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Current Events, Perspective, Political

Hey, President Nixon umm Bush

From The Guardian: US forces kill eight in helicopter raid on Syria

American helicopters flying from Iraq landed inside Syria yesterday and dropped special forces who killed eight people, the Damascus government said last night, as Washington admitted it had targeted “foreign fighters.”

Syria warned that it held the US “wholly responsible for this act of aggression and all its repercussions”.

It described the dead as Syrian civilians, five of them members of the same family. Syrian state television reported that the attack was against a farm near Abu Kamal, five miles from the Iraqi border. Doctors in nearby al-Sukkariya said another seven people were taken to hospital with bullet wounds.

The incident threatened to unleash a new wave of anti-American feeling in Syria and across the Middle East at a time when President Bashar al-Assad, already being courted by Europe, is looking forward to improved relations with Washington after the November 4 presidential election. News of the attack led bulletins across the Arab world last night – suggesting it will have wide resonance.

Syria summoned the US charge d’affaires in Damascus to explain the incident. It also called on the Iraqi government to prevent its airspace being used in this way in future.

Eyewitness accounts said eight US soldiers landed in two helicopters and that the dead were building workers. A senior Syrian source quoted by the official Sana news agency, said four helicopters violated Syrian airspace and described the target as a “civilian building under construction”.

In Washington an unnamed military official told the Associated Press the raid had targeted elements of a “foreign fighter logistics network”, and that, due to Syrian inaction, the US was “taking matters into our own hands”. It was the first known American attack on Syrian soil…

Reminiscent of President Nixon opening another front in Cambodia, which interestingly started with such raids. I wonder if a Christmas Day B-52 raid over Damascus is in the offing. That’s the problem with megalomaniacs. If they’re hunkered down on two fronts, they open a third.

Syria will draw closer to Iran, Hezbollah will be unleashed, Israel will get drawn into another conflict where civilians deaths will far outnumber combatant casualties, and all this on top of an already tense political-economic situation. The problem for folks like President Bush is that this will not unleash the Second Coming, it will only destroy more of God’s children.

God have mercy on us.

Current Events, Perspective, PNCC, Political

What is it about Scranton

…and its Roman Catholic Bishops?

From the Citizens Voice: Scranton bishop tells forum his letter is ‘only relevant document’ for diocese.

Local and national Catholics reacted Tuesday to statements by Bishop Joseph F. Martino apparently discounting teachings of the national body of bishops during a political forum at a Honesdale Roman Catholic Church this weekend.

Martino arrived unannounced in the midst of a panel discussion on faith issues and the presidential campaign at St. John’s Catholic Church on Sunday. According to people who attended the event, the bishop chastised the group for holding the forum and particularly took issue with the discussion and distribution of excerpts from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ position on voting issues. The document defines abortion and euthanasia, as well as racism, torture and genocide, as among the most important issues for Catholic voters to consider.

—No USCCB document is relevant in this diocese,— he was quoted as saying in the Wayne County Independent, a Honesdale-based newspaper. —The USCCB doesn’t speak for me.—

Thomas Shepstone, a local businessman and Catholic who spoke about his opposition to abortion rights during the event, recalled Tuesday that Martino also told the audience that he voted against the U.S. Bishops’ statement and described it as a consensus document —written to mean all things to all people.—

According to participants, Martino expressed dismay that the panelists did not discuss the pastoral letter he directed all priests in the Diocese to read in place of their homilies on Oct. 4 and 5. In that letter, he called on Catholic voters to consider abortion above all other issues, except those he defined as having equal moral weight, like euthanasia and embryonic stem-cell research.

—The only relevant document … is my letter,— he said at the forum, according to the Independent. —There is one teacher in this diocese, and these points are not debatable.—

According to the Independent, the bishop also said he no longer supports the Democratic Party.

