What A Wonderful Mother!

Please pray for this wonderful woman and her beautiful family.

Look at her eyes, her smile, her attitude.

What a wonderful mother.

Try not to cry, of course.

Though I know you’ll fail.

Mundabor

 

 

On The Rejection Of The Personhood Amendment.

Drowned in the Mississippi River: The Personhood Amendment

And so the Mississippi referendum did not go as I – and, I am sure, many of you – had wished. What hurts more, the result was clearly in favour of those against the measure, whereas the polls indicated a close call.

It would appear that in the last days of the campaign, prominent pro-lifers have intervened and expressed their concerns about the initiative. I have written already about this, but the concerns may be summarised with the argument that you shouldn’t fight to win, because you may lose and be in a worse position than you were before.

I never cease to be amazed at such arguments. Did the participants of the “Boston tea party” reason that if the operation had failed, their cause might have been set back? What about the Independence war: isn’t it so, that if that war had been lost an even bigger yoke would have been imposed on the Colonies? More in general, what kind of reasoning is that, that one shouldn’t fight because he might, in theory, be worse off if he fights and lose?

How can it be explained that Planned Parenthood was clearly opposed to the initiative? If it had played in their hands, they should have chosen a lower profile, right? How can it be explained that President Obama hailed the defeat? Have these people all become covert pro-lifers?

And about the argument of the Supreme Court re-affirming Roe vs Wade: Roe vs Wade is in force now. It kills children now. It can’t kill them more after being upheld that it does at the moment. It’s not that 73% of a baby is aborted now, and this percentage would have been increased to 91% after a second sentence upholding Roe vs Wade. No, when a child is aborted , he dies to 100%. He ceases to live. He is no more.

So, it is difficult for me to see how avoiding a further controversy in the Supreme Court might help a child to be “aborted less”, or help the cause in any way. In the end, the United States are a democracy, and when the public opinion decides that it wants to go in a certain direction – with an amendment of the Constitution, if must be; more probably without – there is no need to persuade Supreme Court judges. And how can you get the “right” judges to the Supreme court, if not creating a climate hostile to abortion in the Senate that must approve them, or making it more difficult for a President to propose the election of pro-choice judges? How can a battle to raise the awareness of the Holocaust that is abortion be fought with the fear of letting the issue become a hotly contested, highly controversial one?

I am baffled, really. I think this was a victory of cowardice over hope. Not so much for the end result of the defeat, which might have happened anyway, but because of the way in which this defeat has been, in a word, deserved.

What is next, I wonder? No battle in defence of DOMA because if it is lost we might end up in a worse position than we are today? If you ask me, this is Chamberlain’s logic.

Again, I am baffled.

Mundabor

Atheocracy, Democracy, Freedom.

Today he would say: never more than one election away from Obama.

Beautiful intervention from Bishop Conley, attacking the (aggressive) secular society at a pro-life meeting in Dallas.

“Atheocracy” is the name he chooses to describe

“a society that is actively hostile to religious faith and religious believers. And I might add — the faith that our society is most hostile toward is Christianity in general, and Catholicism in particular.”

Such a society is based upon purely synthetic moral values, based on pretty much nothing as far as inviolable principles are concerned.

“Hence, it has no foundation upon which to establish justice, secure true freedom, or to constrain tyrants,”

As an example, he took Roe vs Wade, “atheocracy” in action and “the violence of the strong against the weak”. Still,

“Without God, there is no basis for morality and no necessary protections for man. The strong decide what is right or wrong — even who lives and who dies.”

Abortion anyone? Euthanasia? Why does this ring a bell?

Atheocracy works very well, of course, in matters of sexual perversion, then a society with no place for moral values is a place with no place for condemnation of sexual perversion. This is when atheocracy starts to recognise so-called homosexual marriages, because

“our atheocratic government now deems itself competent to rewrite ‘the laws of Nature’s God’ — the God-given definitions of marriage and the family”

It wasn’t always that way in the old U S of A, though, as

“the Declaration’s expressed belief in the divine origin of the human person is everywhere presumed in the Constitution”,

and one can’t say that it hasn’t served the country well. Whether this will continue, and a country where homo soldiers have the right to shower together with their straight colleagues – what have homos to look for in an army, anyway? I mean, have we all become MAD?! – might discover before too long that being a world power is nothing automatic, or due to one country.

