Cardinal Mahony's Gay Fish

You know that Christian fish symbol that you often see on the back of people's cars? Well, it looks as though good 'ol Cardinal "Hollywood" Mahony has endorsed a rainbow colored variation of this symbol as a sort of positive tribute to Catholics with homosexual tendencies.

Cardinal Mahony instructs his nearly 5 million Catholic members to "see in the [gay] fish pin a sign of recognition of our lesbian and gay sisters and brothers." Is Cardinal Mahony trying to hook his already desensitized laity with this fishy bait?

The Cardinal is perversely distorting a once holy and revered symbol used not only by the early Christians but today's Christians as well. Through the gift of the same Sacred Tradition the Apostles received from Christ, the early Christians recognized one another in the image of the fish during the persecution of their Church.

Most harmful are the Cardinal's attempts to further confuse his priests, religious, and laity by 'normalizing' the homosexual idioms 'lesbian' and 'gay' using the 'gay' Rainbow colored fish.

The expression of Hell being paved with the skulls of bishops couldn't be more apt. (link via)

Florida Wins the Crystal Football

Although the Gators were the clear underdog, their dominating win over Ohio State in the BCS Championship Game was not at all shocking considering that the Buckeyes gave up 39 points to and barely beat Michigan in their last game of the regular season. (Michigan, of course, was trounced in the Rose Bowl last week by USC).

So now that Florida has won the "championship," is it the #1 team in the country? Under the system that the NCAA currently employs for Division I college football, yes. However, let there be no mistake that this system is seriously whacked up, as evidenced by the fact that of all the winners of BCS bowl games this year, including Florida, there is only one team with an undefeated record - Boise State. You can pretty much bet the farm that Boise State, which plays in a so-called "mid-major" conference, will not be ranked #1 in the final BCS and AP polls.

They Actually Have Team Sports?

A losing streak that spanned over 200 games and 10 years, the men's basketball team at Caltech, the school in which the movie Real Genius was loosely based upon, finally won a game yesterday.

I knew a guy in high school who ended up going to Caltech, and based on what I observed of him in P.E. class, I'm not at all surprised that Caltech's losing streak lasted as long as it did. (Indeed, Caltech still hasn't won a conference game in over 20 years). But, like all Caltech students and graduates, the guy was super smart in science and math, and could be consistently counted on to bust the grading curve.

Tragic News Out of Troy

University of Southern California football player Mario Danelo was found dead yesterday afternoon at the bottom off a cliff in San Pedro, CA. An investigation is pending as to cause of death, but it appears as though Danelo might have simply slipped and fell.

Mike Walsh, his coach at San Pedro High, last saw Danelo at Christmas Mass, he said. He was at Disneyland when he got the news Saturday.

"When my son told me, I felt like throwing up," he said. "He comes from a most wonderful family in San Pedro. They're wonderful, he was wonderful."

Danelo's roommate, USC wide receiver Chris McFoy, was shocked by the news Saturday night.

"It was unexpected," McFoy told the Los Angeles Daily News. "He's a funny guy. A warm, loving guy. It 's a shock something like this would happen."

...

About 8 p.m. the only sign at the cliffs was a string of police tape and a police cruiser on Paseo del Mar near the Point Fermin Lighthouse. The body was taken by helicopter to the nearby Angel's Gate Park, which authorities closed to traffic.

Humphrey said at the scene investigators had not found a surf board, scuba-diving tanks or anything else to indicate Danelo might have been down there for any of the recreational activities common to the area.

Humphrey said over the years a handful of people had fallen from the cliff.

"It's entirely possible that he fell," Humphrey said.

Talk About Irony

The newly appointed archbishop of Warsaw in Poland resigns after admitting he had been a spy for Poland's former Communist regime.

The late Pope John Paul II, of course, was from Poland and is widely credited for being a major contributor to the fall of the Soviet Union. (link via)

The scandal has highlighted a deep crisis for the Polish church and its struggle to define its role after the death of its moral guide, Pope John Paul.

"This is the biggest crisis to affect the Polish Church for a generation," said Jonathan Luxmoore, an expert on Catholic matters. "The Pope could (also) be damaged by this."

Soon after his appointment, Polish media reported that Wielgus had informed on fellow clerics for about 20 years from the late 1960s. In Friday's statement, Wielgus said he "did not report on anyone nor deliberately try to hurt anyone."

Wielgus's admission on Friday that he had damaged the Church when he "denied the facts of this cooperation" with the secret services opened the door for the Pope to remove him from office but he did not resign until the day of the ceremony.

Great Start to a New Year

Just got back into town after a week at an undisclosed location. It's only been a couple of days, but '07 has gotten off to a pretty good start for me as my USC Trojans whipped the Michigan Wolverines in the Rose Bowl AND Notre Dame got creamed by LSU in the Sugar Bowl.

Throw in the pounding that UCLA took from Florida State in the Emerald Bowl, and my good start actually began a couple of days before the new year.

Hillary's Christian Consultant

The guy's name is Burns Strider. I mean, c'mon.

Rudolphus Rubrinasus

The pre-Vatican II version.

Al Qaeda Takes Credit for Dems' Mid-Term Victory

It will be interesting to see to what extent the Dems will try to distance themselves from this claim, if at all.