A diocesan spokesman on Tuesday confirmed the bishop’s comments as reported in the Independent…

And, this one’s the kicker:

Tagle said the bishop criticized the resident pastor, the Rev. Martin Boylan, for holding the forum and —seemed to justify his presence there by stating that he owned the building.—

I think Bishop Martino is channeling Bishops O’Hara and Hoban.

I found this article through the blog Another Monkey in The Bishop is not the Church. Obviously The writer’s understanding of the Bishop’s role is confused, and I can see why. Where the Bishop is, there is the Church, but of course confusion ensues when the Bishop concerns himself with politics and property ownership over the spiritual well being of his flock. His role is to teach. Teach is not spelled B U L L Y. If he taught his flock in love and channeled their energies into making over the earth, rather than one election, he would have far better success.

Perhaps the bishop needs a refresher on prudence:

Prudence is the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it; “the prudent man looks where he is going.” “Keep sane and sober for your prayers.” Prudence is “right reason in action,” writes St. Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotle. It is not to be confused with timidity or fear, nor with duplicity or dissimulation. It is called auriga virtutum (the charioteer of the virtues); it guides the other virtues by setting rule and measure. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgment of conscience. The prudent man determines and directs his conduct in accordance with this judgment. With the help of this virtue we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid. — The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1806

This CNS story on a homily by Archbishop Quinn from four long years ago is also instructive.

Perspective, Political, , ,

Rebuiding cities

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer: Strategies For Rebuiding Cleveland: What can be learned from other cities.

Like a flower in the sand, a peach-colored house blooms from a bleak and battered street in the inner city of Schenectady, N.Y.

On a block of outdated and sometimes boarded-up double deckers, the slender home wears vacation clothes. Its siding gleams in cool Caribbean colors. A decorative black fence necklaces a front garden bursting with colors.

Strangers might suspect they had stumbled upon an artist’s enclave or a bed and breakfast in the urban blight, but anyone from around this upstate New York factory town knows better. They will assume another Guyanese immigrant family has moved in and that, chances are, the street is on the rise. For where one Guyanese buys and restores, others follow.

Facing the kinds of job losses and abandonment known to Cleveland, Schenectady pursued a creative solution. It introduced itself to an immigrant group in New York City, lured curious couples north to view its impossibly cheap homes, and let capitalism and immigrant dreams run their course.

In less than a decade, people who hail from the South American nation of Guyana have become about 10 percent of the city of 62,000, and streets once considered worthless now stir with fussy homeowners.

“They breathed new life into this town,” said Albert P. Jurczynski, the former mayor who marketed his city with bus tours and his mother-in-law’s homemade cookies. “They changed Schenectady. And they never asked for a dime from anyone.”

With the real-estate catastrophe having devalued, crippled and partially emptied whole neighborhoods of Northeast Ohio, it’s time to ask, “What next?”

I love what Schenectady did. I have commented on it before, in other forums, and have recommended this model to civic leaders in other cities. This effort, along with other examples provided in the article, show that rust-belt cities needn’t weep over abandoned factories and boarded-up homes. Energy, leadership, vision, and a quelling of unfounded fears can rebuild what was thought of as lost.

On a recent weekday, Desmond Ramsammy and his wife of one year, Panchawattie, stepped out of an immaculate, two-family house near downtown Schenectady and surveyed a world they were surprised to find.

Crack dealers and layabouts once dominated Hawk Street at the edge of the Hamilton Hill neighborhood. Today, the narrow block reflects fresh paint and new energy. About 80 percent of the houses are occupied by Guyanese. They mind each other’s children, walk to West Indian groceries on busy State Street, and cheer the cricket matches over at Central Park.

Desmond Ramsammy, a heating and cooling mechanic, discovered the scene when he drove up from Queens to visit his brother. He came back with his wife.

“It’s much more relaxed here,” he said. “The cost of living is much less. Even gas prices are lower.”

The couple paid $127,000 for a house that had sat vacant for six years before Mohabir Satram, a Guyanese home restorer, bought and rebuilt it from top to bottom. Now it holds new dreams.