In short, Bishop Conley hits the bull’s-eye on the protracted deterioration of democratic institutions through aggressive secular thinking. Mind, though, that when a democracy betrays Christian values, this democracy has ceased to earn the right to exist, and the time will come when it is not able to withstand the onslaught of other – and hopefully authentically Christian – forces.

The great Ronald Reagan* used to say that freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. The same thinking applies, I believe, to democratic institutions. As long as there are deep and universal values sustaining them, they will thrive and prosper. When, though, these values are substituted by caricatures of Christian values – see the fake “charitee” of the pro-homo lobby, or the fake Hitler-humanitarianism of Lebensunwertes Leben euthanasia – the basis of democratic consensus will be eroded, up to the point where democracy is not in a position to defend itself anymore and dies; it dies, then, because it has deserved to. And when your democracy goes, be very afraid for your freedom itself.

About freedom again, Reagan – one who would have liked Bishop Conley – said it so beautifully:

How can we survive as a free Nation when some decide that others are not fit to live, and should be done away with.

Food for thoughts…..

Mundabor

*Three Hail Marys from me, and you’re welcome.

Bring it on! “Personhood amendment” in Mississippi

8 November: let the music begin?

On the 8 November, the voters of Mississippi will be able to vote on the possibility of granting “personhood” to the unborn child, with the consequences you can easily imagine. Basically, one would be a person for the law before being born, with all the protection of the case.

Mississippi being one of the most pro-life States of the US the proposal might well win, and the fact that both major parties support the initiative speaks volumes about the general climate. I wish the initiative all the best.

Surprisingly, a good number of pro-lifers do not support the initiative. The train of thoughts is that this legislative measure will be challenged, probably up to the Supreme Court, where liberals and assorted perverts will take care that Roe vs Wade is confirmed, thus making the battle more difficult.

I struggle to follow the logic. The argument reminds me of those priests saying to us in the Eighties that the Church only fights the battles she can easily win, because to be seen as losing battles damages her reputation and influence in the country. So they prefer to shut up and lose quietly in order not to be seen to have lost openly. Congratulations.

It seems obvious to me that the overturning of Roe vs Wade will not happen without a long, excruciating conflict, dividing the country in the most painful of ways; unless, of course, one is ready to wait for the death of the Sixty-Eighters, with several millions babies killed in the meantime. I cannot see any way of getting Roe vs Wade out of the way without great conflict; the possible confirmation of Roe vs Wade by the above-mentioned liberals and perverts would only exacerbate this conflict and, very possibly, lead to the appointment of other and better judges in due time. Either way, it won’t happen without people noticing, so we had better let them notice now.

As I see it, on the 8 November something huge might happen; something that – irrespective of the probability of survival of such measure in the shirt-ish term – points out to a slow but more and more marked shift in the popular feelings, and to a clear re-adjustment of the debate’s coordinates.

In my opinion, you win wars by fighting them bravely, not by hoping to win without the enemy’s opposition.

I truly hope that on the 8 November a huge cry will rise from Mississippi’s families:

Bring it on!

Mundabor

Pope Didn’t Call Mexico. Sad, really.

"Internal matter"?

A rather embarrassing small incident after the victory for pro-life supporters in Mexico.

It would appear that Bishop Guerrero Macias had boasted that “a call from the Pope, I don’t know to who[m]“, had changed the situation.

Federico Lombardi promptly intervened and said that oh no, God forbid, the Pope would never do that. The head of the biggest organised religious organisation in the planet to say to a Catholic what he thinks about what he is doing with his soul? Unthinkable. The Pope “always respects the internal affairs of nations”, and therefore such calls simply do not take place.

I have a couple of small problems here.