Link via

Idiots

We appear to be at a point in our culture where ANY person can commit sexual harassment, even if that person may not even know or understand the concept of sex.

A kindergarten student was accused earlier this month of sexually harassing a classmate at Lincolnshire Elementary School, an accusation that will remain on his record until he moves to middle school.

Washington County Public Schools spokeswoman Carol Mowen said the definition of sexual harassment used by the school system is, "unwelcome sexual advances, request for sexual favors and/or other inappropriate verbal, written or physical conduct of a sexual nature directed toward others."

Mowen said that definition comes from the Maryland State Department of Education.

According to a school document provided by the boy's father, the 5-year-old pinched a girl's buttocks on Dec. 8 in a hallway at the school south of Hagerstown.

...

The incident was described as "sexual harassment" on the school form.

Yep. A 5 year old who may not be able to tie his own shoes is capable of sexual harassment. Adults can be so un-freakin'-believable.

Oh, That's Why the Anglican/Episcopal Church is Dying

Jesus. Poop. Sex.

That about summarizes this laugh out loud article by the Director of Lay Education for the (Anglican) Diocese of Montreal.

Link via

I Should Add This to My Resume

After all, not everyone gets recognized as Time's Person of the Year.

Oh, wait...

From Our Bulging "Being Married Does Not Prevent Sexual Perversion" Files

I don't want to sound mean, but I somehow don't think the "she's too pretty for jail" defense will be utilized in this case.

A flirtatious Brandy Lynn Gonzales lured five boys from her fifth-grade classes into sexual acts at movie theaters, her apartment and even her classroom, prosecutors said Thursday.

At least one student was taken to her apartment, where he was sexually assaulted by Gonzales, 27, and her husband, Johnny Gonzales, 31, said Assistant Harris County District Attorney Denise Oncken.

"Evidently, according to the victims, she was quite a flirt in the classroom," Oncken said.

I Wish I Could Say I'm Surprised

A Carter appointed Federal judge in San Francisco (natch) says it's perfectly constitutional for a city to formally attack the Catholic Church for it religious/moral position on homosexuality.

In her decision upholding the resolution against the Law Center's constitutional challenge, the federal judge defended the City by essentially claiming that the Church invited the attack by publicly expressing its teaching on moral issues. In her written opinion, the judge stated, "The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith provoked this debate, indeed may have invited entanglement, by its [doctrinal] statement. This court does not find that our case law requires political bodies to remain silent in the face of this provocation."

Actor Peter Boyle Dies

Interestingly enough, the former cast member of the hit television show Everybody Loves Raymond was a Christian Brothers monk before becoming a professional actor. The Internet Movie Data Base has more details about Boyle's life and cause of death here.

Kathy Shaidle notes that Boyle was a lifelong political leftist.

Apocalypto and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Probably not a coincidence that Gibson's newest movie opened right around this feast day. As reported by LifeSite, there's a new Spanish film that focuses on OLG and which acts as a good historical follow up to Apocalypto.

Follow Up: Dense that I sometimes am, I failed to notice that Apocalypto opened in the U.S. on the day of the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, and one day before the feast of St. Juan Diego. Within this context, Amy Welborn links to an interesting movie review of Apocalypto by Bill Cork.

The Navy and Mother are Both Wrong

A 32 year old single mother relinquishes custody of her 13 year old daughter in order to enlist in the Navy.

As far as I'm concerned, the Navy is wrong for saying single custodial parents can't enlist, and this mother is wrong for trading in custody and the upbringing of her daughter in order to pursue her "dream" of a naval career. A pox on both houses.

(Link via)

Famous Mormon Football Players

Had no idea Merlin Olsen, Sean Salisbury and Danny White were LDS adherents. Wonder if they all wear/wore "holy" jock straps? (Kidding!)

(Link via)

Why Aren't There More?

Guess it's that time of the year when many high school seniors are getting their applications off to different colleges. Speaking of colleges, and putting the issue of orthodoxy aside, I am somewhat amazed that there is only one four year Catholic university in Los Angeles County and a total of 4 four year Catholic colleges/universities in all of Southern California (which I would say runs from Bakersfield down to San Diego). Considering that one of these colleges, John Paul the Great University has basically just started operating and holds all of its classes in an office building, there are really only 3 established Catholic colleges/universities (Loyola Marymount, Thomas Aquinas College and University of San Diego) in the region.

Compare that to the San Francisco Bay Area, where there are a total of 6 established four year Catholic colleges/universities (University of San Francisco, Dominican University, Holy Names University, Notre Dame de Namur University, Saint Mary's College, and Santa Clara University). Throw in the University of Sacramento, which is only about 100 miles from San Francisco, and there are 7 institutes of higher learning in the area with a Catholic identity.

How the heck did such a discrepancy occur?

I'm Confused

I've been Catholic for about 9 years now, and I'm still not entirely sure when one is required to go to Mass on certain feast days. In the past, there have been Holy Days of Obligation that fell on a weekday, but were moved to Sunday for "convenience." I'm wondering if this was done with the feast of the Immaculate Conception, which was formally yesterday, in the Diocese of Orange since there is nothing on the diocese website mentioning this day as a Holy Day.