The Ramsammys expect to sell their small house in Queens for about $650,000 and use the money to start a business in Schenectady.

Annunciating words that are music to the ears of civic leaders, Desmond Ramsammy said, “We plan to raise a family here.”

The opportunities are there: urban farming, economic changes that will reinvigorate cities (see this from the Telegraph), industrious immigrants… Simply a change in the paradigm which will mesh with a return to core values (if we’re lucky).

Perspective, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , ,

The best vodka in town

I love Vodka, and especially Polish vodka, more properly Polskie wódki. While Polish Vodka gets its shelf space in U.S. liquor stores, most shoppers still miss out on the vast variety of types and styles available. This article from the Sydney Morning Herald explores the history and variety found in the world of Polish vodka: The best vodka in town.

Here are some of the types and styles I have tried:

  • Belvedere
  • Chopin
  • Luksusowa
  • Wyborowa
  • Żubrówka (3 ways – the original, homemade using bison grass from Białowieża, and the U.S. import)
  • Extra Żytnia
  • Lanique Vodka (kosher from Łańcut Distillery)
  • Królewska

I encourage you to drop a note to your local proprietor and ask that they carry a selection of Polish vodkas. Of course enjoy responsibly.

Christian Witness, Perspective, PNCC, Political, , ,

Remembering the working man and woman when you vote

From Interfaith Worker Justice: A Guide for Faith-Based Voters — Vote Your Values 2008

This guide is meant to highlight issues of major importance for working people in the U.S. during this election cycle.

The prophet Amos spoke God’s word thus: —Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream— (Amos 5:24). The foundation story of the Jewish faith is God’s liberation of His people from slavery in the land of Egypt. Further, the Bible commands us not only to give to the poor, but to advocate on their behalf. —Speak up, judge righteously, champion the poor and the [needy] (Proverbs 31:9).—

At the core of Christian belief is the vision of God lifting up the poor, the destitute, the homeless and the reviled. The Apostle Paul wrote, —Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality….Your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: ‘He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.’— (2 Corinthians 8:13-14).

In the 2006 elections, —values voters,— men and women whose political choices are influenced by deeply held religious and moral values, were crucial in the outcomes of six successful state referendums to raise the minimum wage. In 2008 we face an economy in freefall, millions of homeowners in danger of foreclosure, many millions more unable to obtain health insurance who face economic ruin if they or a loved one gets sick, workers who cannot take a paid sick day to care for themselves or a family member, workers who are robbed of their wages, and the worst income inequality since 1929.

This voter guide highlights several issues that are clearly critical to working families but that often receive scant attention by the media and by candidates for federal office. Interfaith Worker Justice urges people of faith, and indeed all citizens of conscience, to consider these issues when they cast their votes for president and congress in November 2008.

  • Support the Right of Workers to Organize a Union —“ Pass the Employee Free Choice Act
  • Health Care for All
  • Stop Wage Theft
  • A Job Should Get You Out of Poverty, Not Keep You In It
  • We Need Comprehensive Immigration Reform
  • All Workers Need Paid Sick Days —“ Support the Healthy Families Act

From personal experience I can tell you that these issues are real. Things like wage theft do occur – and much more frequently then you would suspect. The abuses people thought had long passed, the horror stories from the early 1900’s, are just as real today: child labor, forced labor, wages so inadequate that workers must sleep in unheated boxes at job sites, the same workers provided with just enough money to eat. They keep working because there is no means of escape, and in hope of getting paid eventually. I have heard of migrant construction workers who are transported, fed, and housed by companies. They work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. If they complain they are left at the side of the road, hundreds of miles from home, with no means to get home.

You may think they are illegals – they get what they deserve… Certainly not the way Christians should treat their bothers and sisters. Every human being deserves justice and fair compensation for his work. Hiring an illegal is not the basis for treating that person as a slave, nor is it allowance for breaking even more laws.

