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Current Events, Perspective, PNCC

LiŁ«dnas

In the Lithuanian language ‘liŁ«dnas’ means sad. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany closed a parish founded by Lithuanians in 1923. Their last Mass was held on December 31st. The Albany Times-Union covered the story in Tears, memories, a final homily

The following stuck me:

“It’s very sad, but you could see it coming,” said Bill Zebuda, 64, a trustee and lifelong parishioner.

Much as worshipers like Zebuda mourned their loss, the brick church welcomed them on Sunday with a festive atmosphere.

Christmas trees and red poinsettias surrounded the altar. A wreath hung from the choir loft. Sunlight brightened the blue-and-yellow stained glass windows.

A Lithuanian flag stood beside the nativity scene. Dorothy Richmire even showed up in traditional Lithuanian dress: a long skirt, white apron, embroidered blouse and amber jewelry.

“You can’t help but feel angry because they’ve taken something away from us,” said Richmire, 80, whose father helped found Holy Cross. “But there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Mr. Zebuda’s statement recalls liŁ«dnas while Ms. Richmire’s statement calls to mind another Lithuanian word: ‘graudus’ meaning pathetically sad.

There is of course the Lithuanian National Catholic Church in which Ms. Richmire’s statement would not be possible. That is because as part of the PNCC, the LNCC is democratic and the parishioners make all decisions regarding their property and possessions, including decisions as to whether or not their parish should stay open.

Christian Witness, Current Events, Perspective, Political

Saddam is dead…

…but is President Bush satisfied? He has avenged his father with his Texas brand of justice, but any joy his blood lust brings him this evening will turn bitter in his mouth.

But judge thy neighbor according to justice. Thou shalt not be a detractor nor a whisperer among the people. Thou shalt not stand against the blood of thy neighbor. I am the Lord. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart: but reprove him openly, lest thou incur sin through him. Seek not revenge, nor be mindful of the injury of thy citizens. Thou shalt love thy friend as thyself. I am the Lord.

Christian Witness, Current Events, Perspective, Political

Saddam – death

I’ve had this rather unwell, sick feeling all day – not because of any illness per-se, but because we, as a country and occupier are going to kill a horrible dictator – and I don’t like it.

Maybe ten years ago I would have said C’est la vie – and good for him. I can’t do that anymore. I cannot witness Christ and stand by and say OK, C’est la vie – and good for him. I can pray and I can say we are wrong. The merchants of death are wrong, and this is not what it means to be a Christian.

Mr. Hussein was not good by any stretch of the imagination. He was murderous, power hungry, and brutal. He was also our tool and vassal for a time. In the end it turns out that he was sick and deluded. But hey, the U.S. specializes in killing the mentally ill and incompetent.

Of course we could teach the civilized manner of dealing with a criminal. We could turn him over to the Hague. Let them kill him in bureaucratic meandering. Let those who seek justice have their chance to speak – and let him speak. But perhaps too much would be laid out in the open.

Must we pile up more bodies, invite more hate, vengeance, and glory in death? Must we pile one more body on the overwhelming stack we have created? Certainly Mr. Bush will rejoice – but you know, the law of unintended consequences hasn’t been all that good to him thus far, maybe he should back-off.

Our country will bury a president. The majority of Iraqis will rejoice in the death of theirs – welcome to demonocracy.

An excerpt from the NY Times: Iraq Prepares to Execute Hussein

BAGHDAD, Dec. 29 —” The close of the final chapter on the brutal reign of Saddam Hussein drew ever closer today, as Iraqi officials prepared the last legal notice necessary before his execution, a red card that will be presented to the former dictator to inform him that his end is near, Iraqi officials said.

—We will do it very soon,— Muneer Haddad, a judge on the Iraqi High Tribunal who will represent that body at the execution, said today. He said the execution would likely be —tonight or tomorrow.—

The pace of events left some of the American legal advisors working on the case stunned, according to one Western official. For all the guidance the Americans provided, in the end the dictator’s demise did not go the way they expected, the officials said.

—It just goes to show that the Iraqis call the shots on something like this,— the official said.

Ah, plausible denial – we didn’t want to kill him this way – those crazy Iraqis did it.

It is still possible that the execution could be delayed, Western and Iraqi officials cautioned. One senior Iraqi official said there may yet be other legal hurdles.

However, Mr. Haddad said that all that remained was the technical legal matter of court officials filling out a —red card,— a formal notice of impending death created during the Saddam era and widely used by his much feared secret police.

—We have almost finished his red card,— Mr. Haddad said.