Firstly, the Pope is not only a head of State, but the head of a religious organisation. It is not clear to me how it should be a problem that – wearing his religious hat, so to speak – he should contact whomever he pleases in the discharging of his religious duty. On the contrary, I see it as difficult to justify how he could not intervene.

Secondly, Lombardi’s principle sound dangerous, as it makes every religious controversy “an internal affair” of that nation. If in Malta divorce is legalised the matter concerns all Christianity, not only the Maltese. Christianity doesn’t know “internal affairs”. This is why religious blogs like this one deal with Christian matters wherever they happen, UK or US or Mexico or Hungary.

There might be reasons of prudence suggesting that a Pope doesn’t make this or that phone call. But when Lombardi declares with such blunt words that the Pope has the duty to shut up in matters concerning “the internal affairs of nations” and that it would be “disrespectful” to intervene, I wonder whether the mentality in the Vatican is becoming a rather secularised one.

Mundabor

Justin Bieber and the Church

If you think I am going to post a photo of Bieber, you have another thought coming...

I don’t know anything about Justin Bieber. I mean, I really couldn’t care a straw. I barely know he exists, and I assure you the last circumstance is merely due to the fact, alas, not being really avoidable.

It’s astonishing to me that people still fighting against their acne might be considered the carrier of any form of message (let alone wisdom) whatsoever. It tells something about the state of our society. Add to this that the young man looks like a ….  oh well, let’s not say that, poor chap.

It would appear that whatever this chap says, makes waves. Crucially, he appears to be, in a way, “pro life”. At least as much as one can be whose clarity of thought doesn’t go beyond saying “whatever they have in North Korea, that’s bad”. Whatever? If you don’t even know what it is they have, how can you….. ? But I’m getting excited, and in the day of Gaddafi’s fall I do not want to get nervous.

It would also appear that the young chap has made a video looked at 600 million times, which poses the question whether all this popularity couldn’t be put to a good use, for example trying to condemn genocide. Adolf Hussein Obama wouldn’t be pleased for sure; at least for the duration of a golf game.

It seems easy, but it isn’t. In my eyes, the problems are as follows:

1. This is a teenager. Teenagers do change their mind. If you start supporting him now that he says what you like, you run the risk of a huge problem the day he will start saying things you don’t. The probability is not small.

2. This is a teenager who can only influence teenagers. People who – looking at reality for what it is for once instead of drinking the kool-aid of youth rhetoric – don’t vote and, basically, don’t count. People who will grow out of their infatuation with a pop idol and will soon start thinking with their own head, provided they have one. It is a delusion to think that a pop idol can influence a generation, much less a generation of teenagers into their adult years. Teenagers change rather rapidly and many will be ashamed in five years’ time – nay, make it two – of having ever told themselves fans of their idol of yesteryear.

3. Beware of those who are popular. Truth is not spread through those who are popular. On the contrary, popularity (as in pop-ularity) doesn’t really make great inroads. If  the religious opinions of famous people had a real relevance, Scientology would make no prisoners. The reality is that people – even when stupid, and even when teenagers; which all too often is the same thing – can well separate their musical preferences from their values. My impression is that people “follow” their idols when the latter do what they want to do in the first place; their idol is one who took drugs because they want to take drugs, etc. Pop idols don’t change people, for sure, much less change adolescents into different adults. Thank God for that, by the way.

4. If we want to really fight against abortion, we need something with a bit more weight than a walking Clearasil ad. We need brave priests and bishops saying it as it is. Serious advancement for Truth is effected by serious people being taken seriously by serious people, not by teenagers expressing some broken idea in broken English to other barely literate teenagers.

Bieber can do whatever he pleases. It doesn’t really count. What counts is, primarily, priests and bishops, and they are the ones who must begin to seriously wake up.

It’s not that people become conservative because, say, they like Beyonce’s voice (a lot else to like, anyway….). They become conservative because they develop that conviction.

Like millions of others, I spent countless hours listening to Simon & Garfunkel. Never could give a straw what their political opinions are.