Deuteronomy 24:14-15 states:

“You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brethren or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns;
you shall give him his hire on the day he earns it, before the sun goes down (for he is poor, and sets his heart upon it); lest he cry against you to the LORD, and it be sin in you.”

I encourage you to read the materials IWJ presents and that you give them due consideration.

Christian Witness, Perspective, Political

Fr. Frank Pavone misses the point

Through Christian Newswire: Fr. Pavone: Pulpit Under God’s Authority, Not Government’s

Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, commented today on the “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” that a group of pastors observed this past weekend, in which they spoke about the moral qualifications of candidates for public office, with a freedom that they maintain the IRS is wrongly taking from pastors.

“This effort is not about bringing politics into the pulpit; it’s about getting government out of the pulpit,” Fr. Pavone explained. “It should be Church authority, not government authority that determines the criteria for how pastors should address politics.”

“When a preacher goes into a pulpit, he does so under the command and authority of God, to preach God’s word. Now God’s word cannot really be God’s if the government can limit or censor it. Moreover, if preachers didn’t historically have the freedom to challenge government authority, we would have neither Christianity nor the United States of America,” Fr. Pavone pointed out…

There was much hullabaloo a week or so ago over freedom in the pulpit. Pastors wanted the freedom to comment on politics, political parties, candidates, etc. (but not really – they really wanted to make endorsements).

For more on this see the NY Times: I’m Your Pastor, and I Approved This Ad and from the IHT: Protesting pastors back candidates from the pulpit.

Fr. Pavone and his cohort say it is about freedom.

Fr. Pavone and those like him are so embroiled in politics that they cannot see the forest for the trees. In their comprehension everything is about politics and using political means to achieve the ends they seek. I think Fr. Pavone and the other pastors who championed this cause have forgotten who and what they are. They are not a business nor a corporation. They are not politicians, nor are they dependent on the political establishment for anything. Further, you do not need the government’s permission to comment on or challenge governmental authority. We do it all the time when we comment on greed, unjust war, abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, or pretty much any biblical principal that is at odds with the government’s direction.

Of course Fr. Pavone could care less about his right to speak freely on these principals. This fight has nothing to do with freedom to teach. He, and those like him, would much rather toss their biretta into the political morass, cleaving onto candidates with endorsements from the pulpit.

I can just see Jesus doing that – come unto Me all who hunger and thirst, and vote Pharisee – they believe in the resurrection!

I suggest that Fr. Pavone go on a long retreat, best in a far away country, and that he break his addiction to politics. When he comes back he should teach the truth without fear. He doesn’t need to approve of any candidate (and none are a basketful of Christian principals anyway), he just needs to trust. Do not fear the government when at the ambon or in the pulpit. Fear God who will judge if you do not put faith and trust in Him. With Him all things are possible.

Perspective, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , ,

Poland’s organic farms prove to be fruitful ventures

From Yahoo! Canada News: Poland’s organic farms prove to be fruitful ventures.

Eighteen years ago, Boguslaw Klimczak had a barn with 20 cows and a line of patient customers every morning: The farmer in this small town in central Poland sold his locally produced cheeses out of the trunk of his car at the local farmer’s market.

Now Mr. Klimczak drives a Nissan SUV, and his company, with 3 million zlotys ($1.2 million) in sales per year, has its own distribution network sending fresh butter, cream, yogurt, and cheeses —“ made according to traditional Polish recipes —“ to stores across Poland, and without European Union subsidies to boot.

…

Klimczak says he’s not planning to apply for European Union subsidies and doesn’t spend any money on marketing.

“I’d rather not complicate things by growing too big. Plus, I don’t want to take money just for the sake of taking it,” he says. “We’ve filled a niche, that’s what business is about.”

I loved shopping at these little street side markets when I was in Poland. Folks would come early in the morning, often by bus (small carbon footprint there – better that 50 cars showing up all at once) bringing farm fresh items. We would venture, still sleepy eyed, out of our hotel to buy fresh fruit, yogurt, veggies, and cheeses.

