Mark P. Shea's Blog, page 1282

Fr. Corapi's New Target Demographic

Once he is done selling off the remains of his priesthood to people who still believe he cares about them, Fr. Corapi means to rebrand himself as a sort of pastoral figure for these people. Don't expect to hear much about his devotion to Our Lady, or even much about the Catholic faith, once that transition is made. The new Target Demographic requires a new persona: one that is very far from Super Priest.

Basic Leftist Morality

works as follows:

Sex is morally neutral. Every perversion is to be celebrated as "diversity" and the State has the right to force that down your kid's throat from kindergarten onward. If you resist, the state should have the right to take your kid away from you, particularly if you are acting on religious principle.

Food, on the other hand, is fraught with puritanical moral implications and the state should have the right to take your kid away from you if Caesar decides he's too fat.

You may have noticed that the common thread here is "Caesar should have more and more power to take your kid away from you on specious grounds". That's not an accident. Lefties love privileging State power over the family as much as corporatists love privileging corporate power and profit over the family.

Moral: Put the family, not the state or the corporation, first in our thinking and we will have a sane civilization. Set yourself up to think the sole alternatives we have are state or corporation and you will guarantee a mad world.

Polygamist Uses Gay "Marriage" as Platform...

...for legal challenge to monogamy. Golly, who could possibly have foreseen that?

The next (but by no means last) step down in the Country where Consent is the Sole Criterion of the Good.

Look for incest and pedophilia to make their pleas soon.

The Era of the Anti-Catholic Catholic

A reader writes:

You. Must. Submit. By the way, once your state's courts recognize gay marriage for application of divorce law, they violate the equal protection clause by denying state residents the same opportunity to marry and be divorced.

You. Must. Submit. If the national Dems weren't so strapped for cash, they'd be talking about reparations for years of this "discrimination." By the way, once there's a hodge-podge of these laws across the nation, gay marriage becomes a commerce clause issue.

...while another reader notes:

The Catholic Church in Illinois is now out of the adoption and foster care placement business, thanks to civil unions for homosexuals.

It gets worse.

Our governor, Pat Quinn: Catholic
President of the state Senate, John Cullerton: Catholic
Speaker of the House,Michael Madigan: Catholic
Attorney General (the daughter of the Speaker, her main job is to keep daddy from being investigated), Lisa Madigan: Catholic

Basically, the top folks in our state's ruling class, who drafted the most anti-Catholic bill in our history, arm-twisted it through the General Assembly, signed it, and who will defend it in court, are all Catholic.

We live in the era of the anti-Catholic Catholic. The Cuomos, Quinns, Lady Gagas and Maureen Dowds of the world do the job on the Progressive Dissent side of the see saw. The Corapis, Sungenises and Vorises of the world are pioneering it on the Reactionary Side of the See Saw. Both point to their opposites and exploit this dynamic among their votaries and sectarians:


Opposite evils, so far from balancing, aggravate one another. - C.S. Lewis

Meanwhile, the duty of Catholics remains what it has always been: docility, a word almost no Catholic today is familiar with, much less understands.

Hilary Jane Margaret White has Cancer

...and could really use our help with funding her battle against it.

If you've got a few bucks you can spare, it could help save her life.

Atheists and Skeptics...

...labor to demonstrate that they are socially backward victims of a personality disorder that deprives them of the normal social and affective perceptual abilities of normal people.

Very funny article--to normal people with a normal sense of humor.

Prayer Request

A reader writes:

My youngest brother is in the hospital unexpectedly as of this morning. We're not sure what's going on yet. Would appreciate prayers for a speedy recovery.

Father, grant this person complete healing in body, soul, and spirit. Grant his caregivers skill and compassion and give grace, peace and strength to all who love him. We ask this through your Son Jesus Christ. Mother Mary and St. Luke, pray for him.

Okay. One Last Thing, Cuz it's a Chance to Do a Work of Mercy

DigDeep right to water project celebrates birth of Southern Sudan with launch of its new website, fundraising campaign. 

Los Angeles, CA – July 11, 2011 DigDeep – a "whole life" apostolate that advances the human right to water – is celebrating the recent Independence of Southern Sudan with the launch of its new website and fundraising campaign for clean water projects in the country. Today, nearly one billion people lack access to a safe and sustainable source of clean water… most of them in Sub-Saharan Africa. Contaminated drinking water and a lack of sanitation account for nearly 80% of all disease worldwide, killing nearly 4500 children a day. In Southern Sudan less than half of the population enjoys access to water. Digdeepwater.org is working to raise awareness of the water crisis in Southern Sudan and worldwide. The stunning, innovative site features a web-tool built for human rights education and advocacy, and is capable of accepting tax-deductable donations for clean water projects. The new website also launches DigDeep's first major fundraising campaign: "50 States/50 Wells." After nearly six decades of civil war, Southern Sudan was formally recognized July 9th as a free and independent state. "50 States/50 Wells" is a gift of life-giving water from the world's oldest democracy to the world's newest. The campaign aims to connect donors in all 50 states with water projects across Southern Sudan, cementing our friendship and symbolizing our common struggle for freedom.  Having recently completed a field mission to the region, DigDeep is committed to supporting Southern Sudan – the world's newest Christian democracy – by first liberating its people from thirst. About – DigDeep: for Promotion and Protection of the Right to Water DigDeep is a Catholic-run human rights advocacy and development initiative committed to defending human dignity in the face of water poverty. DigDeep works with a "Whole Life" ethic to promote the human right to water, ensuring durable access to clean resources, while at the same time protecting water rights through education and government activism. DigDeep is a project of HERO's Great Campaign for Human Dignity. It operates under the fiscal sponsorship of Jason Jones' HERO Inc., a 501(c)3 charitable organization. All donations are tax deductable. "Human thirst is finite. Our capacity to help others is anything but. DigDeep." http://digdeepwater.org Contact:George McGraw, Director+1 323 250 3844info@digdeepwater.org

One piece of happy news from Australia

I've mentioned previously my curious experience visiting with the Anglican bishop and clergy of the Diocese of the Murray in South Australia.

Today I got this email from one of the priests with whom I had tea:

We met some years ago at a lunch for clergy when you we in Australia for talks in the Anglican Diocese of The Murray. I thought you might be interested to know that Bishop Ross, the then Bishop of The Murray, was received into the Church last December. In fact of the clergy at that lunch three are now Catholic with one on the same to the priesthood.

Splendid! What joy! Welcome!

Still Super Busy

Your prayers are appreciated. Back later.