It was unclear whether the red card has been presented to Mr. Hussein or whether he knows that his death may be imminent.

Iraqi and American officials have kept outsiders, including his legal team, from contacting him, according to Najib al-Nauimi, one of Mr. Hussein’s lawyers who is in Qatar…

Ah, and then a glimpse of the future American legal system – we don’t need to stinkin’ lawyers…

Christian Witness, Current Events, Perspective, Political

Be careful – what you agree to

Jacob G. Hornberger asks the all important question: Whether or not you would follow a President’s order, based on a contract you signed, to go and kill for no good (or just, or moral, or ethical) reason in Would You ‘Support the Troops’ in Bolivia?

It is a question faithful Christians should always ask. It is a question good and faithful Christians should be prepared to suffer and die for even asking —“ for that may very well happen.

The Young Fogey points to Mr. Hornberger’s article in: The president as a substitute conscience wherein he validly points out that we apply quite a different standard to the war criminals and dictators we don’t like, a standard that doesn’t apply to US.

On the face of it, no other man can assume responsibility for our conscience. It is the one and only thing we have certain and sole responsibility for. We cannot contract our conscience or soul away – regardless of the petty justifications we so readily acquiesce to.

A story on NPR today, Army to Court-Martial Soldier Featured in PTSD Story points to a factor Mr. Hornberger missed when he discussed our troops ‘contract’ with the government.

You see, Sgt. Tyler Jennings signed such a contract and went to serve on the President’s orders. He came back, along with his comrades, unable to cope and quite mentally ill. He sought help, got none. He turned to drugs to cope, and sin of sins he spoke out. Now the army is going to Court Martial this Sergeant.

You see, the contract employer —“ the Army —“ can award you a Purple Heart for your physical injuries, and leave your mental, emotional injuries untreated. The contract doesn’t cover the Army’s or the government’s responsibility toward you. If you no longer meet the requirement for contracted materials they will throw you out as just so much surplus.

Beyond that, they will readily ask you to kill the non-existent enemy and to do so without valid reason, your eternal soul not being a factor therein. As Mr. Hornberger points out:

Indeed, where is the morality in signing a contract that obligates a person to go kill people who haven’t attacked his country?

—But we signed the employment contract thinking that we were defending America,— soldiers say. —We’re just trying to be patriots.—

But everyone knows that presidents don’t use their standing army to defend America. They use it to attack countries that haven’t attacked the United States. After all, how many times has America been invaded by a foreign army in the last 50 years? (Answer: None!) What country in the world today has the military capability of invading the United States? (Answer: None!)

Can you sign a contract that you know, on its face, is a lie, and then follow through and perform on that contract? A question every parent should teach their children to ask. A question everyone who signed has the obligation to ask. Will you be punished for asking – certainly, but I’d rather take that punishment to the kind of punishment Sgt. Jennings will never escape, or the long lasting punishment of eternity – all for no good, moral, just, or ethical reason.

Pray for Sgt. Jennings, the men and women like him – so badly damaged, and for all servicemen and women, and most especially for our country. May we do justice and walk in the way of the Lord.

Christian Witness, Current Events, Political

On Gerald Ford

Portrait of President Ford by Ronald Scherr

Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States passed onto eternal life this evening.

I remember discussing the pardon of Richard Nixon in grade school. I was in the 7th grade then. The Felician sister who taught us stated in effect: an act of forgiveness and healing should never be criticized and should be encouraged.

I was a news junkie as far back as I can remember. I absorbed events and their implications. The pardon seemed incongruous at first, but after I heard sister’s words I thought ‘how wise, how appropriate.’ That act exemplified simple Christian virtue to me. The reaction to the event exemplified the worldly ‘need’ for vengeance.

The NY Times has an excellent retrospective in Gerald R. Ford, 38th U.S. President, Dies.

Mr. Ford was an Episcopalian. I wonder whether the Presiding Bishop will interject herself. Was Mr. Ford High Church?

Eternal rest grant onto him O Lord.

Current Events, Perspective, Poland - Polish - Polonia,

Priorities, priorities

A person’s priorities are often defined by the sort of upbringing they receive – not an absolute truth, for people can reject anything – but a general truth derived from the nature (God given) and nurture we receive.

The following article from The Warsaw Voice: What Poles Prize Most illustrates the power of a culture where faith, and its integration into the culture, leads to family being a priority.