Of course I had a connection to doing that sort of thing. My Busia grew fresh veggies at home and we had the Clinton-Bailey Farmers Market nearby.

To find out more about green Poland visit the International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside (ICPPC) and ECOCENTRE ICPPC. Several years ago I had the opportunity to work with Sir Julian and Ms. Lopata. They are great people and their efforts deserve support. Here’s a few of their photos.

(This area is free from genetically modified organisms)
(This area is free from genetically modified organisms)
Christian Witness, Perspective, , , ,

Language and loss – my reflection

I have been following a series of posts by John Guzlowski on language and loss. His reflections were spurred on by the untimely death of novelist David Foster Wallace.

You can read his posts: At Everything’s Jake: re: David Foster Wallace and Suicide and The Deaths of Writers and at Lighting and Ashes: Language and Loss and Language and Loss: Some More Thoughts.

While reading his posts the verse from Romans 8:26 kept jumping out at me:

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.

This verse is comforting in those moments when words, poetry, art, and even tears are too little. God is connected to us in our sorrows and our joys. He understands and speaks in a language we cannot comprehend, but a language that gives peace.

Perspective, PNCC,

Rulers or democratic governance?

Bishop Hodur understood that the Church – something that is fixed and infallible – and democratic governance in issues of church property are not mutually exclusive. Members of a closed parish in rural Kansas, Ohio see it that way too.

From the Toledo Blade: Ex-parish members seek help from court to oust Toledo bishop as trustee

LIMA, Ohio – A group of ex-parishioners from a closed Catholic church in rural Kansas, Ohio, yesterday asked an appeals court to remove Toledo Bishop Leonard Blair as trustee of the former church’s property and finances.

The ex-members argued that the bishop failed to act in their best interests.

Nicholas Pittner, representing the St. James Parish ex-members, and an outside expert both said the Ohio 3rd District Court of Appeals case could set precedent if it restricts Catholic bishops’ ability to sell property and transfer funds of parishes – closed or otherwise – in Ohio and possibly nationwide. “If the parishioners win, the bishops will be trembling in their pants,” said Stephen Brady, president of Roman Catholic Faithful, an activist lay group based in Petersburg, Ill. “But I think the parishioners have a tough row to hoe.”

Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, and Sally Oberski, communications director for the Toledo diocese, both said that to their knowledge, it is the only lawsuit of its kind.

Mr. Pittner, of the Columbus firm of Bricker & Eckler, told the appellate court during oral arguments yesterday that the

St. James situation was not the typical court case of a disaffected faction seeking ownership of church property after a schism.

“In this case, the church left the plaintiffs; the plaintiffs did not leave the church,” he said.

About 15 ex-parishioners of St. James attended the hearing.

Thomas Pletz, of Toledo’s Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick law firm, represented the diocese, which has 301,000 members in 19 northwest Ohio counties.

Arguments on both sides centered on Bishop Blair’s role as the trustee of parish property.

“It has nothing to do with the restoration of Kansas St. James as a parish in the Roman Catholic Church. That issue is over and done with,” Mr. Pittner said.

He acknowledged the Vatican upheld Bishop Blair’s decision to close the parish. “We don’t ask the court to tread into religious matters of that nature.”

At issue are the rights of ex-parishioners as beneficiaries of a trust under Ohio civil law, Mr. Pittner said. “Property made to a bishop of the Catholic Church is made in trust for the benefit of the parish or congregation.”

Presiding Judge Stephen Shaw and Judge John Willamowski tossed numerous questions at Mr. Pittner and Mr. Pletz. The third judge was Judge Richard Rogers.

The ex-members appealed after losing in Allen County Common Pleas Court earlier this year.

Mr. Pletz argued that civil and church law “are not mutually exclusive” and that their combination gives the bishop the right to make administrative decisions for the good of the diocese.

