U.S. bishops showing exceptional leadership in abortion/health care debate

Wow, this is an impressive mobilization on the part of the U.S. bishops to prevent the new health care plan from funding abortions or forcing health care professionals to perform abortions.  

Bravo!  Well done!  I pray that their efforts will succeed.

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Sadly, Fr. Rosica can't let it go

Fr. Rosica has again had another outburst against bloggers. He's taken his message on the road, this time to Rome, at the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

He made some good points about how the media tends to exhibit a moral bias. He also accurately pointed out how the media tends to "dumb down" the message and how form often becomes more important than substance.  People have lost intellectual rigor and are unwilling to pay attention for more than 15 seconds unless you flash some spectacular picture on the tube.

But he couldn't resist attacking bloggers - again.  Here's the relevant excerpt:

"On the Internet there is no accountability, no code of ethics, and no responsibility for one’s words and actions. [...]

"One of the challenges for the Church is that the Internet can destroy or confuse the hierarchy of information-providing that church agencies have worked so hard to establish. Web sites and blogs tend to concentrate on negative messages."

The result, Father Rosica contended, is that "Christians are known as the people who are against everything."

There is truth in his statements. The Internet is certainly open to everybody and accountability works only indirectly, through peer pressure and reputation.  But this freedom is also one of its great strengths, in that bloggers can't be fired or shut down if the powers that be don't agree with their message.

Honestly, I'm not too sure that "old" media has much accountability or responsibility either.  Radio,

Anglican Church in West headed for self-destruction

Last week, the earth shook when the Vatican announced the vehicle through which Anglicans could be received into the Catholic Church.  For Traditional Anglicans, who had made the request to Rome, and for Catholics, this was a time of great celebration. 

Although Traditional Anglicans represent a relatively small group, there are many other conservative-minded Anglicans who are paying close attention and considering the jump to the Catholic Church.

This will have wide-spread ramifications for the Anglican Communion.  As more and more orthodox Anglicans leave for the Catholic Church, the remainder of the Anglican Church will be increasing composed of liberal-leaning Christians, drifting further and further from the essence of Christianity. These liberals will seek to increase their strangle-hold on Anglicanism by pushing for more liberal morality

We saw a first demonstration last week, as Ottawa Anglican Bishop, John Chapman, announced that a church in his diocese will be allowed to "bless" same-sex unions for the first time.  His announcement came just two days after the Vatican's announcement.  The bishops said:  "This will be Ottawa's offering to the ongoing discernment that is happening throughout the Anglican Church of Canada."  It seemed like a direct reaction to the announcement from Rome in order to appease the liberal wing in his church.

Here's a quote from the newspaper that caught my attention:

Bishop Chapman said liberal Anglicans in the diocese will likely believe the blessing protocol doesn't go far enough, while conservative-minded parishioners might think it goes too far. Chapman believes it's a healthy balance.

Strange analysis coming from a bishop.  He's looking for a "healthy balance" between two factions within the Anglican Church.  What ever happened to standing for the Truth?  Why not follow God's will instead of finding an arbitrary compromise between subjective opinions? Is that what Anglicanism in Canada has become? I'm afraid so.

The more orthodox Anglicans in Africa, which make up the bulk of the Anglican Communion, are within a hair of bolting.  To them, the idea of returning to the Catholic Church will become increasingly appealing.  The Anglicans in the West, which are but a small fraction of the total Anglican Church, have generally become so liberal as to be beyond recognition.  They support same-sex marriage, abortion, contraception, divorce, homosexual lifestyles, women priests, etc.  Their low birth rates will almost guarantee that they will disappear within a hundred years or so. 

By this time next century, the Anglican Church as we know it will probably have vanished.  That's what happens when you stray from the Truth.  Recall the wise words of Gamaliel in the Acts of the Apostles:

"So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; ³⁹but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting against God!’ (Acts 5: 38-39)

The Anglican Church in the West is failing because it has strayed too far.

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A lot of hot air about climate change

I'm a skeptic that humans are causing climate change.  If the climate is indeed changing, I don't think humans are to blame.  I've read the evidence quite extensively and it is far from conclusive.  Quite the contrary.

Here's a hilarious article about some of the extremes some people go to in order to minimize their "carbon footprint".

If you want to learn more about climate change, the best site is WattsUpWithThat.com.



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Overblown fears of H1N1

I don't always agree with Margaret Wente, but I think this article was brilliant.

We certainly don't want to get complacent or careless about this flu, but let's not get into a panic either.  Stay balanced and keep your head.



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