Family happiness is prized above everything else by Poles, a new survey has found. Work is the second most important value, according to the study by the CBOS polling center. Nearly 75 percent of respondents said family happiness was the most important for them. Work comes second (50 percent of those polled). Other issues Poles find important include good health (49 percent); peace and quiet (48 percent); honesty in life (47 percent) and respect from other people (43 percent). These are followed by having a circle of friends, religious faith, national prosperity, education, wealth and freedom of speech. Last on the list are success and fame.

Professional work is most often included as one of the five most important issues by people running their own business (83 percent), young people (70 percent of those aged 25-35) and people with a college education (62 percent).

Nearly all respondents (92 percent) agree that work lends meaning to life, that it is worth being a hardworking person and that any job should be performed with commitment, regardless of its importance. Almost 90 percent say that hard work is a necessary condition for success in life. Eighty-four percent believe that working is a moral obligation toward oneself and other people; 80 percent say that good work brings reward or success.

Nearly half of those surveyed (46 percent) say that satisfaction from work is not necessary, while “material benefits” are the most
important. Some 66 percent say that the primary goal of work is to earn money. Interestingly, 55 percent of respondents say that one cannot become rich from honest work.

The poll was conducted in early November on a representative sample of 979 adults.

I believe that the same can be said for immigrant communities in the diaspora. The people I grew up with, or their parents, who were second generation, still held the same values. I remember the good Felician Sisters saying God, family, country. It stuck. Would that it were so for the world.

Holy Family of Nazareth hear our prayer.

Christian Witness, Current Events

When you don’t believe

From LifeSite News: Nun Imposes Religious Christmas Gifts Ban at Catholic Hospital

TAMPA, December 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) —“ When a group of teachers and sisters from Villa Madonna Catholic school tried to brighten up patients’ hospital stay with Christian-themed gifts, the nun in charge of St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital missions decreed that such gifts were inappropriate. A nun from a different order, Sr. Kim Keraitis, who helped organize the gift giving responded she found the political correctness of the decree appalling.

The St. Petersburg Times reports that the decision was made that religiously neutral ornaments that read “Joy to the World” and “Peace on Earth” were in; lapel pins depicting Christ’s birth, ornaments with “Merry Christmas,” and Jesus-themed T-shirts were out.

Sister Pat Shirley, a member of the Franciscan order that founded the Tampa hospital in 1934, told local media, —Yes, we were founded by Catholic sisters, but we serve everybody in our community.—

—We have to create an environment in which all feel comfortable, whether it be Christmas or Hanukkah or Gasparilla or any circumstance,— Sr. Pat said St. Joseph’s vice president of missions. —Gasparilla— is an annual summer tourist festival sponsored by the city of Tampa based on local pirate myths.

The website of the hospital’s foundation, however, said clearly that St. Joseph’s remains a Catholic hospital.

—It’s not Tampa General,— Sister Keraitis of the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco and principal of Villa Madonna school said. —It’s not Wal-Mart. It’s a Catholic hospital, so if you want to distribute items that say ‘Merry Christmas,’ even if there are people there that are of other faiths, it’s kind of understood that it’s a Catholic hospital.”

Among the gifts organized by Sr. Keraitis were red T-shirts the read, “Jesus is the heart of Christmas … Villa Madonna wishes you a Merry Christmas.”

The Franciscan Sisters’ politically correct attitude was not shared by parents of patients, however. Kimmie Martinez, a Villa Madonna teacher said that when the group was told they would not be allowed to distribute the gifts without parental consent, they toured the halls singing Christmas songs and parent’s accepted the gifts —eagerly—.

The volunteers asked if patients believed in Jesus and if they did, they got the gifts, Sister Keraitis said.

“I don’t want to cause a big stir, but my concern was the fact that it’s a Catholic institution,” Sister Keraitis said. “Within the Catholic institution, we shouldn’t have to apologize for saying ‘Merry Christmas’ to people.”

St. Joseph’s Children’s hospital is part of a group of St. Joseph’s Health Care facilities originally established in 1934 by the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany who came to Tampa to aid the victims of an outbreak of yellow fever.

The Franciscan Sisters of Allegany have missions in Brazil, Jamaica and Bolivia but are experiencing the same drought of candidates as most of the orders of Catholic sisters who ‘reformed’ in the 1960’s. They currently have two candidates for admission in the US.

Which is not amazing at all considering the lack of evangelical fervor found here. If this director is any indication, the Order has no purpose other than to provide for health and social service outreach. A secular operation with a pinch of Jesus.