“[The] rural fashion of living, and traveling with horse and buggy has changed and you may not be able to maintain small, family, rural, greatly beloved churches in many highways and byways,” he said.

“I do not believe there is any vested perpetual right to be entitled to have your church – and really what they want to keep is their church – forever in their place and bind the hands of the trustee inexorably forever to maintain that church,” Mr. Pletz said.

Mr. Pittner argued that trusteeship of church property is a matter of civil law alone, and Canon Law does not apply because it is not an internal religious issue.

Mr. Pittner said the plaintiffs hope to have the bishop replaced with “a trustee who will abide by the interests of the congregation and allow them to worship in their building.”

The court would name the trustee, he said, but the preference would be for someone linked with the former parish or a nonprofit corporation formed by ex-members, called the Kansas St. James Parish of Ohio Inc.

One of them, Ginny Hull, said afterward the ex-parishioners have spent “well over $100,000” on legal fees, but have not decided what they would do if they win. “We’ll deal with that when we come to it.”

St. James, the only Catholic church in Kansas, about 40 miles southeast of Toledo, was founded in 1889 and had about 215 members when Bishop Blair closed it as part of a diocesewide realignment 2005.

The ex-parishioners meet every Sunday for prayer at a Methodist church in Kansas – the village’s only other church – and celebrate Mass once a month with a priest from the Polish National Catholic Church in Detroit.

Christian Witness, Perspective, PNCC, ,

Being a Confessor of the Faith in Mishawaka, Indiana

Wikipedia defines a Confessor as:

The title confessor is used in the Christian Church in several ways. Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith, but not to the point of death.

I recently blogged about Nan Gilbert, a member of the PNCC who has been discharged from her job simply for her membership and allegiance to the PNCC. You might think: isn’t that employer horrible, persecuting people for their faith in Jesus Christ and their allegiance to Him.

Funny thing, she worked for a Roman Catholic high school run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. Note that the school still lists her as a member of their staff on their website (as of the writing of this post).

I attempted to confirm the events with the Ecumenical Officer for the Diocese, the Rev. Robert C. Schulte and the school’s principal, Mr. Carl Loesch. Fr. Schulte responded but refused to comment on the status of Ms. Gilbert, citing confidentiality. Ms. Gilbert has personally confirmed these events with me.

Ms. Gilbert was told to renounce her affiliation with the PNCC and come back to full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. She was also asked to renounce any relationship with her fiancee, a former cleric of the Roman Catholic Church. Upon refusing she was told that she could either resign or be fired.

From my perspective, there is the potential for further repercussions aimed at Ms. Gilbert based on what she has reported to me. The whole episode is truly insidious, truly sinful.

In the end this is simple coercion and prejudice. While coercion is allowed for by Roman Catholic Canon Law, this would be an area outside Canon Law, because it affects the member of another Church — an area covered in joint agreements and by the Roman Church’s own prohibitions against coercion. So it comes down to bullying.

Here’s an excerpt from Marian’s Mission Statement:

…As a Catholic community, Marian values the sanctity and individuality of each student and strives to live the example of Jesus Christ as teacher and servant.

Is that saying that Jesus as teacher and servant treated His co-workers without sanctity or individuality? Don’t you just love mission statements. So many words, never reflected upon, never considered. Just a decoration on one’s website. If they cannot follow their Mission Statement how can they follow the Popes and the Gospel?

Grant this, O Christ, that we may never let ourselves be broken by threats, persecution and suffering, but always firmly and faithfully profess Thy holy faith. And when false human judgments pursue and wrong us, grant us the faith of the apostles and courage of the martyrs, that we may be capable to suffer and even die for Thee. Amen. — From the Prayer for the First Station. The Stations of the Cross, A Book of Devotions and Prayers According to the Use of the Polish National Catholic Church.

Here’s a better Mission statement:

“Fides suadenda est, non imponenda”
(Faith is a matter of persuasion, not of compulsion)

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