Mundabor

Pro-Lifers Must Stay Outside of Montreal Basilica.

Outside of Montreal Basilica, they now have pro-lifers to keep them company.

You will not believe this.

A group of pro-lifers wearing pro-life t-shirts were denied entrance to Montreal Basilica because their message was “too political”.

Being against abortion is “too political”.

I assume being against the war in Iraq isn’t.

I know, you don’t believe me. This is why I have posted the link.

I can’t wait for the day when being Catholic will be “too political”. By all those atheists and Muslims around, we can’t be so insensitive…

I hope this will have consequences.

Mundabor

Former Supermodel Speaks Against Abortion

Pro-Life Beauty. With Cross pendant.

This is new to me and something you don’t hear very often. A former supermodel – as such, belonging to a world with all but the reputation of being spiritual, or even half-decent – and former pro-choice advocate continues to speak in favour of the unborn life with a clarity and openness that puts to shame the almost totality of, say, our English bishops. Try this (emphasis mine):

“From the moment of conception, a new life comes into being with a complete genetic blueprint. The sex is determined. The blood type is determined. It doesn’t start out as one species and suddenly become a human being.”

This, from a person who claims that she “always has and always will fight for the rights of women”. I am not entirely clear as to what rights women need to fight for nowadays, but this tells you that the lady is certainly not your typical bible-belt fundamentalist.

The matter is, in fact  – and as Ms Ireland points out – one of mere logic: either there is a human life, or there isn’t. If there isn’t, show me that this is the case and how and when it happens that one life is born. If there is, the rest follows from mere logic.

We don’t have people like Ms. Ireland in Europe. When we hear of supermodels it is generally because of something stupid they have done, or something stupid their friends have done, or something stupid their boyfriends/husband/significant whatever have done. If they support some public cause, it is very likely – nay, it is sure – to be some very easy and popular one, and one more probable to go against Christian values than to protect them.

Kudos to women able to change their mind (as Ms Ireland openly says she did) and progress from feminism to simple logic.

Mundabor

US: Opposition To Abortion Grows

Following to the Gallup polls showing an increase in pro-life stance in the last years, a new set of polls from NPR shows that the trend is not only consolidating, but very marked among those below 35.

As there were several questions asked, I refer you to the link. The most notable facts are the constant prevalence of pro-life supporters under 35 and the diffused misinformation about actual abortion rules.

The first fact once again seems to validate the perception that once the undertaker has taken care of the sixty-eighter potheads, things will naturally improve. The second makes clear that information on the ground is extremely important and can help changing things without having to wait for the above-mentioned potheads to kick the bucket.

Be it as it may, that in general opposition to abortion grows – at least in the US; in Europe we will probably have to wait longer – is a fact that in my eyes can’t be denied anymore and is cause of great hopes for the future.

In 50 years time, methinks, people will read of our age and wonder in disbelief how this generation could tolerate abortion.

Mundabor

Sonogram Now Mandatory In Texas

Try to call this baby a lump of cells now!

Following on the Pro-Life Final Weapon blog post, it is now official that in Texas a sonogram will be mandatory before an abortion.

There are still unpleasant limitations to the measure. The mother is not obliged to see the sonogram or to hear to the heartbeat, but she will have to hear to the doctor’s description of how the baby looks like. Also, the baby result of rape does not have the same right and in this case, the mother will not even have to listen to the doctor (unless I am mistaken, expect an increase in cases of rape).

See above an example of the image generated by the sonogram. Truly impressive. The possibility of hearing the baby’s heartbeat will add to the experience.

Astonishingly, though, there are people who are against the measure because (please sit before you read this)

the law interferes in the doctor-patient relationship by adding a government requirement for a procedure that could be traumatizing to women going through an already difficult situation.

So, the mother should not be traumatised by …… letting her know that she is killing her own baby.

What sensitive Nazis we have there.

Kudos to the Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, who put the measure on a legislative fast track as “emergency legislative priority”, and to the heavily pro-life majority in the state legislative which made the bill possible in the first place.

Mundabor