More Garbage From Al Reuteera

Powerline exposes yet another thinly veiled attack by Reuters against the Catholic Church and Pope Benedict XVI.

Martin Luther Must Be Rolling in His Grave

Like so many others, I was very happy to learn that Cardinal Ratzinger was selected to be the new pope. On my way to lunch today, I heard on the radio that Pope Benedict XVI is the first German pope in some 900 years.

Update: According to MSNBC, it's been 500 years since the last German pope.

Blithering Nonsense

Episcopalian Bishop V. Gene Robinson at the recent Planned Parenthood prayer (to Moloch) breakfast (via Ignatius Insight Scoop):

"Our defense against religious people has to be a religious defense. ... We must use people of faith to counter the faith-based arguments against us," he said.

Can People Be Weapons of Mass Destruction?

Yeah, I think so.

Culture of Death Indeed

Or, to put it less charitably, Leftist Morons on Parade.

Is There a Catholic Equivalent?

One of the bloggers at Mirror of Justice pointed out this forthcoming book by Mark Noll, which appears to provide an examination of contemporary Roman Catholicism from an Evangelical perspective.

Having read The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, my tendency is to belive that Noll will be pretty fair in his assessment of the Church and her teachings. I do find it kind of odd, though, that there are so many books out there about Catholicism, some of which are pure garbage, that are written by self-professed Evangelicals. Even more amazing is that there doesn't seem to be any Catholic books which give an assessment of Evangelicalism. Seems that most, if not all, Catholic literature that discuss Evangelicalism is normally done within the context of apologetics or a conversion to Catholicism. If this correct, I wonder why.

Slouching Toward a Sell-Out

Looks as though the Vatican is on the verge of severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan in the naive hope that the ChiComs will reciprocate and extend greater religious freedom to underground Chinese Catholics. (via Amy Welborn)

Liked by the LDS

As I was reading this roundup of Protestant/Evangelical perspectives of JP II's passing, I started thinking to myself (don't ask me why), "I wonder what the Mormons think?" Here's a sampling from the Salt Lake Tribune:

Walter Whipple, who was an LDS mission president in Poland and now teaches Polish culture at Brigham Young University, called John Paul "a man of faith, vision and intellect, and one more thing, courage."

Despite Mormon teachings about how Christianity lost its way after the death of Jesus' apostles, LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley offered his respects, even adulation, for the man believed by a billion Catholics to be St. Peter's successor.

(...)

The pope "has been a true Christian his whole life and a marvelous example of Christian charity and love to the whole world. He has 'restored' much dignity to Christianity and has played an active role for the good in world affairs," wrote John Fowles of Salt Lake City on the blog bycommonconsent.com. "I am confident that he will make the right choices in the spirit world."

In other words, join the LDS Church.


BTW, on the same day that JP II passed, the 175th conference of the LDS church opened. I'm still trying to figure out if there's any meaningful significance to this. (Maybe God's way of casting the attention of misguided believers toward His One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church?)

Great Guy, But Too Bad He Was Catholic

I'm thinking that Al Mohler has never tried to make a good faith effort to find out if what he believes about Catholicism are actually true, or that he read JP II's last book.

Even in his most recent book, released in the United States just days before his death, John Paul II continued to define the work of Christ as that which is added to human effort. Like the church he served, John Paul II rejected justification by faith. Beyond this, he rejected the biblical doctrine of hell, embraced inclusivism, and promoted an extreme form of Marian devotion, referring to Mary as "Co-Redemptrix," "Mediatrix," and "Mother of all Graces."


And by the way Hugh, it's not the differences between Catholic and Protestant theology that Mohler illustrates, but rather, stereotypical Protestant ignorance about Catholic theology.

Not Even Fit for Birdcage Lining

Powerline has the scoop on the New Yuck Times' apparent inability to find someone who liked JP II.

The Persecution Continues

The Captain's Quarters notes that despite worldwide reports of Pope JP II's impending death, the ChiComs have stepped up their crackdowns on so-called underground (i.e., non-governmentally approved) Catholic churches. One can only speculate that the ChiComs' actions are based on a belief that the pope's illness and death will only inspire "illegal" Catholics in China to be more "subversive" in their behavior. If this is in fact the case, it certainly provides powerful testimony to how valuable and influential even the most infirm person in this world can be.

"Quality of Life"

A most disturbing term as applied to end of life issues, since it necessarily implies that at some point, a person ceases becoming a person or human being, and therfore can be disposed of like an old pair of shoes. This is basically why Terri Schiavo was starved to death, and we should all be frightened over the fact that the government has given its official stamp of approval to how this term "Quality of life" is being used.

A Life of Suffering That Was Well Worth Living

I can find no other way to describe the incredible life of Pope John Paul II, who, it seems, will soon have the burden of being Christ's visible vicar on Earth lifted from his shoulders.

The Blessed Sounds of Silence

A real nice tribute to JP II by Marc Thiessen at NRO. (via Michelle Malkin, who also links to a CNN report about the pope being given "last rites.")