What is really astonishing is the lesson the students at Villa Madonna are learning. Do not witness your faith, hide it under a bushel basket. Thankfully they are under the care of the Salesian Sisters who will make this a teaching moment.

This event is even worse in a state like Florida that is overrun by Evangelical Christians. It causes a grave scandal in that Roman Catholics (of the type symbolized by this particular Franciscan Order at least) are seen as embarrassed by Jesus, scandalized by His birth. Franklin Graham’s Operation Christmas Child has no problem bringing the Word of God and God’s revelation in Jesus Christ to people who do not know Him or reject Him. Sister Pat Shirley could go to school on him and Him.

If you follow the links to the Orders in the story above and look at the respective Mission of each Order you will see the problem right away. The Salesian’s are focused on Christian witness, the Franciscans are focused on being a good social and human service agency. How sad.

Current Events, ,

Life imitating art

From Dean at Deanish: Monty Python Becomes Real

I was just checking on the news this morning and I catch the following headline: —Llamas Enlisted to Thwart Biological Weapons—. Is it just me, or is that more than slightly reminiscent of a wonderful line from Monty Python and the Holy Grail in which King Arthur asks, —Explain again how you may employ a sheep’s bladder in the prevention of earthquakes?—

Check out his entire post – and a related screen cap from Monty.

I also like his site design (Word Press of course). It’s very clean and easy to read. Dean features lots of posts and information about Nintendo. I’ll be checking his site out more fully after I get my hands on a Wii (and yes, I’m waiting till after Christmas).

Current Events, Perspective, Political

Draft and martial law?

Coming to a community near you. From CNN: Bush: ‘We do need to increase our troops’

WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush asked his new secretary of defense to draw up plans to increase the overall size of the Army and the Marines, according to an interview with the president published Tuesday in the Washington Post.

“I’m inclined to believe that we do need to increase our troops — the Army, the Marines,” Bush said. “And I talked about this to Secretary Gates and he is going to spend some time talking to the folks in the building, come back with a recommendation to me about how to proceed forward on this idea.”

Hmm, thought I felt a draft there for a moment. I can see the signing ceremony now, the president surrounded by his junta and idiot congressman Charlie Rangel selling the young men of his constituency down the Tigris and Euphrates. His excuse – it’s ok as long as the rich die too.

Here’s an idea, pull the troops out of Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, and South Korea. We’ll be overstaffed then. You’ll have to cut back.

Senior administration officials said the timing of the president’s comments is connected with Washington’s oncoming budget season, and that the president intends for such plans to be part of the fiscal 2008 budget.

But the comments also come amid increasing warnings from officials and experts that the U.S. military is stretched too thin to cope with the stresses of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The draft will be his greatest gift to the American people —“ that along with…

“It is an accurate reflection that this ideological war we’re in is going to last for a while, and that we’re going to need a military that’s capable of being able to sustain our efforts and to help us achieve peace,” Bush told the Post…

Ah yes, the ideological war, the one where the increased troop levels will helpfully assert and sustain the priorities of the Administration during the canceled elections.

Sustaining our efforts? And whose would those be? I’m thinking that the vast majority of Americans now disagree with your ideological war Mr. Bush, you know, the war where you’re silencing critics like Flynt Leverett (also here and here).

As for peace:

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.

Current Events, Media, Perspective, Political

A trainload of freedom —“ leaving soon

No, not the freedom train, but rather boxcars loaded up with the freedoms you and I used to enjoy.

The train is being pulled along by the present administration in an effort to force people into a dialog on a single issue, under a predetermined script, with a single predetermined outcome. If you disagree —“ loose a freedom.

Ask Flynt Leverett. The former CIA, Department of State, and National Security Council specialist has been censored. His crime, he criticized Bush Administration policies. You see, former CIA employees must clear anything they write by the CIA. He wrote an article based on previously published, publicly available information. He submitted that article for clearance and was denied, not by the CIA per-se, but by the White House. For the whole story see: Flynt Leverett Blasts White House National Security Council Censorship of Former White House Officials Critical of Bush Policies from TPM Café.

These boxcars contain much of what we hold dear: Habeas Corpus, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to seek redress, freedom from cruel and unusual punishment.

This train, fueled by the Patriot Act and similar legislation with an added boost of egomaniacal energy, is fully under the direction and control of George Bush.

The real problem, the one beyond the obvious, is that once this train chugs through its long uphill slog and passes the crest of the hill, it will careen out of control – the whole rest of the way. When curmudgeonly uncle Bob, the self styled critic of the government, disappears one night and can’t be found, then you’ll know the train is at ramming speed.

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