any readers choke, cough and splutter let me explain myself a little. When, in a past life, I had to manage and motivate large teams of people, I found that praising somebody robustly for what they should be doing, even if they're only making a faint effort, pays huge dividends. Sometimes it's a matter of confidence: being praised for what they should be doing, or are tentatively doing, moves things up a gear... sometimes someone is tentative simply because they aren't sure that they are supported in what they're doing. Praise - directive praise - inevitably moves behaviour towards the desired outcome.
...and so, I propose the following: consider writing a billet-doux to your local Bishop or, indeed, to Archbishop Nichols. Thank him, genuinely and robustly, for what he does in the face of opposition from society at large - and be specific about what you're thanking him for. Imagine if a Bishop, feeling uncertain of how supportive the average-Catholic-in-the-pews is of the Church speaking out on important issues, were to receive 100 letters from faithful Catholics in his diocese over a few weeks, thanking him for his work and praising him for, say, speaking out to support Catholic teaching on marriage, sexuality, and freedom of conscience as well as, for example, protecting local Catholic schools from the incursion of secular ideology. He may be doing some of these things, he may be doing none of them; but receiving letters thanking him for shepherding his flock and particularly with respect to issues X, Y, and Z will, at the very least, give him pause for thought.
...and that's got to be a good thing.
Our Bishops know what they need to do, but they do also need to know that we're 100% behind them when they are forthcoming with the Truth in the face of adversity. Giving them our thanks and support - targeted support, specific support - lets them know that there is a flock for them to lead, to protect, to defend. Go on - send your Bishop a love letter this week.
The children, particularly my son, were keen to meet the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales and so as the crowd thinned we joined the reception queue behind a man in shorts wearing a sombrero with "Mexico" written on it, and were very quickly in front of +Nichols. I knelt and kissed the Archbishop's ring, and the children knelt for a blessing... and that was that. As we walked away I internally kicked myself for not saying what I wished I had had the alacrity of mind to say which was: "Thank you for defending the Truths of the Catholic Faith, and particularly for defending the family, so bravely in the face of opposition in these difficult times"...
... Now, before any readers choke, cough and splutter let me explain myself a little. When, in a past life, I had to manage and motivate large teams of people, I found that praising somebody robustly for what they should be doing, even if they're only making a faint effort, pays huge dividends. Sometimes it's a matter of confidence: being praised for what they should be doing, or are tentatively doing, moves things up a gear... sometimes someone is tentative simply because they aren't sure that they are supported in what they're doing. Praise - directive praise - inevitably moves behaviour towards the desired outcome.
 |
| Courtesy of Acclaim clipart |
...and so, I propose the following: consider writing a billet-doux to your local Bishop or, indeed, to Archbishop Nichols. Thank him, genuinely and robustly, for what he does in the face of opposition from society at large - and be specific about what you're thanking him for. Imagine if a Bishop, feeling uncertain of how supportive the average-Catholic-in-the-pews is of the Church speaking out on important issues, were to receive 100 letters from faithful Catholics in his diocese over a few weeks, thanking him for his work and praising him for, say, speaking out to support Catholic teaching on marriage, sexuality, and freedom of conscience as well as, for example, protecting local Catholic schools from the incursion of secular ideology. He may be doing some of these things, he may be doing none of them; but receiving letters thanking him for shepherding his flock and particularly with respect to issues X, Y, and Z will, at the very least, give him pause for thought.
...and that's got to be a good thing.
Our Bishops know what they need to do, but they do also need to know that we're 100% behind them when they are forthcoming with the Truth in the face of adversity. Giving them our thanks and support - targeted support, specific support - lets them know that there is a flock for them to lead, to protect, to defend. Go on - send your Bishop a love letter this week.
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Catholic Home Education UK - an interesting new blog
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| Home education: sometimes our classroom looks like this! |
A good start for a new blogging endeavour by Amanda Lewin, a UK Catholic home education veteran with some 15 years experience. The face of home education - and its Catholic variant - has changed over the past decade as more families find home ed not only an acceptable, but also a viable educational option and family lifestyle. The first post tackles the thorny issue of whether or not to follow the UK exam system (usually iGCSE for home educated children) rather than follow a broader Classical curriculum as provided by one of the various American home education curriculum providers. The blog is "dedicated to supporting those who may choose or have chosen to follow the UK system instead of an alternative one."
Interested in Home Ed? Catholic? British? Keep an eye on this one then.
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