Saturday, August 01, 2015

A couple of quick comments...

Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed.
Stop the cover-up.


The Planned Parenthood video expose.

Thank God it was done - we need this stuff right in our face.  This is an important step.  Moralists tried to dismiss Lila Rose for using deceptive tactics to expose Planned Parenthood in the past.  Moral perfectionists continue to criticize covert operations such as the latest undercover videos exposing PP body parts trade.  Yet not all that long ago Edward Snowden was lauded as a hero for leaking classified information which upset a very dishonest Administration and the NSA - and the world cheered.  The only people condemning Snowden seemed to be the operatives he exposed.

Sidetracking an intrinsically evil, immoral act by arguing that we need to focus upon lesser evils has not stopped the practice of abortion.  Blurring the lines with the 'seamless garment' - 'consistent ethic of life dialogue' has not been effective.  Abortion has grown into a major industry - politicians such as Hilary Clinton insist there can be no progress without it - women's equality is dependent upon it, women can make no progress without it:
“There is one lesson from the past, in particular, that we cannot afford to ignore: You cannot make progress on gender equality or broader human development, without safeguarding women’s reproductive health and rights,” Clinton said near the end of a speech marking International Women's Day. “That is a bedrock truth.” - Hilary Clinton, CNN
Reproductive health and rights is about abortion.

So - there are more issues Christians need to be concerned about other than such non-negotiables as abortion, or, women's reproductive health?  Mrs. Clinton doesn't think so:
“Far too many women are denied access to reproductive health care and safe childbirth, and laws don’t count for much if they’re not enforced. Rights have to exist in practice — not just on paper,” Clinton said.
“Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will,” she explained. “And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed. As I have said and as I believe, the advancement of the full participation of women and girls in every aspect of their societies is the great unfinished business of the 21st century and not just for women but for everyone — and not just in far away countries but right here in the United States.” - The DC
Sounds pretty non-negotiable to me.  Clinton is very single-minded - a one issue lady if there ever was one.

Don't take your eye off the target.

We have to stop soft-pedaling to please profiteering politicians and politically-correct hierarchs - there is nothing civil about abortion and dismemberment of newborns - be they killed in the womb or at partial birth.

. . .


"A blind eye is a species of collusion." - MM

There is another topic that needs some explaining - as well as some reparative restoration after the clericalist-collateral-damage perpetrated at the Church of Our Saviour in Manhattan.

When it comes to honesty and transparency as well as accountability - the hierarchy doesn't do well.

 Maureen Mullarkey has another very good article - sort of an expose in itself - regarding the debacle at Our Saviour Church in Manhattan: Wherein the removal of icons - which were funded by donations from two parties, and which ought to have remained - is called an "instance of clerical corruption, a fiduciary and ethical betrayal."

She's exactly right - and something stinks in the Archdiocese of New York.  Something smells.  It truly is a fiduciary and ethical betrayal - the icons were donated in good faith to beautify and sanctify the sanctuary.  They were of the highest quality - there was no need for 'restoration'.  The new pastor spent excessive amounts redecorating his rectory - there is nothing - no thing - Franciscan about either action.  (Pope Francis doesn't do that stuff.)  Ms. Mullarkey nails it when she says:
Nothing explains Fr. Robbins’ behavior, or supposed archdiocesan ignorance of it, except institutional rot. This is an instance of clerical corruption, a fiduciary and ethical betrayal. The treason of the clerisy is an assault on the integrity of those moral ideals they are pledged to preserve. It is an assault on their own calling and on our fidelity to it. - First Things

Churches belong to the Church - not to the pastors or bishops or choir directors or liturgists - but to the Church: the People of God.  What happened at Our Saviour was sneaky and underhanded clericalism.
No sensible steward destroys the heart of the renascence with which he has been entrusted. Those icons were sign and symbol of that very rebirth craved by the New Evangelization. - MM

Ed. note: Sometimes when doing links and copy and paste - formatting and text gets lost or messed up - I corrected those errors - I think. 

The photo at top shows the original Beatles album cover revealed after the secondary cover had been papered over to hide the original.  It's known as the Butcher cover - the group is dressed in butcher coats with baby-doll parts as if they were cuts of meat - or body parts.  It was deemed offensive at the time and recalled, recovered, re-released with a new cover shot.  We've been hiding such visuals ever since.

7 comments:

  1. Moralists tried to dismiss Lila Rose for using deceptive tactics to expose Planned Parenthood in the past. Moral perfectionists continue to criticize covert operations such as the latest undercover videos exposing PP body parts trade.

    I just read in America magazine, main organ of the Jesuits, that using covert means to expose great evil is just peachy keen and A-okay. And, wait for it, it was written by a Jesuit. I went looking for the article and haven't found it yet. After I mow the lawn, I'll look again.

    Let the "moralists" stick that in their cigars and puff away.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let the "moralists" stick that in their cigars and puff away...

      while sipping their brandy, dredging up Chesterton quotes, and insulting and demeaning anyone who dares disagree with them.

      Delete
    2. While C.M.P.’s tactics for obtaining the videos certainly involved deception, there is precedent for undercover work to obtain proof of illegal or immoral behavior that would otherwise remain hidden.. Sam Sawyer S.J.

      http://americamagazine.org/content/all-things/planned-parenthood-videos-what-you-need-know

      Delete
    3. Thanks Adrienne. There was a lot of lying going on in the Old Testament too. ;)

      Delete
  2. I remain convinced that the majority of folks who may or may not have seen these PP videos remain unmoved. As long as it does not "affect me or my work, my savings account, my ability to eat, sleep or have sex," I remain indifferent. I mean gee, "women have a right to their own bodies and what they do with that "glob of flesh afterwards is not their concern."

    Women and their right to abortion are protected under the law while the unborn child can be shredded and discarded and used all for the greater progress of science.

    Yes, on that terrible day of Judgement, as you say, Terry, "nothing is hidden that will not be revealed."

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think this may have been the finest piece you've ever written, Terry. Tight, sound, passionate. If I've ever disagreed with you in the past on anything, it's all forgiven now! :)

    Seriously, I would have been proud to have written this. Excellent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm blown away - thanks Mitchell.

      Delete


Please comment with charity and avoid ad hominem attacks. I exercise the right to delete comments I find inappropriate. If you use your real name there is a better chance your comment will stay put.