How blessed we are to have such a teacher in our midst; to receive the precious gift of his suffering; and to be living witnesses to what may one day be considered the greatest days of the greatest papacy in history. John Paul was once asked why he does not retire, and is said to have given this reply: "Because Christ did not come down from the Cross." The Lord will take him from us when He is ready. 'Til then, give us this silent pope.

In Propria Persona

You know that saying about a person who is his own attorney has a fool for a client? I sort of saw this today with a non-attorney litigant who will soon be getting a fairly intimidating written lesson on local pre-trial rules and procedures.

Time to "Sack It Up" Jeb

And just order state troopers into the hospice where Terri Schiavo is being starved to death and feed her. I mean, really; who's going to hold you accountable for "breaking the law" and not killing Terri? Judge Greer? If I were you, Jeb, I'd publicly dare him to come after me.

Hail, Mary

Just ran across this past week's Time magazine, which has a cover story chronicling an apparent movement among Protestants toward a more "Catholic view" of the Blessed Virgin Mary. If this is in fact true, I highly suspect it has a lot to do with the Passion of the Christ movie, which gave a great visual portayal of how Our Lady was intimately involved in Jesus'redemption of mankind.

The Left's Warped Sense of Federalism

I haven't read the editorial, because I frankly don't think I could stomach it, but the New Yuck Times is apparently all up in arms about Congress possibly intervening to save Terri Schiavo from being starved to death by decree of the Flordia State courts. The Times seems to think that such a "rash assumption of judicial power" by Congress is "nothing short of breathtaking." However, as noted by Ramesh Ponnuru and Mark Levin over at The Corner, the Times' incredulous concern over the sanctity of states' rights in the killing of a handicapped woman is about as phony as a three dollar bill. (I especially like Levin's observation that Congress is actually coming to the aid of Florida elected officials -- e.g., Gov. Jeb Bush -- who tried to enact legislation to save Terri, but were thwarted by anti-life judges in the Florida courts). Dollars to donuts that the Times would be screaming for Federal troops if a Florida judge had made a ruling that was preventing a woman from getting an abortion.

Speaking of Terri Schiavo, go to Blogs for Terri on the latest happenings in this most disturbing affair.

He's Either Stupid or Conniving

My firm is representing a small company who is being sued by a former employee who claims that our client failed to pay him his due wages as required by the California Labor Code. At first, the attorney representing the former employee filed a complaint wherein he tried to claim punitive damages on top of the penalties that are imposed by the Labor Code. That, of course, is a no-no under established case law, and my firm (via me) accordingly filed a motion with the court to have the extra punitive damage claim stricken from the complaint.

Since here in California a plaintiff has the right to amend his or her filed complaint one time without having to get permission from the courts, the former employee's attorney did so, and I went ahead and cancelled the scheduled hearing on the motion I made. However, rather than just taking out the inappropriate punitive damage claim, the former employee's attorney went and added a common law cause of action for fraud. Based upon the original complaint he filed, it's obvious that the former employee's attorney is trying to make a backdoor claim for additional punitive damages in the amended complaint. The real kicker about this added cause of action for fraud is that the former employee is essentially alleging that my firm's client intentionally misrepresented to him that it would not violate civilly prosecutable State and Federal labor laws regarding the payment of due wages. This is about as logical as the government criminally prosecuting someone for not only murder, but also for intentionally misrepresenting that he wouldn't commit murder.

Needless to say, a demurrer (i.e., a legal "so what?") on the added cause of action is being prepared.

Canada: The Great North American Afterthought

And yet, as chronicled by the Weekly Standard's Matt Labash, the country can't stop looking down it's collective nose at the U.S.

JUST HOW PERFECTLY GOOD a country Canada is, is a matter of dispute. The expats I eventually meet buy into Canadian self-mythologizing without so much as giving the tires a kick. Yet even some Canadians gag on the constant stream of virtue-proclaiming advertorials that are, for lack of a better word, a crock. This is self-evident in the pathological Canadian claims of modesty and politeness.

Will Ferguson is a cockeyed nationalist and brilliant satirist, who calls his country "a nation of associate professors." In his book Why I Hate Canadians, he writes that his countrymen even boast about their Great Canadian Inferiority Complex. While it's difficult to go five minutes without hearing how collectively nice Canadians are, Ferguson says, "what we fail to realize is that self-conscious niceness is not niceness at all; it is a form of smugness. Is there anything more insufferable than someone saying, 'Gosh, I sure am a sweet person, don'tcha think?'"

This strain of nails-on-the-blackboard nationalism is most evident in the recent bestseller Fire and Ice, an Americans-are-from-Mars, Canadians-are-from-Venus study of the two countries' values by Canadian sociologist Michael Adams. Based on three head-to-head values surveys done over a decade, it shows Americans coming up short on matters from militarism to materialism. This is hardly news. But Adams pushes his luck, giving conventional wisdom a twirl by advancing that it is the Americans who are actually the slavish followers of an established order, while Canadians are rugged individualists and autonomous free thinkers.

Give Adams points for cheek. His is, after all, a country that didn't bother to draft its own constitution until 1982, that kept "God Save the Queen" as its national anthem until 1980, and that still enshrines its former master's monarch as its head of state. Her Canadian title is "Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen (breath), Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith." Maybe they should change their national anthem again, to Britney Spears's "I'm A Slave 4 U."